Wednesday, March 23,2022
dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 5A
FROM 1A
Planning
Presentation
The proposed develop
ment includes Etowah
Bluffs Township, a com
mercial and activity hub,
and The Preserve, sections
with a variety of single
family residences.
A version of the plans
was originally proposed in
2019, albeit then called
“Etowah Village” with the
intent to establish 947
acres of commercial and
residential structures to the
area.
In 2020, version two was
filed with the Planning
Department and subse
quently withdrawn later
that year after multiple
public hearings and meet
ings.
Current plans are includ
ed in the rezoning applica
tion that was filed this
January.
Under the new plans, the
commercial area will
include about 80,000
square feet of shops, res
taurants and an event
space. Other portions of
the development will host
medical, other professional
offices and a
251,000-square-foot ware
house.
In total, 986 residential
units have been proposed.
These housing options will
range from a mix of low
and mid-rise apartments to
attached townhomes
geared toward seniors and
detached homes. All of the
townhouse and home units
will be sold, while the
apartments would be rent
ed out, Ken Wood said.
Also proposed is the
Etowah River Trail, the
second segment of
Dawson County’s forth
coming greenway. The
greenway’s benefits and
potential route were dis
cussed at length during the
BOC’s work session on
Oct. 7, 2021.
This land is bounded on
the north by Grant Road;
to the east by Ga. 400; and
to the south by Lumpkin
Campground Road/Ga. 9,
Brights Way, Ga. 53 and
Riverview Drive.
The land is currently
zoned a mix of residential
and commercial classifica
tions.
Dawson County’s Future
Land Use map has the
areas marked as either
Residential Town or Office
Professional.
Granting the rezoning
application would be in
general conformity with
the comprehensive plan,
stated the Planning
Department. The develop
er’s concept plan predicts a
density of 1.9 units per
acre across the five sec
tions or PODs with resi
dential units.
Overall, mixed-use vil
lages are limited to 2.8
units per acre. As a conser
vation subdivision, a mini
mum of 30 percent must
be green space. Forty-nine
percent of the development
will contain open space for
both passive and active
recreation. Utilities will
have to be put under
ground, and stormwater
functionality would also be
required.
Wood said the newest
iteration of the project is a
“vast improvement” on
previous versions in vari
ous ways, one of the big
gest being the increased
mixed-village configura
tion.
He mentioned that the
five acres of civic space set
aside for the county could
host a library, community
center or some other bene
ficial structure.
Likewise, he said the
township’s layout has been
“totally changed” and
showed an expanded park
and gathering facility with
mixed-use buildings.
In the first phase, all of
the roads, greenspace and
parking will be finished,
making the area ideal for
hosting food trucks and
drawing people there, the
thought being that increas
ing visibility for events
would draw businesses to
open building spots.
The second phase would
use the momentum from
events and increased finan
cial gains to complete
build out of the township,
Wood said.
Additionally, he shared
that his team has been
working directly with the
Development Authority of
Dawson County to plan
about 50 acres for the
industrial space.
Under the new plans,
there will now be two dif
ferent, more separated
entrances into the develop
ment coming off of
Lumpkin Campground
Road.
For that roadway, the
developer wants to add
lanes for dedicated dual
left-turn or straight ones, as
well as additional right-
tum-lanes. More room will
be provided for trucks to
be able to turn onto
Lumpkin Campground
Road safely and then
immediately switch into
the right-turn lane to enter
the industrial portion of the
development.
There will be a dedicat
ed roadway on the far east
ern side that flows into the
industrial area before
forming a loop road back
onto Ga. 400, ideally keep
ing trucks out of the vil
lage.
Pedestrian sidewalk con
nectivity throughout the
development’s eight sec
tions or “pods” is a key
feature of the renewed
plans.
Wood also explained
buffers will now be 250
feet at their narrowest
points close to the neigh
boring Savannah Trace
subdivision. He said a
majority of the buffers will
be undisturbed foliage,
with about 50 feet to be
replanted. There will also
be fencing in between
screenings.
