By Jennifer Ramsay & Matt Aiken / The Nugget
The proposal that could have paved the way for a 300-bed student apartment complex on Hawkins Street appears to have reached a dead end. But the threat of a lawsuit remains.
Members of the Dahlonega City Council made the big decision to rezone the area with a designation of R-1, which allows for a traditional neighborhood with single family homes, at their regular session last Monday night by a vote of 5-1.
“The development density shall be capped at 4 units per acre,” said City Manager Bill Schmid. “The otherwise allowed uses of this R-2 district shall not include apartments and dormitories.”
The decision came after the council unanimously shot down two other proposed ordinances, one for an R-2 (Multi-family residential) with similar conditions, and Planned Unit Development (PUD), which is the zoning that the development group Signet had been fighting for.
Legal representative Ethan Underwood hinted that the decision could result in a lawsuit.
“Unfortunately now Signet is having to evaluate what its options are,” he said.
Council member Mitch Ridley apparently didn’t want to hear it.
“This doesn’t fit in our community,” he said, while voting against all three proposals. “ I think it’s just unacceptable to try and threaten the city with lawsuits or whatever. You bought the property. It’s your property.”
The proposal also received strong blowback from neighbors and residents in the area.
Jim Gribben, who owns property around the area, said he was concerned about his quality of life and property value.
“What you’re proposing with the PUD, which I’m very much against, will greatly affect my quality of life and property value,” he said. “…This is our historic area.”
Joe Mirakovits expressed worry that the land would be sold by Signet to the the University of North Georgia.
“It was brought to my attention that several properties by the proposed developer were ultimately sold back to the universities,” he said. “…If that’s true, I’m completely opposed to it.”
When contacted by The Nugget, Executive Director of Communications for UNG Sylvia Carson said in a statement that the university has “no plans” to purchase the property.
After the vote, Underwood said the decision means the city may have opened themselves up to potential litigation from Signet, which could be filed anywhere from six months to years from now.
He had previously argued that the current zoning was unconstitutional.
“We were disappointed in the decision the city council made,” he said. “The decision they made was to zone the property, but they attached certain conditions that make the property un-developable.”
Councilwoman JoAnne Taylor was undeterred as she quoted the case of Holy Cross Lutheran Church v. Clayton County.
“We take this opportunity to reiterate that the local government body is the more appropriate one to change and control the local environment according to the best interests of the locality and its constituents,” she said.
The remark was met with applause from the assemblage.
The rezoning included several stipulations which can be found in the City Council meeting pack ordinance, which is posted on the Dahlonega City Council on dahlonega.gov.