Planning Commission debates standards for conservation subdivisions
Featured Stories August 18, 2021
Jessica Thorsen
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. – The Taylor Morrison Georgia, LLC application for rezoning 78.80 acres of land from A-1 to Res 2 Conservation Subdivision for the purpose of developing 93 residential lots generated a lengthy discussion about the definition of a conservation subdivision at Tuesday’s Planning Commission work session.
All four of the commissioners who attended the meeting said the application fails to meet the requirements for a conservation subdivision.
Commissioner Jessica Thorsen said, “I look at the purpose and intent section and I don’t feel like this meets it. It might meet the letter of the language, but I don’t think it meets the intent.”
Tim Dineen
Commissioner Tim Dineen said that 85 percent of the lots must abutt the open space, conservation spaces must be at least 25 feet wide and add up to a total of five acres. He agreed with Thorsen. “It complies with the letter of the law.” The property resides in his district and he indicated that he may ask for a postponement at the next meeting.
Commissioner Nedal Shawkat agreed but added, “We have a good builder who is sincere and is willing to work with us and get this right. Their design team is going to meet with Kerry ( Hill) and I and try to come up with something better.”
Commissioners also discussed a series of Unified Development Code modifications, including those related to dumpsters in residential districts and construction hours for concrete pours.
Proposed modification to construction hours would permit administrative approval of concrete pours outside regular hours. A request for after-hours pours must be approved by the Director of the Department of Building and Economic Development. Only projects with active commercial building permits would be eligible to apply.
The proposed modification that pertains to dumpsters would state that organic material capable of rotting can only remain on site for 30 days. Inert debris, construction and demolition waste can remain on site for 90 days. Also, the dumpsters would be permitted only under the following circumstances: Only when associated with an active building or land disturbance permit; Screened from view from all property lines.
Commission recommends denial of administrative variance modification
Featured Stories July 28, 2021
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Forsyth County Planning Commission approved a series of modifications to the proposed Unified Development Code during Tuesday’s meeting. One that did not get approved, however, related to administrative variances.
The proposed modification would have applied only to residential lots in excess of 25 acres and involved building setbacks capped at 15 percent that could potentially grow to 20 percent and lot width and total lot coverage of 15 percent.
Commissioners wrestled with that issue for close to an hour before Chairman Tim Dineen made the motion to deny. The motion passed 4-1 with Commissioner Jessica Thoreson opposed.
Three Forsyth County residents stepped forward to express their opposition based primarily on the lack of transparency in the process and most commissioners seemed to agree with them.
Les Dobbins told the commissioners, “There is a process to ask for a variance. They can formally do that through the variance process and not have it done without the transparency of an administrative variance.”
Other UDC modifications met with less gnashing of teeth. The Commission unanimousy approved modifications relating to:
- Specialty design standards;
- Residential design applicability with the addition or R2R, CR1, CR2 and LR;
- Timber harvesting;
- Exterior buffer requirements;
- Undisturbed areas of separation;
- Open space and low-impact stormwater design incentives.