Johns Creek council approves Toll Brothers rezoning with new lot-size condition after heated debate

On Aug. 25, 2025, the Johns Creek City Council voted to approve ordinance 25-5-15 to amend the city zoning map for RZ24-0010 (10555 and 10655 Embry Farm Road and adjacent parcels), permitting a revised Toll Brothers Community Unit Plan that the applicant says will create 189 single-family lots on about 204.1 acres.

The approval followed a substitute motion that added an extra condition to the staff-recommended approvals: Lots 176 through 189 must be one-acre parcels. Councilmembers debated competing legal interpretations of the 2018 comprehensive plan, traffic and safety concerns related to a proposed roundabout, and neighbors’ requests to protect the character of adjacent subdivisions.

Director Song summarized the staff presentation, saying the proposal reduces unit count from earlier versions and shows 65 acres (32 percent) preserved as common open space while proposing a minimum lot area of 21,780 square feet (one-half acre) for most lots and a redesigned roundabout with a 135-foot diameter. Song said staff recommended approval subject to conditions in the staff report.

Den Webb, speaking for the applicant, told the council the developer had revised the plan since the May deferral: ‘‘We reduced the total number of proposed dwelling units from 200 to 189 units,’’ Webb said, and noted every lot would be at least 100 feet wide and have side-entry garages. Webb described traffic changes including a 250-foot extension of an existing stacking lane for school drop-off and a roundabout redesign he said was engineered to meet sight-distance requirements.

Opponents — including a representative of Nellie Brook Court/Spring Meadow Farms and neighborhood residents — argued the proposal undermined the 2018 comprehensive plan’s low-density character for the Shakerag character area and contended density should be calculated on net (buildable) acres rather than gross acreage. One resident said, ‘‘This is not just about zoning. It’s about public safety, infrastructure strain, and the long-term well-being of our community’’ (resident Miriam).

Residents also raised traffic-safety concerns for Rogers Circle, which serves a school and sees heavy drop-off activity. In response, ANR traffic engineer Abdul said the roundabout diameter is 135 feet, that the distance from the roundabout center to the adjacent southern driveway is about 180 feet, and that sight-distance and splitter-island details would be demonstrated in permitting analyses.

The applicant disputed opposition claims about wetlands and buildable acreage, saying the project would not build in wetlands or floodplain and stating a larger number of acres were developable than some residents asserted. Webb also urged the council to evaluate the revised plan, noting the planning commission had not seen the latest site plan.

Council discussion balanced two threads: technical/land-use compliance and legal risk. Several councilmembers said they were concerned about potential legal exposure if procedural issues or ex parte communications compromised the hearing; the city attorney and planning director advised that the city’s 2018 plan uses a gross-density approach for character areas and that the cited state rule on net density did not apply to this plan’s format.

A motion to deny the rezoning was made and seconded, but councilmember (speaker 9) offered a substitute motion to approve ordinance 25-5-15 subject to staff conditions plus a change to conditions 4 and 5 so that Lots 176–189 would be one-acre parcels; a second was recorded and the substitute motion passed and became the main motion. The council then voted on the main motion; the substitute/main motion carried and the ordinance was approved with the added lot-size condition.

The council recessed for five minutes after the vote. After returning, the body moved into and returned from an executive session to discuss land, legal and personnel matters. The council also voted to waive attorney-client privilege as to a supplemental Wilson report dated January 2014.

Next steps: approval was subject to the conditions read into the record (including the lot-size amendment), and the project will proceed through the city’s permitting process, including final engineering review and any required adjustments arising from permitting-level traffic and sight-distance analyses.

Sources: council staff presentation, applicant remarks, resident testimony, traffic engineer statements and council debate at the Aug. 25, 2025 Johns Creek City Council meeting.