The Alpharetta Planning Commission voted to forward a rezoning and site-plan recommendation for the Wooten Tract Townhomes to city council, approving staff-recommended conditions with a reworded Condition 14 that addresses buffering and possible sound-wall installation along Georgia 400.

The project, proposed by David Weekley Homes for an approximately 10-acre parcel at the Beaver Creek/Georgia 400/Mansell area, would build townhomes with rear-loaded garages, shared amenity spaces and bioretention stormwater features. Steven Jones, attorney for the applicant, said the applicant consents to the 19 staff conditions and urged the commission to recommend approval to council.

The commission focused substantial discussion on two corridor issues: the widening of Georgia 400 and an existing on-site billboard. Commissioners and staff said the plan accounts for the planned Georgia 400 right-of-way and includes a 60-foot replanting buffer from that right-of-way; the applicant agreed to a 25-foot buffer around the billboard to separate residences from the sign. At the hearing, the applicant’s representative explained the billboard is under a separate, existing lease and that the parcel owner was unwilling to sell the billboard easement to the buyer.

Billy Stockard, representing David Weekley Homes, said the developer initially attempted to purchase the small parcel under the billboard but the owner had an extant lease with Lamar Advertising and declined to sell. "He gets a mailbox check every month," Stockard said, explaining why the owner kept the easement.

Commissioners pressed staff and the applicant on noise barriers and how screening would be delivered if Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) does not build a sound wall as part of the highway expansion. Staff said GDOT has secured right-of-way and that the site plan accommodates the expansion; staff and the applicant said they will continue to try to coordinate with GDOT but cannot commit to GDOT actions. The commission’s amended Condition 14 makes that contingency explicit: if GDOT does not construct a noise barrier along the property as part of its expansion, the developer would be required to take measures to install a sound wall on its property between the billboard and screening landscaping, subject to staff approval.

The applicant explained landscaping plans for the Georgia 400 buffer would rely on faster-growing evergreen species—examples cited during the hearing included Cryptomeria and Arborvitae Green Giants—to create screening sooner. The site plan also includes a bioretention stormwater area outside the mapped floodplain and extensions of a public greenway along Big Creek; staff said the city’s stormwater engineer reviewed the plan and did not flag improvements proposed in the floodplain.

Commissioners asked whether private streets or dedications would affect storm-drain maintenance; staff said storm drains would remain the city’s purview and easements would be in favor of the city. Applicant materials shown at the hearing noted two-car garages for the townhomes, additional driveway space, and approximately 18 overflow parking spaces; the applicant said the project is "over parked" relative to minimums.

After discussion the commission member made a motion to recommend approval of the rezoning and site plan (file listed in the record as CLUP-25-03/Z-25-05/V-25-18) with staff conditions and a reworded Condition 14 addressing the Georgia 400 buffer and sound wall; the motion was seconded and the commission approved the recommendation. The commission chair said city council will consider the application at its next docket (noted as "the 28th" in the meeting).