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Planning commission backs RangeWorks driving range with 120-foot protective netting
Summary
The Woodstock City Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval to City Council for CUP 90125, allowing a 15,000 sq. ft., 32-bay RangeWorks driving range built above an outlet-mall parking lot; the commission added a condition requiring the owner to maintain and replace the netting as needed.
The Woodstock City Planning Commission on Jan. 8 voted unanimously to recommend City Council approve CUP 90125 for RangeWorks USA, a proposed three‑story, roughly 15,000‑square‑foot driving range with 32 bays to be built above an existing gravel parking lot at the Rote Mill/Woodstock Parkway roundabout.
Planning staff described the site as a 3.42‑acre parcel zoned GC with the Ridgewalk Corridor overlay adjacent to outlet shops and the Holiday Inn. Staff said the project would reuse underutilized parking, locate the building and netting outside utility easements, and require three variances: to continue gravel as a parking surface for overflow, to waive required parking-area trees under the netting, and to modify the requirement for a five‑foot sidewalk along a tapered frontage. Staff recommended approval with conditions, including a sign package review and site planting obligations or a contribution to the tree bank.
Applicant George Mattingly, who identified himself as RangeWorks’ founder and CEO, told the commission the facility is intended as a classic driving range rather than an entertainment complex. “The price point here for Woodstock citizens should be between $20 and $30 for an hour,” Mattingly said, emphasizing family use and practice opportunities for local golf teams.
Staff and the applicant said the range will be enclosed by a protective netting system supported by poles up to about 120 feet high; staff reported the Georgia Department of Transportation raised no concerns about pole height. The applicant said utility easements run through the western portion of the site and the netting system is removable to allow access to subsurface water mains when needed. He also described a maintenance plan that budgets roughly 5% of sales annually for upkeep and estimated net replacements on a roughly four‑ to five‑year cycle.
Commissioners asked about lighting and safety. The applicant said lighting would be focused inward from poles and that he would restrict parking beneath the net during hazardous weather, and staff noted conditions addressing sound and hours would apply.
Commissioner Roth moved to approve staff recommendations with an added condition that the structure, including the netting, be regularly maintained and replaced as needed by the owner; the motion was seconded and the commission voted unanimously to forward the recommendation to City Council.
The commission’s vote is advisory; City Council will make the final decision on CUP 90125.
