Commissioners review multiple rezoning and site-plan requests, including 69-acre industrial proposal by Paul Grama Business Park LLC

The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners discussed multiple planning and zoning items at its Sept. 16 work session, including a 69-acre rezoning request for a business park near the county transfer station, a request to remove long-standing zoning conditions on industrial land near the airport, a postponed self-storage application, and two multi-parcel annexation/rezoning matters that drew interjurisdictional scrutiny.

Parks Hough / Paul Grama Business Park LLC (rezoning request)

Planning staff described a request to rezone roughly 69 acres from R80 (residential) to light industrial for a speculative business park across from the county transfer station and landfill and with frontage on Coker's Chapel Road and East Cherokee Drive. Planner Thomas Pray (staff) said the Planning Commission recommended denial; staff flagged streams, topography and floodplain on the site and noted that the current plan shows about 325,000 square feet of industrial buildings in up to 10 structures with separate access points. The developer proposed full-access drives on Coker's Chapel and East Cherokee; staff cited community concern about industrial access on Coker's Chapel and the need for intersection and entrance improvements.

Planning staff said the applicant had received a letter of neighbor support from the Pinions but that the project raises questions about whether the whole site can be served from East Cherokee Drive only, or whether limited access conditions should be required. Staff suggested a cap on total square footage if commissioners approve the rezoning to avoid an open-ended industrial buildout.

Osborne Enterprises (removal of zoning conditions)

A separate request sought to remove five zoning conditions applied to a 13.24-acre parcel originally rezoned in 2007 near the airport. Staff recounted the historic context: Bishop Road has been improved and Airport Drive rerouted since the original conditions were imposed; some new requirements (materials, buffers, access limitations and screening for outdoor storage) duplicate current ordinance requirements while others (a 50-foot buffer adjacent to residential and a prohibition on front-lot outdoor storage within 20 feet of lot boundaries) remain specific. The proposed development plan shows three buildings and about 128,000 square feet of industrial space; staff recommended preserving key design or buffer requirements while allowing removal of duplicative conditions.

Self-storage application (postponed)

A developer seeking to rezone an 11-acre site at 624 N. Rock Mill Road from R40 to light industrial and to secure a special-use permit for a self-storage facility asked for a two‑week postponement. The proposal includes variances for buffers, deceleration lanes and setbacks; staff noted the City of Holly Springs opposes the request while the City of Woodstock’s response included suggested conditions. Staff and the board agreed to the two‑week delay to allow follow-up on access and aesthetic conditions.

Ball Ground annexation / Gilmer Land Investments (33 single-family detached units)

Staff described an 11.45-acre annexation and rezoning request to the City of Ball Ground for a 33-lot single-family detached neighborhood (T&D zoning) that would become a Phase 2 extension of a nearby development. The applicant proposes several variances and a set of deed-restriction-style conditions (architectural materials, HOA maintenance responsibilities, a cap on density at 2.88 units per acre and limits on leasable units). Staff said the site plan remained under revision because of a proposed roundabout and transportation coordination with the City of Ball Ground.

Martin Marietta quarry / City of Nelson annexation and rezoning

A separate request from the City of Nelson seeks to annex and rezone roughly 654 acres (seven parcels) to heavy industrial to regularize an existing quarry operation that has operated for decades. Staff said the applicant reported no change in use is proposed and that existing quarry operations are already subject to multiple state permits (Georgia EPD air, mining and NPDES permits; state fire marshal for blasting) and federal mine safety rules. County staff and the City of Nelson exchanged conditions; staff proposed adding conditions that (1) limit future changes in use without county notification and (2) request that a portion of the southeastern parcel remain in AG (agriculture) zoning to preserve currently unused land. Ball Ground and Nelson both expressed concerns; staff reported the quarry operator did not engage the county initially and instead submitted to Nelson.

What commissioners asked

Commissioners pressed staff and applicants on traffic impacts, the feasibility of serving the full Parks Hough site from East Cherokee Drive, buffer widths adjacent to residential parcels, the merit of capping square footage for speculative industrial rezoning, and whether removing conditions on the Osborne parcel would leave sufficient design controls at the airport entrance. On the quarry rezoning, commissioners asked whether county oversight applied to quarry operations (staff replied that state mining permits are the primary regulatory authority) and whether the county could require the southeastern unused acreage remain in AG; staff recommended asking the applicant and Nelson to limit future use changes and to consider preserving the undeveloped corner.

Next steps

Several items, including the self-storage case, were postponed for additional review; others will proceed to public hearings or city review per usual rezoning timelines. No final zoning decisions were recorded at the work session.

Ending

Planning staff said they will return to the board with refined conditions, revised site plans where available and recommendations for cap or access conditions where staff advised them.