Braselton council approves plans for apartments
Thursday, February 16. 2012
Despite opposition from area residents, the Braselton Town Council approved a rezoning request on Monday that will include almost 300 apartments in a mixed-use project.
Spout Springs Partners, LLC, asked that its 17.89-acre property at the corner of Spout Springs Road and Thompson Mill Road in South Hall be rezoned from General Commercial (G-C) to Planned Unit Development (PUD).
Council members Tony Funari, Dudley Ray and Peggy Slappey voted in favor of the request, while Braselton Mayor Bill Orr and council member Richard Mayberry voted in opposition.
About 20 people attended a public hearing on Thursday, when the council took comments from the audience. An estimated 15 people attended Monday’s brief council voting session.
Jeff Mahaffey, an attorney representing Spout Springs Partners, told the Braselton Town Council during Thursday’s public hearing that the new zoning designation would allow the company to build a mixed-use development that would serve as a “transition” from a neighboring retirement center under construction to the nearby commercial developments.
He also said the proposal would provide diversity from other commercial projects in the area, while balancing the housing market.
But several nearby residents pointed to their concerns about the project’s housing density and its affect on local roads.
“There are much better roads to put such a dense development on than a two-lane crossstreet,” said Bruce Brown, a resident of Chateau Elan.
Spout Springs Partners plans to build a total of 278 apartments spread across nine buildings on its property. Thirty of those residential units will be located on the upper floors of two buildings along Thompson Mill Road. Those buildings will also have retail space on the lower levels.
Mahaffey said the residential units will all be leased by the same rental company for the one, two and three-bedroom apartments planned in the development. For a three-bedroom unit, the monthly rent will be $1,200.
A market analysis showed the need for the complex in South Hall, he added.
“It will be a positive development, a quality development,” Mahaffey said.
Gary Amato — an architect who lives the Pemberton Point subdivision — said while the initial commercial plans for the property were “spot on,” the mixed-use plans didn’t fit the area.
“I think that diverting from that is the wrong choice,” he said.
Amato said that the site plan for the property showed buildings that appeared too close to the roadway of Thompson Mill Road — a design that seemed similar to more urbanized areas.
Brand Morgan, one of the owners of Spout Springs Partners, said the company wants to create an urbanized setting for the mixed-use development.
“We want individuals to live upstairs, walk downstairs, have a cup of coffee at a local retailer and maybe even walk down the street to the Publix grocery store,” he added.
Brown pointed to a traffic study of the busy intersection of Spout Springs Road and Thompson Mill Road that estimated that 111 vehicles from the development would travel in and out of it during peak times. Brown said he believed that figure was “grossly underestimated.”
Mahaffey later countered he believed that the figures were accurate, as they reflect traffic flow for one hour at a time. Residents in a development typically spread their commutes over several hours in a day, he added.
Spout Springs Partners spent $985,000 to make improvements to the intersection of Spout Springs Road and Thompson Mill Road, including the installation of a traffic signal in 2010, according to Mahaffey.
He contended that a commercial development on the property — as initially planned — would add more vehicles to the roadway than residential units. Mahaffey explained that the intersection could handle the mixed-use development.
“That intersection was studied and designed with a commercial project in mind,” he said.
Phyllis Mercer, Hoschton, said she believed that there is a lack of planning infrastructure in the area for the development. She called the proposal “irresponsible” for not taking into account a closer location of a fire station with a ladder in Hall County to handle a potential fire in an apartment complex. The apartment buildings in the complex will be four stories.
“Should there be an emergency, can you honestly face the public and say, ‘Well, we had fire walls and we had an alarm system, but we saw no need for a fire truck equipped enough to fight a mid-rise blaze,’” Mercer said.
When later questioned by the town council about fire protection, Mahaffey said there’s fire equipment in the area to handle a potential blaze.
Town manager Jennifer Dees said the new hospital for Northeast Georgia Medical Center on Thompson Mill Road will be five stories. Council member Dudley Ray said a three-story building proposed for the area was once denied by a fire marshal.
Mercer also questioned that development’s potential impact on schools in Hall County. When later asked by the town council, Morgan said the company had not contacted the Hall County School System.
“On average, if you run the math on the residents at our other developments, we’ll have 38 kids — so that’s the number that we’d come up with,” said Morgan, while adding that company officials don’t believe that 38 kids would affect the school system.
The unnamed development will be a gated community featuring an amenity center with fitness center, a cyber café, and a pool for residents.
Besides the apartment buildings and two buildings along Thompson Mill Road for lower-level retail and upper-level residential space, the project will include two additional retail buildings.
