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Council approves Serenbe rezoning for 200.8-acre hamlet after heated public hearing; 3-2 vote
Summary
The Chattahoochee Hills City Council approved a rezoning request from RL (Rural) to HM-MU (Mixed-Use Hamlet) for 200.8 acres in the Hutcheson Ferry corridor, with conditions and a required traffic study; the decision split the council 3-2 amid neighbor concerns about buffers, trails near cattle, and the disposition of 174 development rights.
The Chattahoochee Hills City Council voted 3-2 on Nov. 7 to rezone 200.8 acres from RL (Rural) to HM-MU (Mixed-Use Hamlet), allowing the Serenbe CH Properties application to plat 26 one-acre lots on the parcel while leaving 200 development rights attached to the property.
Community Development Director Mike Morton summarized the application, saying it is located north of Hutcheson Ferry Road between Vernon Grove and Piney Church Roads and that the proposed site plan shows 26 single-acre lots with privately owned open space. "The site plan proposed with the application shows 26 lots on the property. There are 200 development rights that would come with the property," Morton said. The Planning Commission voted 5-0 to recommend approval with 13 conditions and a revision that the trail be placed outside the buffer area.
Applicant Garnie Nygren told the council her team reduced the immediate buildout to 26 lots on the 200.8-acre parcel and said the remaining 174 development rights "will have to go through the normal approval process" elsewhere in Serenbe. "This is 200.8 acres, so as an acreage size, meets the size to bring forward a hamlet zoning," Nygren said. She also said the developer agreed not to place new trails within 100 feet of the Ferdinand property where practical, and acknowledged the locations for the 174 rights are not yet defined.
Neighbors and other residents who spoke at the public hearing urged denial. Betty Ferdinand said the rezoning amounts to "spot zoning" and pressed the council for a 150-foot hard buffer and no trails adjacent to agricultural operations. She told the council the city is operating as an extension of developers and raised liability concerns for taxpayers. Arthur Ferdinand echoed worries about trails reaching the property line and potential safety and nuisance claims.
Critics also argued the rezoning opens the door to a larger Serenbe buildout. Mitchell Wolff summarized his opposition this way: "To begin, this application is not about simply going from 10 homes to 26. It's going from 10 to 200." He presented economic reasoning and urged the council to deny the petition.
Councilmember Rodney Peek moved to approve Item 24-059 with staff conditions and an added requirement that Serenbe perform a traffic study within four months; Councilmember Ruby Foster seconded. The motion passed with Councilmembers Foster, Lowe and Peek voting "Yea" and Councilmembers Schmidt and Lightsey voting "Nay." The approval includes the Planning Commission conditions and the traffic-study requirement; the council did not yet specify where the 174 remaining development rights will be exercised.
The council's action is limited to the rezoning request and its stated conditions; the disposition of the development rights and any future plats will require subsequent approvals. The developer and neighbors may continue to discuss buffers and trail placement during those later reviews.
