Gainesville council approves rezoning for 64-unit mixed‑income project; requires Wall Street access and fencing

The Gainesville City Council on May 6 unanimously approved a rezoning request from the Gainesville Housing Authority to reclassify a 4.13‑acre tract on the northwest side of the Myrtle Street intersections as a planned unit development for a four‑story, 64‑unit apartment building serving market‑rate and affordable households.

Planning staff told the council the project would offer units targeted at about 60 percent of area median income and would rely heavily on the Georgia Department of Community Affairs low‑income housing tax credit program. Planning staff described the development as a two‑phase project; the second phase would require a future zoning amendment and another public hearing.

“This mixed income housing will provide solutions along a spectrum of affordability to address the mismatch between the available housing stock and shifting demographics, providing housing for nurses, retail employees, and young families, what is often referred to in this community as the missing middle,” Joy Griffin, a board member of the Gainesville Housing Authority, told the council.

The plan submitted to the city shows 89 on‑site parking spaces, a 3,500‑square‑foot amenity building and outdoor play space. Opponents and nearby businesses raised safety concerns about the proposed primary driveway on Osborne Street and the possibility of residents or guests cutting through adjacent clinic parking.

“The entire property shall be fenced and gated,” Jennifer Gibbs, representing the Guilford Clinics owners, urged the council when she asked that fencing and controlled access be required by the rezoning. Gibbs also pressed for vehicular access to be directed to Wall Street rather than Osborne Street to reduce conflicts with clinic traffic.

Josh Marks of Regent Partners, the development partner, said the design team intended a gated community and was willing to study alternate driveway locations, though he asked the council to allow flexibility for future phases. “It will be fenced, and gated,” Marks said, adding the product would be similar to previous gated Gainesville Housing Authority partnerships.

Council members amended the planning board’s recommended conditions before voting. The council revised condition 5 to state that vehicular access must be limited to Wall Street and Myrtle Street, and added a new condition requiring the entire property to be fenced and gated. The motion to approve the rezoning, with the six existing conditions as amended, passed unanimously.

Because the proposal would be built in phases, the council noted that any future expansion beyond the first phase would return to the council for review and public hearings.