Planning commission recommends denial of 69-acre rezoning for proposed Ball Ground Business Park

The Cherokee County Planning Commission voted 8-1 to recommend denial of a request to rezone 69.02 acres at 13450 East Cherokee Drive from office/institutional and state residential to light industrial during a July 2025 joint public hearing.

Thomas Trellor, planning staff, described the application (case 2502003) and the site’s constraints, saying the parcel contains streams and floodplain that trigger 75-foot streambank buffers and that a 50-foot zoning buffer would be required where industrial zoning abuts less intensive uses. He also noted Section 7.14 of the Cherokee County Zoning Ordinance, which states primary industrial access should come from a major arterial or state highway; the subject property is served by a county collector.

Parks Hough, attorney for the applicant, asked the commission to recommend approval, saying the location is already influenced by industrial and utility uses and asserting the site was “not appropriately rural places.” Hough said the applicant proposed up to 325,000 square feet of buildings in 10 office/industrial structures, with roughly 330 parking spaces, and that the plan included multiple access points from East Cherokee Drive and Coker’s Chapel Road. He told the commission the applicant would comply with buffer requirements and that a sewer lift station would tie into an existing force main operated by the Cherokee County Water and Sewer Authority.

The planning staff report and the applicant’s traffic impact study were focal points of discussion. Commissioner Whiteside noted the traffic analysis showed the westbound approach at East Cherokee Drive and Coker’s Chapel already operates at level-of-service F and read from the study: “Level service F exists when there are insufficient gaps of acceptable size to allow vehicles on the side street to cross the main road without experiencing long delays.” Commissioners raised concerns that adding a large industrial park would worsen delays at that intersection.

Multiple commissioners said the scale of the proposed development and the number of buildings were inconsistent with the county’s Future Development Map designation of Rural Places and the surrounding character. One commissioner summarized opposition by saying that while light industrial might be appropriate at a smaller scale, “with 10 buildings, that’s just too much in this area.” Several commissioners also objected to the site plan’s shown access to Coker’s Chapel Road; staff had recommended no industrial access to Coker’s Chapel.

No members of the public signed up to speak for or against the application during the hearing. After discussion, a motion to recommend denial carried 8-1.

The planning commission’s recommendation to deny is advisory; the Board of Commissioners is expected to consider the rezoning request at its next meeting, generally the first meeting in August.