Commissioners ask developer to consider lower density after hearing on 620 Prominence Point Parkway rezoning

August 2025 — Cherokee County planning staff and the planning commission heard public comment and applicant presentation on a request to rezone 620 Prominence Point Parkway (District 3) from AG (agricultural) to RZL to permit a proposed 54‑lot single‑family subdivision on about 14.5 acres.

The applicant also requested multiple variances: reduced side setbacks (5 feet on each side with 10 feet building separation), permission for doors and windows on both sides of homes, limited disturbance and replanting within a required 35‑foot undisturbed buffer where a power‑line easement exists, and permission to terminate two streets with hammerhead turnarounds instead of cul‑de‑sacs.

County staff reported the site sits inside the City of Canton’s growth boundary. The city denied a prior annexation request for a similar development on Dec. 19, 2024 (that prior proposal included 59 single‑family lots and 16 townhomes). Staff also said the property lies in the county’s suburban living character area, which typically supports single‑family detached neighborhoods at not more than about three units per acre. The applicant’s plan would yield roughly 3.72 units per acre; RZL zoning could allow up to six units per acre.

Parks Huff, attorney for Traighton Homes (Sams Larkin Huff), told the commission the Grama family has owned the property for generations and wants to sell. Huff said the applicant is offering a 50‑foot buffer along the north and east where adjacent neighborhoods requested screening, and that 22% of the site would be designated open space (RZL requires 10%). Huff said the developer intends to replant vegetation inside the cleared power‑line easement area to create screening and noted a median break on Prominence Point Parkway exists that was designed to accommodate future access.

A resident who identified herself as belonging to the Station at Prominence neighborhood and who noted involvement with the Cherokee County Housing Authority spoke without taking a position on the houses themselves but raised traffic concerns. She cited a February 2022 traffic study on Highway 5 and Prominence Point Parkway that she said rated poorly and warned that additional development could worsen congestion and cause cut‑through traffic on adjacent roads.

Staff noted Cherokee County School District estimated the development would generate about 40 additional students and provided nearby school capacity figures: Liberty Elementary at 72% capacity, Freedom Middle at 77%, and Cherokee High at 86%.

During deliberations several commissioners said the requested jump from agricultural zoning (two‑acre lots) to RZL (small‑lot single family) represented too large a leap in density and did not align with the suburban living character area. Commissioners suggested a midlevel residential classification such as R‑20 or R‑15 would be more appropriate. The commission has the latitude to recommend an alternate zoning classification, and several members asked the applicant to return with a layout reflecting lower density.

Commissioner Dr. Whiteside moved, and Commissioner Barnes seconded, to table the request and ask the applicant to reconsider the proposal under a lower‑density classification (R‑15 or R‑20) and return with a revised layout. At the close of the provided transcript excerpt the motion had been made and seconded; a recorded vote on the motion was not included in the supplied transcript segment.