Big changes are on the way to a wooded stretch of land that borders Pinetree Recreation Center and Cottrell Elementary School after the Dahlonega City Council unanimously approved a measure last Monday that will pave the way for a new 125-unit housing development between Pinetree Way and Mechanicsville Road.
While the project will have a sizable impact on traffic and density in the area, the general consensus at City Hall was that the impact could have been much more significant.
“So it’s not as bad as it could be, is what you’re saying,” said council member Lance Bagley to Doug Parks as the City Attorney listed the various conditions that the builder will need to meet in order to bring the development to the 56.3 acre swath of property just off Morrison Moore Parkway.
“You can characterize it however you wish,” responded Parks.
Initially the property, which is now owned by Vivian L. Cottrell, was approved in 2001 for nearly 500,000 square feet of commercial development.
In a previous meeting, project attorney Julie Sellers said that the new plan would provide a 75 percent reduction in traffic from that original commercial proposal from 25 years ago.
“The reality is, with this particular piece of property, right now it’s a vacant property,” she said. “So any development is going to have an increase in traffic. There’s no getting around that.”
Still, council member Dan Brown pointed out in another meeting, that the residential nature of the development will definitely impact the traffic flow.
“They’re coming and going at about the same time versus commercial might be spread out throughout the day,” said Brown. “… When everyone is trying to get to school or work at the same time, a thousand people might look a lot worse than people spread out throughout the day.”
After a pair of public hearings, the plan was ultimately approved with a range of conditions suggested by both the Dahlonega Planning Commission and the City Council.
Under these stipulations, the development will consist of 40 townhomes and 85 detached single family homes, and will have a 20 percent cap on rental units.
Street parking will not be allowed at night. And the neighborhood, which will have a sizable green space, will also include required sidewalks.
The City provided stringent guidelines for the look of the homes as well.
“Each unit shall have a gabled roof and shall be brick or stone, or brick or stone veneer for at least 20 percent of front and side,” states the ordinance. “… And the remaining 80 percent of the façade shall be limited to wood siding, Hardie-plank or similar engineered fiber cement composite siding material, stone, brick, or a combination of these elevations.”
So how much will the homes cost? That has yet to be revealed.
COST OF BUSINESS
In a previous meeting, council member Johnny Ariemma expressed concerns that the development will be financially out of reach for working families.
“We need affordable housing here, with your price tag of $40 million on this development it doesn’t look like that’s possible,” he said “… The ability to have work force housing, this is not going to be it.”
In response, Sellers didn’t name a price for the future homes but indicated that the City conditions do have an impact on the final cost.
“I would say this will be maybe more attainable housing than some other housing but this is where we struggle with conditions,” she said. “You know, so we have limited density. … It’s a balance of making sure that what we are proposing, number one, is a viable community, but when you have 20 percent brick there is a direct cost associated to that condition.”
Sellers indicated that the neighborhood will still serve as an attractive option for those looking for a home in the City limits.
“It’s a challenge. And I'm not saying that we're here with a solution for you all,” she said. “I think we're here with a really good residential community to provide housing options for people. But it's probably not going to check a truly affordable box.”
Ultimately, the measure was approved with a motion by Ryan Reagin and a second by Ross Shirley who added that he thinks this will be a “good deal” for the City.
Mayor Sam Norton seemed to agree.
“It’s down to 125 quality houses,” he said. “And a lot less commercial. I think that’s a win for the community and it’s a win for the potential buyers out there. And it should be a good product.”