Hoschton council approves conditional use allowing daycare and potential retail after rejecting traffic‑study amendment

Council member Tina Brown proposed and then lost an amendment to approve conditional use CU‑24‑1 only after adding a traffic‑study requirement; the council later approved the conditional use with the alternative change Tina Brown had sought — removing condition 12 that prohibited retail — but without requiring an independent traffic study.

The vote followed more than an hour of discussion about peak‑period traffic near Eagles Bluff Way, the proximity of West Jackson Elementary School, a new charter school, a car wash and a proposed daycare. Council members and residents warned that concentrated arrival and pick‑up times could create backups on Highway 53 and trigger unsafe turning movements; others said existing DOT research suggests a study is not warranted.

Why it matters: The decision changes permitted uses for the parcel next to the proposed daycare, allowing the developer the option to add retail uses that could generate sales tax revenue for the city. Opponents argued the site’s concentrated trip generators make additional study necessary to protect schoolchildren and commuters;…