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Buford commission approves rezoning for Sudderth Road industrial site with strict conditions after wetlands concern
Summary
The commission rezoned two Sudderth Road parcels from R-100 to M-1, approving variances for building type and height while limiting wetland disturbance and requiring engineering, traffic review, landscaping and truck routing; vote was 3–0.
The Buford City Commission on Nov. 3 approved rezoning two parcels at 3837 and 3857 Sudderth Road from R-100 (residential) to M-1 (industrial), granting multiple variances but placing extensive conditions to limit site impacts.
Vincent Aglialero spoke on behalf of Sudderth Road Industrial Owner, LLC, which sought the rezoning. No members of the public spoke against the request. The motion to approve, made by Commissioner Chris Burge and seconded by Commissioner R Bradley W. Weeks, passed 3–0.
The commission approved concurrent variances including permission for tilt-up concrete construction, a 50-foot maximum building height and limited disturbance into a 50-foot undisturbed stream buffer and a 25-foot impervious setback—each of the latter contingent on receipt of required federal and state EPD permits. The commission also approved a reduced deceleration lane length on Horizon Parkway, permitted specified retaining walls along Satellite Boulevard and Sudderth Road, and allowed elimination of inter-parcel vehicle access to parcel 7-218-070.
The commission denied requested variances to eliminate the deceleration lane on Sudderth Road and to eliminate frontage improvements on Satellite Boulevard. Commissioners noted a review of the submitted site plan and GIS topography indicated a proposed retaining wall could reach about 50 feet and that more than half of a wetland would be impacted; the commission explicitly prohibited additional buffer disturbance to support wall construction.
Conditions attached to approval include: submission of civil site construction documents that conform to the City of Buford’s Zoning and Development Codes; submittal of Georgia-registered professional engineer-sealed retaining wall plans and elevations for any wall over 4 feet; approval of retaining-wall materials and locations by the Planning Director (walls in front yards on Satellite Boulevard must use decorative stone or rock); a traffic study to be reviewed by the City Engineer to determine needs for a deceleration or left-turn lane on Sudderth Road; required road frontage and sidewalk improvements per the Gwinnett County Department of Transportation and City development regulations; on-site stormwater management meeting city minimum standards; enhanced landscaping along Sudderth Road; cut-off type outdoor lighting directed onto the property; and requirements that trucks use the Horizon Parkway entrance with posted “No Trucks” signs on specified stretches of Sudderth Road. The commission also required that truck courts and dock doors not face residential properties and that all outdoor parking be on asphalt or concrete in designated parking areas.
The commission recorded the approval with conditions and explicit engineering and permitting contingencies intended to limit impacts to wetlands, neighboring properties and the public right-of-way. The rezoning vote was recorded Ayes 3, Nays 0. The commission set several technical approvals (permits, traffic study, engineering plans) as prerequisites to further land disturbance or building permits.
