Planning panel approves Traton Homes rezoning to RZL with conditions after density reduction

The Cherokee County Planning Commission on Oct. 7 recommended approval of a rezoning that would change 14.52 acres from agricultural (AG) to RZL for a single-family subdivision after the applicant reduced the plan to 43 lots.

The change, moved by Commissioner Ware and seconded by Commissioner Doss, passed on a 5-2 vote. The motion included four conditions: limit the development to 43 homes; maintain a 50-foot buffer on the west and north sides adjacent to the Mills Ridge subdivision (R-20); restrict the lots to for-sale units; and install a privacy fence along the buffer.

The request, originally presented at higher densities (59 lots followed by a 54-lot plan), was revised to 43 lots (about 3 units per acre), a density staff described as consistent with the suburban living character area in the county land-use plan. Thomas, a county staff member who presented the case, said the applicant had met with Mills Ridge residents and submitted letters both supporting and opposing the request.

Why it matters: commissioners framed the vote around changes the applicant made since the prior hearings and community concerns about privacy, buffers and traffic. The conditions added by the commission formalize concessions that staff said the applicant had offered in meetings with neighbors.

Commission discussion focused on the four concurrent variance requests: allowing 5-foot side setbacks where the ordinance otherwise required greater separation, permitting windows and doors on side elevations, allowing disturbance within a 35-foot zoning buffer adjacent to a power easement (with replanting), and permitting hammerhead turnarounds in place of cul-de-sacs. Thomas explained the power-line easement and the locations affected (lots 1–6 on the site plan) and noted any access from Prominence Point would require approval from the City of Canton during the land-disturbance permit phase.

Commissioner Ware told the panel, "I don't think we want this to go back to the City of Canton with 43 lots, so my motion would be to approve the RZL zoning." Thomas told the commission the fire department had no objection to hammerhead turnarounds provided the configuration met their backing-distance limits.

The commission voted on the variances separately. The side-setback variance and the allowance for windows and doors passed on recorded voice votes; the allowance to disturb and replant the 35-foot buffer adjacent to the power line was approved with the replanting requirement; and the hammerhead-turnaround variance was approved (the panel recorded the hammerhead recommendation as passing five-two). Commissioners noted that final lot numbering and the land-disturbance permit (LDP) review would determine some technical details.

Next steps: the applicant will proceed to the land-disturbance and permitting stage, where the city of Canton must approve any access onto Prominence Point and the county will review LDP-level engineering, planting and final lot configuration. The commission’s approval was a recommendation to the Board of Commissioners; implementation will require the standard permitting steps and coordination with Canton for street access.