Woodstock council tables rezoning that would have added private soccer stadium and 236 apartments

The Woodstock mayor and council on April 27 paused a high-profile rezoning request that would have allowed a privately funded soccer stadium and up to 236 apartments at the Ridgewalk Parkway and Reagan Street site.

The proposal, filed as Z167‑26 and CUP‑94‑26 by Freestone Real Estate, sought to rezone a 12.81‑acre parcel from Neighborhood Commercial (NC) to General Commercial Vertical Mixed‑Use (GCVMU). Planning staff described conditions tied to a required development agreement and a three‑party arrangement to transfer ownership of the soccer facility to the Downtown Development Authority and to secure long‑term operation by Georgia Impact Soccer. The applicant told council the stadium parcel — roughly 3 acres in their presentation — would be donated to the DDA while the developer would privately fund multifamily buildings and supporting retail.

“We come to you tonight with staff approval, your DDA approval, your planning commission,” David Knight of Freestone Real Estate told the council. “This is funded privately… we’re able to donate the land for the pitch to the DDA.” (Applicant: David Knight.)

Applicant and Georgia Impact representatives outlined community benefits during the presentation, including youth outreach programs, nonprofit partnerships and plans for semi‑professional and professional women’s teams. Georgia Impact staff said matchdays would initially average 500–800 attendees and described existing coordination with Woodstock City Church for overflow parking.

But a string of speakers and multiple council members raised concerns about the timing, traffic impact, parking reliability and the proposal’s apartment component. Opponents said the site is not the right location for large multifamily buildings and cited past projects that did not deliver mixed‑use amenities as promised.

“I don’t understand the placement and the timing,” said Michael Donovan, a longtime resident who testified in opposition, questioning whether a stadium and dense apartment product should be sited there now given other major infrastructure projects under way. David Fige, another opponent, said he had no objection to a soccer field but opposed building the apartment complex behind it, invoking recent apartment approvals he said failed to deliver promised retail components.

Several council members said they were impressed with the stadium concept but troubled by the multifamily component. Multiple members said they would need a binding development agreement and clearer commitments on parking, pedestrian crossings and accessibility before they could support rezoning that permits apartments to be built ahead of other promised components.

With those concerns unresolved, one council member moved to table the case to allow the parties to negotiate additional details and conditions. The motion was seconded, and the council voted unanimously to table the rezoning/CUP/variance package “until further notice.”

What’s next: Tabling leaves the applicant free to work on a development agreement and bring the case back to council; staff noted that pedestrian crossing solutions (a signal or an alternate approved crossing) and an executed parking agreement were among the conditions tied to any future approval.

Provenance: Staff presentation through the council motion and vote are drawn from the meeting record of the public hearing for Z167‑26 / CUP‑94‑26 (topic start: SEG 534; topic end: SEG 2491).