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Wednesday, May 25,2022
dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 5A
Planners recommend OK of rezone for 113 townhomes
By Julia Fechter
jfechter@dawsonnews.com
With little fanfare compared to previ
ous meetings, the Dawson County
Planning Commission voted unanimous
ly to recommend approval to rezone 18.9
acres for a 113-unit rental development
at Beartooth Parkway and Dawson
Village Way.
Chairman Jason Hamby abstained
from voting, since it was a unanimous
4-0 decision.
District 2 planning commissioner John
Maloney motioned to add the stipulation
that the developer have 25 feet between
the face of each garage to the curb or
sidewalk face.
The Dawson County Board of
Commissioners will ultimately approve
or deny the rezone at their June 16 vot
ing session, which will immediately fol
low the 4 p.m. work session.
The land for the proposed complex
lies within District 3, represented by
planning commissioner Tim Bennett.
The applicant, Wisconsin-based develop
ment company Continental Properties,
wants the property to be rezoned from
Commercial Highway Business to
Residential Multi-Family for the purpose
of building the townhome apartments.
In the rezoning application, Planning
and Development projected the com
plex’s density would be about six units
per acre density neutral, which aligns
with the Future Land Use plan and resi
dential multi-family density neutral poli
cies.
“The proposed infill development will
improve an under-used parcel within an
existing area that is developed,” Planning
stated. “The site is over eighteen acres of
vacant land within an established com
mercial node, which, for various reasons,
has been passed over in the normal
course of commercial growth.”
Senior development director Gwyn
Wheeler spoke for Continental during
the meeting. She said the company has
been around for four decades, during
which time it’s developed 30,000 multi
family residences.
There are two locations of the compa
ny’s Springs luxury apartment brand in
Georgia, one in Newnan and another in
McDonough, and construction is ongo
ing on the company’s workforce housing
Authentix complex in Cartersville.
Their development proposed in
Dawson County would fall under their
forthcoming Avanterra brand of homes.
These homes would range in size from
983 to 1,860 square feet and have
between one and four bedrooms, accord
ing to Continental’s application packet.
Each residence’s layout, be it for a
ranch or two-story structure, would
include an open concept with stainless
steel appliances, solid surface counter-
tops and washer and dryer, with some
units also having fenced-in yards.
Units would have either an elongated
driveway or a one or two-car attached
garage with space for one to two cars in
the driveway.
Garages for the complex here would
have to be attached rather than detached
to meet local zoning criteria.
“The ones you see [on the presenta
tion] that are standing alone would be
attached to another one at the garage, so
it’d be near it,” Wheeler said. “We tried
to do our best to keep any living spaces
separated, so you’re not having any com
mon walls at a bedroom.”
There would be an amenities area with
a central clubhouse, dog park and swim
ming pool.
Tenants will have standard one-year
leases to rent their homes, and the man
agement team will all be personnel from
Continental, rather than a third-party.
“It’s going to be a great housing
option for the aging population and the
younger folks coming out of college,”
she said. “They (millennials) have a sig
nificant amount of disposable income
but they don’t want to spend it on their
house. They don’t want to have to worry
about having to pay taxes...they’d rather
spend it on shopping at [places like] the
outlet mall and restaurants.”
Wheeler explained that Dawson
County’s employment base, education
and incomes made a possible project
appealing in the area.
“The housing supply is not meeting
demand,” Wheeler said. “You can see
that by the rents that are currently get
ting aschewed, the occupancies and the
construction permits are not meeting
demand. That’s what’s driving up the
housing prices we’re hearing about every
day on the news, and it’s turning people
to renting.. .also over-purchasing.”
She shared an Apartment List statistic
that 12 percent of millennials are choos
ing not to buy and characterized renting
as a choice “not that they can’t buy all
the time, but that they don’t want to.”
Continental’s rezone application stated
it hopes the Avanterra development will
appeal to people making an average
household income of $150,000.
Updated 2020 U.S. Census results for
Dawson County showed that married-
couple families in the area make a medi
an income of $102,404, with local fami
lies in general making $86,206.
Chairman Hamby asked about price
points for monthly rent.
“Our base rent for today-and we do
use revenue management so it’s hard to
say what it would be when would be
when we broke ground-but right now,
our projected rent starts at about $1,700
for a one-bedroom up to about $2,500
for a one-bedroom,” Wheeler said, “and
that would be base rent.”
Things like the garage or upgraded
finishes would cost extra, she added.
Hamby also asked whether units had
ever been sold in Continental’s other
developments. She explained that when
they were previously only building two
to three communities a year, they would
need to sell a certain percentage of a
community in order to fund future devel
opment.
“Since then, we’ve grown within our
investment group, gotten some trusted
development partners and established
some trusted development partners and
established some trusted development
funds,” said Wheeler, “so we’ve hit a
place with our capital investment that we
no longer need to fund new development
by selling old development.”
She did clarify that sometimes, selling
is an operational decision when, say, no
other Continental complexes are nearby
to offer support and added that locating
near Atlanta would help the company
concentrate in the area market for better
operational efficiency.
