Commission approves rezoning for 74-acre mixed-use Ridge Road development with conditions

The Hall County Board of Commissioners approved rezoning on Feb. 25 for a roughly 74.38-acre tract on the east side of Ridge Road at Friendship Road to allow a mixed-use project that combines commercial space, multifamily apartments, townhomes and detached single-family homes.

Planning staff said Scott Puckett Inc.'s revised plan was vetted by county staff and unanimously recommended by the Planning Commission with conditions. The applicant, represented by Tyler Smith of Smith, Gilliam, Williams & Miles, said the project was iteratively revised with county staff and the planning commission; recent changes increased ground-floor commercial square footage in multifamily buildings and reduced the multifamily unit count (for example, commercial grew from 16,000 to as much as 39,000 square feet while multifamily units were reduced from 274 to 250 in the revised plan).

Smith described project components: mixed-use buildings with retail/restaurant at the ground floor and multifamily above, townhomes (stacked product, up to six units per building), detached single-family houses on lots roughly 8,000 square feet with a 1,800-square-foot minimum, and a small hotel. He said the multifamily buildings would be roughly 850 square feet per unit on average for the apartment product cited during the hearing and that townhome units range roughly between 1,870 and 2,300 square feet.

Commissioner discussion focused on preserving the approved layout while granting limited flexibility for minor adjustments during construction and ensuring commercial space is provided. Commissioner (name not specified), who placed the motion, said the board would allow some layout flexibility for market or tenant needs but required substantial changes to return to the board. The motion included several substantive changes: increase commercial allowance from 16,000 to a range of 39,000–65,000 square feet, reduce the multifamily unit count from 274 to 251 (as reflected in the final condition language), and a condition requiring a minimum finished commercial component (proposed condition: 10,000 square feet minimum) tied to residential occupancy (the motion sought to require commercial completion at 50% of residential occupancy).

Planning Director Beth Garman was given discretion to approve small, non-material adjustments to the site layout; the board required that any extensive reconfiguration come back for board approval. The motion was seconded; the chair called for the question and the board recorded the vote. The item was acted on during the meeting and the chair recorded the vote with the board moving forward on the rezoning with the stipulated conditions.

Ending

The developer will proceed under the conditions adopted by the board; staff will ensure compliance with final approved site plan dates and that any material changes return to the board for approval.