Gwinnett commissioners approve Russell Road rezoning with buffer and fence condition

The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners on Dec. 10 approved a rezoning (RZR2024-51) for a 12.15-acre site on Russell Road to allow a mix of townhomes and single-family homes. The plan filed by applicant Haven Homes LLC envisions 85 townhomes and 20 single-family detached homes and cites a density of 8.64 units per acre.

Gabrielle Schaler, speaking for the applicant, said the project responds to the county's comprehensive plan designation for neighborhood low-mix development and that the site plan intentionally places single-family homes adjacent to existing single-family properties. "We changed that condition so that the fence is actually going to be on our property," Schaler said, describing a 20-foot buffer and a fence located inside the applicant's property to preserve existing trees.

Neighbor Lynn Stafford said she and others bought into an R100 single-family area and opposed the scale of townhome construction next to established homes. "It's unrealistic to expect it would stay R100," Stafford said, urging more single-family homes on the parcel.

Commissioner Holtkamp moved to approve the rezoning with planning commission conditions and to amend Condition 5 to require a 20-foot-wide landscaped buffer with a 6-foot privacy fence placed on the subject property outside the buffer and not extending past the impervious stream buffer; the motion passed unanimously.

The approval includes planning commission-recommended conditions documented in the staff report; the board recorded the outcome at the public hearing.