New 325-Lot Subdivision Will Present Request to the Zoning Board

Developers proposing a 325-lot subdivision will present before the county’s zoning board this week. The Little Road subdivision has a mixture of single-family homes and townhomes. Update: the zoning board tabled the request until their next meeting.

The property consists of 80 acres. It is located on US Highway 19 / 41 in Hampton.

Little Road Subdivision

Liberty Communities of Stockbridge, GA is requesting a rezoning from RA to RS. They are proposing 325 lots on eighty acres. The property is at the northwest corner of US Highway 19 / 41 and Little Road. This is north of Hampton. The proposal includes the following:

• 198 townhome units, and
• 127 single-family homes.

Henry County saw a significant number of requests for the residential suburban zoning district between 2018–2022. This is the first request for the zoning district in about two years. The district allows builders to provide a mixture of housing types. They may choose two of the following options: single-family homes, townhomes and duplexes.

Historically, the RS zoning district has allowed single-family lot sizes of 7,260 square feet. This is equal to one-sixth of an acre. In summer 2023, the county adopted new multifamily development standards. The new standards introduced a code section for cluster housing. Such product can be on 4,750 square foot lots. The applicant is proposing 7,260 sq ft lots in this development. The lots would be sixty feet in width.

In addition, the proposed townhomes are 24’ in width. This is consistent with the new standards for front-entry garage units.

Future Land Use Map

The subject property is considered low-density mixed use on the county’s future land use map. This map category, introduced during the 2023 comp plan update, supports development up to eight net units per acre. The developer’s proposal has a gross density of 4.05 units per acre. The net density is not presently available.

Based on the property’s conformity to the future land use map, and other criteria considered in their review, planning staff are recommending approval of the rezoning request. They are recommending sixteen conditions. Some of the recommended conditions include the following:

• The project shall have an amenities area consisting of, at minimum, pocket parks and dog parks throughout the development, a cabana with fire pits and grilling area, and resort style pool.
• There shall be a 50’ landscape buffer between external streets and townhomes, and 20’ buffer between external streets and single-family homes.
• The project shall be an owner-occupied subdivision. No more than 10% of units may be rented at any one time.
• The entire property shall conform to the standards of the highway corridor overlay district.

Variance Request

In addition to the rezoning request, the developer has applied for a variance request. The variance would provide relief from requirements found within the highway corridor overlay district. Specifically, the applicant is applying for the following:

1. No local street may be longer than six hundred (600) feet without an intersection with another local through street.
2. Exemption from the public improvement requirements along Highway 19/41 which would require a ten-foot minimum sidewalk and landscape strip with street trees and pedestrian lighting.
3. Exemption of the Highway Corridor Overlay District requirements for portions of the subject property along Little Road and Upper Woolsey Road.

Planning staff are recommending approval of variance 1, to allow streets longer than 600’. They are recommending denial of variances 2 and 3.

Zoning Advisory Board

The Henry County Zoning Advisory Board will meet on Thursday, May 9, at 6:30 pm. The board meets at the county admin building in McDonough. They will consider the proposed development during the meeting. The board will then make a recommendation on the rezoning request. It must go to the board of commissioners at a later date for a final decision.

Specific to the variance request, the ZAB makes the final decision on this portion of the request. A variance request only goes to the BOC if the applicant or an adjacent land owner appeals the zoning board’s decision.

Featured image shows a subdivision with homes built closely together. Stock photo.