Council denies 526‑acre village rezoning; Merrill Park Village development items withdrawn

The Chattahoochee Hills City Council voted unanimously on Oct. 1 to deny a request to rezone 526 acres at the Cochran Mill Road and South Fulton Parkway intersection from Rural (RL) to Village (VL), effectively removing the Merrill Park Village proposal from immediate consideration.

Councilmember Schmidt moved to deny Item 23‑044 and Councilmember Peek seconded; the motion passed with the full council. The applicant also withdrew the related development agreement (Item 24‑052), which the council approved to be withdrawn by unanimous vote. Applicant representatives had said the proposal had been three years in the making and that they had revised plans based on community input. "We have been in this process for three years," said Harrison Merrill, a project representative, describing outreach and the program of transferable‑development‑rights related conservation the team proposed.

Citizens who spoke during public comment framed the issue as a choice between preserving the city's rural character and enabling a concentrated village node. Several speakers asked the council to slow or reject large‑scale rezoning; others, including some regional development representatives, urged orderly, quality development at arterial intersections to support a tax base. Councilmember Peek framed the vote as a defense of the community's preference: "it is a good night for Chattahoochee Hills," he said after the vote.

The denial removes a zoning pathway the applicant had sought and returns the parcels to their prior rural zoning; the council did not adopt an alternative rezoning on the floor. The applicant had earlier withdrawn a variance item tied to the same project, and staff said additional related items were removed or withdrawn from the agenda prior to the meeting. Next steps will depend on any future filings or revised proposals the applicant chooses to submit.