Gwinnett commissioners deny Thompson Mill Road rezoning after neighbors cite safety and character concerns
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Summary
After extensive testimony from nearby property owners about safety, visibility and loss of rural character, the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners voted to deny a proposal to subdivide 3.61 acres on Thompson Mill Road into four house lots (RZR2024-56).
The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners on Dec. 10 denied a rezoning request for 3048 Thompson Mill Road that would have split a 3.61-acre parcel into four single-family lots. The board voted to deny RZR2024-56 after multiple neighbors said the proposal would change the rural character of the road and raise safety concerns for existing driveways and visibility.
Neighbors told commissioners the long, narrow parcel has only about 200 feet of frontage and that stacking four homes with a shared driveway would not align with surrounding estate lots. "We are all wooded. We are all private. We do not have subdivisions or neighborhoods," said Jera Canova, who lives next to the site and said she circulated a petition with 88 signatures opposing the project.
Other residents said the topography and traffic speeds make access hazardous. "The top of the hill starts at 45 [mph], but it easily, quickly goes to 60 miles per hour," said Janie Sutton, who said she has requested a state Department of Transportation speed study that cannot be completed until after the new year. Multiple speakers described recent near-miss crashes near their driveways.
Representatives for the applicant, including local broker Brett Mitselfeld and engineer David Saunders, said the proposed lots would be larger than the zoning minimum (they cited minimums of 25,500 square feet and said their lots would be 36,000–42,000 square feet) and that they had designed required turnarounds and safety measures. The applicant said a shared driveway was required by the transportation department to limit the number of road entrances.
Commissioners noted that staff recommended reducing the number of lots to three while the planning commission recommended denial. After hearing residents' testimony and the applicant's responses, a motion to deny RZR2024-56 carried unanimously.
Next steps: The denial preserves the parcel's current zoning; any future proposal to subdivide or reconfigure the site would require a new application and public hearing.
