Council schedules public hearing on Avamore annexation, technology‑park rezoning after planning commission approval

Mayor Leslie McPherson and the Villa Rica Mayor and Council on May 6 set a public hearing for next Tuesday on Avamore LLC/Avamore Georgia LLC’s annexation and rezoning application for roughly 214.5 acres and related PUD changes, after the Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously to approve the items with conditions.

The planning and zoning administrator, Sean Daniels, told the council the applicant—identified in the meeting as Avamore/Atlas Development—seeks annexation and rezoning of two properties (182.46 acres off South Van Wert and 32.066 acres off Hickory Level Road) to a planned unit development with the city’s newly adopted Technology Park overlay. City staff recommended approval with conditions including an agreement on water and sewer conveyance and capacity, removal of the residential component from the PUD, adherence to Technology Park standards, and a minimum 100‑foot buffer from residential districts.

The Planning and Zoning Commission’s additional recommended conditions read into the record included: a 200‑foot buffer from residential properties, a 300‑foot buffer between ground equipment (generators, cooling systems) and residences unless screened by a building, requiring structures to be built 2 feet above flood elevation (the Georgia standard is 1 foot), and completion of a traffic study prior to development permit approval.

Developer representative Brandon Bowen, who identified himself as counsel for Atlas Development, told the council the ownership of the parcels has changed since the project was last before the council and that the new owner is a data‑center developer. Bowen said the site has not been fully engineered and that, if council approves at the public hearing, engineering, coordination with the county water authority, and a development agreement would follow: "even if council approves this next Tuesday, that's just the beginning of a whole lot of other approvals that have to occur. It doesn't make the thing happen." He said the project team expects to work with engineers and the county to determine water availability and to return with an engineered site plan.

City Engineer and interim community development director Mark Teal summarized comments from the 3 Rivers Commission’s DRI review, which the council packet included. Teal said the DRI noted groundwater recharge and aquifer considerations, prime farmland soils on the site, proximity to a listed Williams Family Farm historic resource that may require mitigation measures, the need for a traffic study prior to a land development permit, flood‑plain and stormwater management issues to be addressed during permitting, and potential wastewater and hazardous‑materials concerns tied to the data‑center uses. He also noted a perpetual conservation easement held by Chaddawa Open Land Trust on an adjacent property and urged "extreme care" at the boundary.

Council members asked about water reuse and ownership changes. Daniels and Bowen said water would be addressed in the engineering and development‑agreement phase and that reuse and recycled water strategies could be part of the design. Staff also said portions of the property currently are served by county utilities, not the city, so unification of conveyance and service would be part of conditions.

The council did not take final action on the annexation or rezoning at the May 6 work session; instead, the items were set for a formal public hearing next Tuesday per standard procedure. The Planning and Zoning Commission’s unanimous approval and the 3 Rivers DRI comments will be part of the record at the hearing.

The council and applicant repeatedly clarified that annexation and rezoning approvals would not by themselves authorize construction: subsequent engineering, service agreements and permits are required.

For more detail, the council packet contains the Planning and Zoning Commission report, the 3 Rivers DRI review, and the draft Technology Park overlay standards referenced by staff.