Milton planning commission unanimously recommends denial of 20-unit preliminary plat at 2655 Acre Road

The Milton Planning Commission on June 4 unanimously recommended that the director of community development deny a preliminary plat submitted by Epic Design and Build LLC to subdivide 3.79–3.87 acres at 2655 Acre Road for 20 townhomes.

The recommendation followed a staff report that identified a survey error affecting the project’s density and an opinion from the city attorney’s office that the plan would require a warrant for front-entry garages, which would make the application subject to a moratorium the mayor and council continued on Feb. 3, 2025. Zoning manager Robin McDonald told commissioners staff found both the acreage discrepancy and the attorney opinion and presented that as the basis of the staff report.

Why it matters: The project sits in the city’s Deerfield form-based (T4 permissive) district and will be reviewed against the Milton Unified Development Code (UDC). Neighbors and several speakers at the public hearing told commissioners the proposal is inconsistent with the Deerfield vision for lower-density, Miltonesque development along State Route 9 and raised traffic, sewer, tree protection and neighborhood character concerns.

Key facts and proposals

- Applicant: Epic Design and Build LLC; represented at the hearing by land-use attorney Ethan Underwood of Underwood Scoggins. - Site: identified in the application as 3.87 acres (platted) and in other survey documents as 3.792 acres; the acreage discrepancy was flagged by a resident and discussed in the hearing. - Proposal: preliminary plat for 20 townhome units; applicant said it would remove four units on the northeast…