She also shared that with their prod
ucts, they typically see 10 percent of res
idents with school-aged children, as
opposed to a traditional single-family
subdivision with more kids.
Roads and parking
Wheeler described the land as a chal
lenging piece of property in terms of its
topographic and environmental consider
ations and characterized their proposed
community as a better fit than a com
mercial entity would be.
Dawson County’s engineering depart
ment said that in light of this project,
they’re requesting a traffic study for
Beartooth Parkway, widening of parts of
Beartooth, turn lanes off of it and state
routes and the possibility of additional
right of way.
Continental has yet to conduct an in-
depth traffic study but would be open to
doing that, Wheeler said.
The planning department said that
development is “logical due to the lack
of adequate frontage on an arterial or
collector roadway,” adding that any sen
sitive resources would be addressed dur
ing the land development review process
and that any landscaping and screening
shall be “in accordance with the Dawson
County Code, as amended.”
When Tim Bennett asked about sight
distance concerns at the sharp curve on
Beartooth, Wheeler said that she’d imag
ine there would be a lot of clearing.
“As much as we would love to keep as
much of the existing vegetation that is
there, I don’t imagine there’ll be a lot
left, and then we can have that opportu
nity to open up vision corridors,” she
said.
Etowah Water & Sewer Authority
would require a water main and sewer
extension, upgrade or relocation required
to serve the development, according to
the application packet. That must be
designed and installed per EWSA speci
fications at the developer’s expense.
Wheeler explained that Continental
has not yet done thorough, in-depth
engineering, though they are mindful of
parking and other site constraints.
John Maloney pointed out that apart
ment communities typically have addi
tional parking or storage to prevent run
ning out of room on driveways or having
to park on sidewalks.
Wheeler mentioned there would be
off-street parking for visitors by the
clubhouse, on the development’s north
side near Dawson Village Way and off
toward the eastern exit.
“We worked with staff and the fire
department to try to make sure we’ve
taken into consideration the criteria
[and] met the code...we will continue to
try to enhance the parking situation as
much as we can,” she added.
Maloney recommended “at least a
two-car parking driveway” to avoid a fire
or public safety hazard since even with a
one bedroom-unit, two people are likely
to live there.
Local development consultant Jim
King, who’s working with Continental,
did point out that code enforcement for
parking would be easier since on-site
managers would be the sole contact as
representatives of the one owner,
Continental.
King later added that for the units with
garages, those structures are set to the
rear of lots.
Maloney said it wasn’t so much about
who enforces parking but about the engi
neering.
“You can engineer it so you don’t have
the problem,” he said to King, “ or you
can have a problem, and then you have a
problem that has to be somehow
enforced and then you have an issue
with public safety trying to get in there
and fight a fire.”
Man arraigned on simple
battery for allegedly touching
toddler inappropriately
By Julia Fechter
jfechter@dawsonnews.com
A Dawsonville man has been
arraigned on one misdemeanor
simple battery charge after alleg
edly inappropriately touching a
toddler at the local Walmart in
November.
The Dawson County Sheriff’s
Office arrested Manuel Morales-Tzaj,
47, the evening of Nov. 13, 2021, fol
lowing an incident at the Dawsonville
Walmart.
Morales-Tzaj’s warrant and indict
ment allege that sometime between 7-8
p.m. that night, he touched the female
child on her head , arm and back while
she was standing up in a grocery
cart.
The incident was immediately
reported, and a DCSO deputy
responded to the supermarket at
about 7:30 p.m., according to the
warrant. Morales-Tzaj was
arrested around 9 p.m.
The warrant was issued for
Morales-Tzaj on Nov. 15 and
two days later, he was released from
DCSO custody on a $5,700 bond.
The victim’s father previously posted
to the “Focus on Dawson” Facebook
group thanking the sheriff’s office,
Walmart’s security and a witness for
their “fast response and investigation.”
DCN will continue to follow this case.
Morales-Tzaj
City of Dawsonville FY 2022-2023 Budget Notice
The City of Dawsonville hereby gives public notice that the proposed
FY 2022-2023 City of Dawsonville budget was presented to the Mayor
and City Council at the May 16, 2022 regular City Council Meeting and
Work Session.
Interested persons may view a copy of the proposed FY 2022-2023
budget at City Hall, 415 Highway 53 E, Dawsonville, Georgia, during
regular business hours, Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM until 4:30 PM.
In addition, the proposed budget has been placed on the City’s website:
www. dawsonville -ga.gov
The Mayor and City Council will hold a Public Hearing to receive
public comments on the proposed FY 2022-2023 Budget at 5:00 PM on
Monday, June 6, 2022 in the G.L. Gilleland Council Chambers on the
2nd Floor of Dawsonville City Hall, 415 Highway 53 E, Dawsonville,
Georgia, at the regular City Council Meeting.
Adoption of the budget will be considered at the regular City Council
Meeting and Work Session on June 20, 2022 at 5:00 PM, in the G.L.
Gilleland Council Chambers on the 2nd Floor of Dawsonville City Hall,
415 Highway 53, Dawsonville, Georgia.
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