Citizen concerns
More than one of the 17
people who spoke in oppo
sition to the development
mentioned light and noise
nuisances, particularly
affecting the Savannah
Trace subdivision, should
the project come to pass.
One of the public hear
ing’s youngest speakers,
25-year-old Max Muldoon,
took pride in sharing that
he was “bom and raised”
in Dawson County.
“While I can say there
have been some drastic
changes, all of them are
going to pale in compari
son to this place,” he said.
Muldoon mentioned a
potentially drastic change
in local demographics,
should the development
come to fruition, and that
change would lead to an
increase in crime, like the
rash of car break-ins dur
ing January.
He could not promise
planning commissioners
that he’d increase tax reve
nues over time like a big
ger development would,
but he did promise that he
loved his home county.
“I love the experience
I’ve had growing up in this
county...and I'm afraid
that’s going to be taken
State House approves needs-based college aid program
By Dave Williams
Capitol Beat News Service
College students need
ing a financial boost to
complete their degrees
would get help from the
state under legislation
the Georgia House of
Representatives passed
Tuesday.
Lawmakers voted
171-3 let students who
have earned at least 80%
of the credits required
for the degree they are
seeking receive a grant
of up to $2,500 to help
pay their tuition.
The money would help
plug a “small gap to get
[students] across the fin
ish line,” said House
Higher Education
Committee Chairman
Chuck Martin,
R-Alpharetta, the bill’s
chief sponsor.
“Higher education
changes life,” added Rep.
Stacey Evans, D-Atlanta.
“The more kids we can
get in our educational
system, the better they’re
going to be and their
families are going to be.”
To qualify, students
would have to complete a
Free Application for
Federal Student Aid
(FAFSA) application.
The Georgia Student
Finance Commission
would administer the
grant program, subject
to state appropriations.
The bill would have a
sunset date of June 30,
2025, to give lawmakers
a chance to determine
whether the program is
working.
The bill now moves to
the state Senate.
This story is available through a
news partnership with Capitol
Beat News Service, a project
of the Georgia Press
Educational Foundation.
NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING
The City of Dawsonville hereby gives notice that a public meeting will be held on
Thursday, April 21, 2022 at 1:00 p.m. at Dawsonville City Hall, 415 Highway 53
East, Suite 100, Dawsonville, Georgia 30534.
The purpose of the public meeting is to:
1. Inform the public of the need for improvements to the City’s wastewater
system;
2. To comply with section 391-3-6-02 of Georgias Water Quality Control
Rules and Regulations (and amendments there to);
3. To encourage public involvement in the development of a plan to improve
the sewerage system;
4. To discuss the Environmental Information Document for the proposed
improvements.
During the public meeting the City will attempt to identify public preferences for
alternative methods of improving the City’s wastewater treatment capacity. These
alternatives will be evaluated and included in the City’s Environmental Informa
tion Document.
Public participation is considered essential to the selection and development of
the final plan to be adopted prior to its approval by the State of Georgia, Depart
ment of Natural Resources.
This document is available for public inspection at the at the City of Dawsonville
offices located at 415 Highway 53 East, Suite 100, Dawsonville, Georgia 30534 or
at the office of Turnipseed Engineers, 2255 Cumberland Parkway, Building 400,
Atlanta, Georgia, 30339. The City will receive comments through April 21, 2022.
For additional information contact the City of Dawsonville at 706-265-3256.
away [from our next gener
ation] if something like
this is built,” he said.
Deanna Dickinson, who
is also a realtor, explained
that county growth has
taken a worrisome turn
since she moved here five
years ago.
She shared that “too
much multifamily” is
being developed now
instead of more single
family housing and cited a
Georgia Tech study stating
that units would have to
cost $436,000 or more in
order to help take care of
taxes in Dawson County.
