Newnan Council cuts daycare buffer to 300 feet, approves 33-unit townhome rezoning and other measures

The Newnan City Council on May 2025 approved two major land-use items and a package of administrative and routine actions, including a contested change to the city’s zoning rules for child day care centers and a rezoning to allow a 33‑unit townhome project on Newnan Crossing Boulevard East.

The council voted 6-1 to amend the zoning ordinance’s distance requirement for child day care centers and certain related uses, shrinking the minimum separation from 1,000 feet to 300 feet while keeping a 1,000-foot buffer for any future juvenile detention facility. Planning staff said the change responds to repeated requests from potential operators and the city’s growing population of young families; opponents warned it could worsen vehicle stacking and pickup/drop-off congestion near some schools and existing day cares.

"300 feet is a similar radius difference we use for things like alcohol sales, respected churches, and substance abuse facilities," said Mr. Smith, planning staff, describing the basis for the recommendation. Smith also told the council the 300-foot measurement would be from property line to property line rather than building face to building face. Council debate focused on traffic and whether the change would invite clusters of day cares on constrained streets. The ordinance passed 6-1.

The council also approved rezoning application RZ2020Five-two, filed by Stephen L. Jones on behalf of GHV Newnan LLC, to reclassify an 8.3-acre parcel on Newnan Crossing Boulevard East from OI1 (low-density office/institutional) to RU7 (urban residential single-family) for a proposed townhome development.

Planning staff and the applicant described the concept as a…