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Commission recommends annexation, rezoning for Avamore site with conditions after resident concerns
Summary
The City of Villa Rica Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of annexation and rezoning for the Avamore parcels (RA0125/ANX0125/ANX0225) to accommodate a proposed data center, but attached conditions including a 200-foot wooded buffer to residential properties, 300-foot setbacks or screening for noisy ground equipment, structures built two feet above base flood elevation, and a required traffic study.
The City of Villa Rica Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously to recommend approval of a multi-parcel annexation and rezoning request for the Avamore property (RA0125, ANX0125, ANX0225), subject to conditions aimed at reducing impacts on neighboring residences and addressing infrastructure questions.
Diana DiSanto, interim city manager, summarized the application: the applicant seeks annexation and rezoning of parcels identified as 1680090 (Hickory Level Road, 32.06 acres) and 1690120 (2664 South Van Wert Road, amended to 182.46 acres) from Carroll County agricultural/conservation designations to a planned unit development (PUD) with the Technology Park Overlay District. The application would replace previously approved residential components with an industrial/technology-park use; staff recommended approval based on the comprehensive plan and the newly adopted Technology Park Overlay District.
Brandon Bowen, the applicant's zoning attorney, told the commission the project is structured as a data center campus and emphasized low ongoing traffic and the fiscal benefits to the city from property and personal property taxes and franchise fees. Bowen said engineering, environmental, floodplain and utility analyses would be completed as the project advances and that development agreements would address utility provisioning.
The commission hearing included extended public comment. Multiple residents who live along South Van Wert and Hickory Level Road urged the commission to delay or deny annexation and rezoning until the applicant provided environmental studies, a traffic analysis, water and sewer plans and clearer site plans. Concerns cited in public comment included wetlands and floodplain impacts, heavy construction traffic on narrow local roads, sewage and wastewater routing, and potential noise and generator impacts.
Commission discussion focused on mitigation conditions that would reduce impacts to nearby residents. Commissioners and staff noted the property’s location on the Highway 61 corridor, the presence of transmission infrastructure and fiber (assets attractive to data-center users), and the potential that the site is better suited to nonresidential uses than to large-scale residential subdivision. Staff also noted that water is provided by Carroll County in portions of the area and that sewer conveyance and capacity would be required through a development agreement.
At the conclusion of the hearing, a commissioner moved to recommend annexation and rezoning for the two parcels and the proposed parcel split, subject to the staff-recommended conditions plus additional requirements from commissioners. The commission’s recommendation to council includes these conditions: remove residential components of the previously approved PUD; require a minimum 200-foot buffer composed of wooded planting between any residential property (or parcel containing a residence) and data center buildings; require that ground-mounted equipment that emits noise (generators, cooling systems, etc.) be located at least 300 feet from residential parcels or be screened by the buildings themselves; require that any structures be built at least two feet above the base flood elevation (one-foot state standard was noted as typical); and require a traffic study completed by the applicant. The motion also incorporated staff’s conditions: that water utilization, sewer capacity and conveyance be addressed through a development agreement; that residential components be removed; and that properties adhere to Technology Park Overlay District standards, including a minimum 100-foot buffer from residential zoning districts.
Planning and Zoning voted unanimously to recommend approval to City Council. Commissioners and residents noted that multiple additional technical reviews (floodplain/hydrology, traffic, environmental, utility agreements) and subsequent permitting and development-agreement negotiations would be required before site plan approval or construction could proceed. City staff said the item will be heard by council on May 13 and that a DRI (Development of Regional Impact) review is underway with 3 Rivers on a 30-day review schedule.