Initial plans submitted to the town once showed that an Aldi was planned for the property, but Mahaffey later said that it is unlikely that the discount grocer will open on the site. A revised site plan later submitted to Braselton designated that building without the name of a potential tenant.
Council members Tony Funari, Dudley Ray and Peggy Slappey voted in favor of the request, while Braselton Mayor Bill Orr and council member Richard Mayberry voted in opposition.
About 20 people attended a public hearing on Thursday, when the council took comments from the audience. An estimated 15 people attended Monday’s brief council voting session.
Jeff Mahaffey, an attorney representing Spout Springs Partners, told the Braselton Town Council during Thursday’s public hearing that the new zoning designation would allow the company to build a mixed-use development that would serve as a “transition” from a neighboring retirement center under construction to the nearby commercial developments.
He also said the proposal would provide diversity from other commercial projects in the area, while balancing the housing market.
But several nearby residents pointed to their concerns about the project’s housing density and its affect on local roads.
“There are much better roads to put such a dense development on than a two-lane crossstreet,” said Bruce Brown, a resident of Chateau Elan.
Spout Springs Partners plans to build a total of 278 apartments spread across nine buildings on its property. Thirty of those residential units will be located on the upper floors of two buildings along Thompson Mill Road. Those buildings will also have retail space on the lower levels.
Mahaffey said the residential units will all be leased by the same rental company for the one, two and three-bedroom apartments planned in the development. For a three-bedroom unit, the monthly rent will be $1,200.
A market analysis showed the need for the complex in South Hall, he added.
“It will be a positive development, a quality development,” Mahaffey said.
Gary Amato — an architect who lives the Pemberton Point subdivision — said while the initial commercial plans for the property were “spot on,” the mixed-use plans didn’t fit the area.
“I think that diverting from that is the wrong choice,” he said.
Amato said that the site plan for the property showed buildings that appeared too close to the roadway of Thompson Mill Road — a design that seemed similar to more urbanized areas.
Brand Morgan, one of the owners of Spout Springs Partners, said the company wants to create an urbanized setting for the mixed-use development.
“We want individuals to live upstairs, walk downstairs, have a cup of coffee at a local retailer and maybe even walk down the street to the Publix grocery store,” he added.
Brown pointed to a traffic study of the busy intersection of Spout Springs Road and Thompson Mill Road that estimated that 111 vehicles from the development would travel in and out of it during peak times. Brown said he believed that figure was “grossly underestimated.”
Mahaffey later countered he believed that the figures were accurate, as they reflect traffic flow for one hour at a time. Residents in a development typically spread their commutes over several hours in a day, he added.
Spout Springs Partners spent $985,000 to make improvements to the intersection of Spout Springs Road and Thompson Mill Road, including the installation of a traffic signal in 2010, according to Mahaffey.
He contended that a commercial development on the property — as initially planned — would add more vehicles to the roadway than residential units. Mahaffey explained that the intersection could handle the mixed-use development.
“That intersection was studied and designed with a commercial project in mind,” he said.
Phyllis Mercer, Hoschton, said she believed that there is a lack of planning infrastructure in the area for the development. She called the proposal “irresponsible” for not taking into account a closer location of a fire station with a ladder in Hall County to handle a potential fire in an apartment complex. The apartment buildings in the complex will be four stories.
“Should there be an emergency, can you honestly face the public and say, ‘Well, we had fire walls and we had an alarm system, but we saw no need for a fire truck equipped enough to fight a mid-rise blaze,’” Mercer said.
When later questioned by the town council about fire protection, Mahaffey said there’s fire equipment in the area to handle a potential blaze.
Town manager Jennifer Dees said the new hospital for Northeast Georgia Medical Center on Thompson Mill Road will be five stories. Council member Dudley Ray said a three-story building proposed for the area was once denied by a fire marshal.
Mercer also questioned that development’s potential impact on schools in Hall County. When later asked by the town council, Morgan said the company had not contacted the Hall County School System.
“On average, if you run the math on the residents at our other developments, we’ll have 38 kids — so that’s the number that we’d come up with,” said Morgan, while adding that company officials don’t believe that 38 kids would affect the school system.
The unnamed development will be a gated community featuring an amenity center with fitness center, a cyber café, and a pool for residents.
Besides the apartment buildings and two buildings along Thompson Mill Road for lower-level retail and upper-level residential space, the project will include two additional retail buildings.
Initial plans submitted to the town once showed that an Aldi was planned for the property, but Mahaffey later said that it is unlikely that the discount grocer will open on the site. A revised site plan later submitted to Braselton designated that building without the name of a potential tenant.
GOOD JOB BRASELTON...NOT!