Planning commission approves conservation subdivision on New Hope Road with larger home-size condition

The Henry County Planning Commission on a vote approved a conditional‑use request to allow a conservation subdivision on a 44.18‑acre tract along New Hope Road, permitting 50 single‑family lots and setting conditions that include a minimum 1‑acre lot size and a minimum 1,800 square‑foot house size.

The proposal, presented to the commission as CU‑24‑10‑81, was described by Heidi Lively, Planner I, as a conservation subdivision under the county ordinance that requires at least 40% of a site be preserved as open space. The applicant, Steve Moore of Moore Bass Consulting, told the commission the plan would preserve about 53% of the site and locate homes on clustered 1‑acre lots rather than larger conventional lots.

The conservation layout calls for a 50‑foot undisturbed buffer around the property and a 100‑foot buffer along New Hope Road. Because the property lies in the county watershed protection district, the proposal uses individual septic systems and—under county rules for limited‑development areas—proposes 1‑acre minimum lots. The applicant said the development would avoid a nearby 500‑foot water‑quality critical area adjacent to Peeksville Creek.

Neighbors and environmental advocates raised concerns during public comment about intermittent streams, stormwater runoff and long‑term water quality. Mark LaRue of the Walnut Creek Watershed Coalition asked whether intermittent streams on the site had been surveyed and whether a jurisdictional‑waters delineation had been completed. Mike Starnes, an adjacent property owner, and other nearby residents asked for larger houses and broader buffers to protect existing wooded lots.

In response, Moore said a wetland and stream delineation had been completed by Applied Environmental Sciences and that no jurisdictional waters fall inside the proposed development envelope; he also described proposed stormwater controls including earthen detention ponds designed to meet the Georgia Stormwater Manual and Henry County stormwater ordinance. Heidi Lively presented staff’s recommendation of approval with conditions and said county departments had reviewed the plan.

During the motion to approve, a commissioner added two amendments: require a minimum 1,800 square‑foot house size and confirm a 1‑acre minimum lot size for the conservation subdivision. The commission voted to approve the conditional use with those amendments; the motion passed unanimously.

The record at the Planning Commission includes staff presentations, the applicant’s site plan showing 50 one‑acre lots and 53% open space, public comments urging stricter water‑quality controls, and the applicant’s response describing the delineation and planned stormwater measures. The commission’s action is recorded as approval of CU‑24‑10‑81 with the conditions shown in the staff report plus the two floor‑area/lot‑size amendments.

The transcript does not specify subsequent administrative or permitting steps beyond the Commission’s vote.