“If units are not that
amount or more, then the
tax burden’s going to be
put on Dawson County
taxpayers,” she said.
Post 2 planning commis
sioner John Maloney asked
about the projected build
out of the entire mixed-use
village.
Wood estimated about a
decade, starting with Phase
1 of the commercial or vil
lage part, including the
apartments, followed by
the industrial and residen
tial sections.
Build out is projected to
cost $400 million and yield
$2 million in tax revenue a
year, according to Fox
Creek’s rezoning applica
tion.
Both the county’s plan
ning and engineering
departments expressed
concern over traffic man
agement. In particular, the
Engineering Department
said a plan showing all
access points was not pro
vided and added that
ingress and egress may
need to be re-evaluated
considering GDOT’s
desire to relocate the inter
section of Ga. 400 and
Lumpkin Campground and
Harmony Church roads to
the north to provide for a
perpendicular intersection.
Multiple residents said
routes like Ga. 400, 53 and
Lumpkin Campground
Road struggle to handle
the current amount of traf
fic.
The planning and engi
neering departments, as
well as the planning com
missioners, were all inter
ested in further traffic stud
ies. Wood clarified that the
developer’s traffic study
called for lane additions at
Ga. 400 and Lumpkin
Campground Road, as well
as potential improvements
at other nearby intersec
tions.
Maloney and fellow
planning commissioner
Steve Sanvi expressed con
cerns over golf cart and
bike/walking-friendly
paths co-mingling as well
as multi-use paths being
close to Ga. 400.
Another concern was big
truck radiuses contributing
to rear-end accident situa
tions, given Lumpkin
Campground’s intersection
with Ga. 400.
Multiple speakers also
mentioned concern about
schools’ capacity, particu
larly at the elementary
level.
Michael Cochran, a
Savannah Trace resident
and HOA board member,
pointed out that a forth
coming emergency access
road for the development
was overlooked in the
application. If the rezone
and ultimate development
are approved, such a road
would connect to the back
of his neighborhood’s
Brights Way, which he and
others claim is a private
road.
Wood later replied stat
ing that the plat for Brights
Way shows it as public, not
private. Steve Sanvi sug
gested that the developer
would have to negotiate a
fire-only easement. As
another option, an emer
gency access road could be
placed closer down to Ga.
53,but Wood said they’re
trying not to disturb that
far down in the tracts.
In a March 8 letter to the
Planning Commission,
Fire Marshal Jeff Bailey
noted that while he
“was not in opposition
of this zoning change, or
any proposed land devel
opment, the scale and com
plexity of the develop
ments warrants serious
consideration of impacts
that must be anticipated
and planned for.”
He noted that such a
development would “abso
lutely increase calls” for
Dawson County Fire and
Emergency Services. He
added the mixed-use vil
lage could result in a popu
lation growth of thousands
or “20-percent growth in
the county’s permanent
population” over the span
of a decade when it other
wise would take 50 years
to occur.
Such sudden growth
would impact Fire and
EMS’s ability to provide
acceptable service levels.
The department is actively
working to hire people and
acquire resources, like
ambulances, at a rate that
keeps up with the current
amount of growth.
Therefore, Fire and EMS
have to rely on mutual aid
requests from neighboring
counties to fill the gap,
leading to increased
response times.
Projections for this
development are “in addi
tion” to other permitted,
underway, proposed or
forthcoming projects,
Bailey added.
“Dawson County is
experiencing previously
unwitnessed growth and if
the growth is to continue,
we need to start increasing
public safety capabilities
now and not after being
outpaced by it. “
Given the amount of
resources necessary to han
dle just one single-family
residential fire,
a second ladder truck,
additional pumper, medical
unit, staffing and another
fire station would be need
ed if the mixed-use village
is ultimately approved.
“These items require sig
nificant time and money to
acquire,” said Bailey, “and
must be considered con
currently with the approval
of projects such as this,
and not in reaction to them
after approval.”
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