Milton planning commission backs use permit for Ebenezer Methodist’s event facility with stricter noise and traffic conditions

The City of Milton Planning Commission on March 26 recommended approval of a use permit allowing Ebenezer Methodist Church to operate a rural event facility at 12900 Arnold Mill Road, but added tighter limits on outdoor sound and new traffic controls.

Staff presented the application for a third‑party operated event center inside an existing 23,000‑square‑foot activity center on a 6.61‑acre church campus. The applicant requested a maximum of 300 attendees for events that would use the interior activity center plus an adjacent pavilion and small outdoor seating area. Robin McDonald of the Community Development Department told the commission the site is zoned AG‑1 and lies inside the city’s Rural Milton Overlay; staff recommended approval with standard conditions and suggested hours and delivery windows.

The commission’s change narrowed an originally proposed staff standard for outdoor amplified sound and rewrote a traffic condition. Commissioners substituted the word “area” for “amphitheater,” set an amplified‑sound limit of 55 decibels measured at any residential property line during the approved event hours, and required the applicant to retain one or more off‑duty police officers to manage traffic for every event expected to generate more than 100 participants. The commission voted 4‑1 to recommend approval with those changes.

Staff said the church building already has a previously approved use permit and concurrent variances tied to prior approvals, including reduced parking that produced 144 parking spaces on site (previously required minimum was 220). The UDC’s parking standard for a rural event facility is one parking space per 2.5 attendees (120 spaces for 300 attendees), and staff noted the existing 144 spaces meet that requirement. McDonald also explained that the site provides a 75‑foot undisturbed buffer on two property edges and a 40‑foot landscape strip along the road, and that the Fire Marshal requires occupancy (Certificate of Occupancy) checks before the space can be used by third parties.

Several neighbors who live across the street in Roswell objected during public comment. Samantha Evans and her spouse Ryan Evans, who live at 507 Etris Court, told the commission the pavilion and outdoor seating sit directly across the street from their homes and expressed concerns about sound, late‑night activity and enforcement. Sarah Moen, president of the Providence Plantation HOA, raised technical concerns about proposed noise levels and the potential impact on a nearby private school for children with auditory processing issues. Rocco Pizzo, another nearby resident, said an outdoor venue and beer/wine service operated by a private business raised concerns about scope creep beyond the church’s originally described uses.

Applicant Michael McGuire, who identified himself as chair of the church trustees, described the facility as intended primarily for community events, small concerts, gatherings and weddings, said the church’s internal policy prohibits alcohol at church‑sponsored events, and said the church will require the contracted operator (Gracious Gatherings) to follow church rules and the city conditions. McGuire said large events will use existing parking and that the operator will arrange off‑site parking or off‑duty officers where needed.

Commission discussion ranged over decibel standards used at other rural event facilities in the region. Commissioners noted Little River Farms had a 45 dBA limit measured at the property line and that staff had proposed a 75 dBA standard; the commission adopted 55 dBA at the residential property line as its recommendation. Commissioners also removed the suggested “two complaints” trigger and instead required off‑duty officers for every event expected to generate more than 100 participants.

The commission’s recommendation will be forwarded to the Milton Mayor and City Council for final disposition. The Planning Commission recorded the vote as a 4‑1 recommendation in favor of the use permit with the conditions described.