A pair of south Forsyth County neighborhoods and a pair of church projects are moving ahead after approval by members of the Forsyth County planning commission.
The projects were discussed during the group’s regular meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 31. The proposals will next go to Forsyth County Commissioners for approval.
Here’s a look at some of the projects discussed.
41 homes approved on Old Atlanta Road
Applicant: Skyland Homes, LLC
Where: 1608, 1652 and 1654 Old Atlanta Road
The plan: To rezone 32 acres from agricultural district (A1) to single-family residential district (Res2) for 41 lots.
Decision: Approval with conditions
Notes: Located near the intersection of Old Atlanta Road and Daves Creek Drive, several residents in the area voiced traffic concerns, with many saying they would like to see a traffic signal at the intersection.
Bill Powell, assistant county engineer, said initial plans for the project were to have the entrance of the neighborhood at the intersection before the decision was made to move the entrance south on Old Atlanta Road.
“The reason we did move the entrance, in part, is because of sight distance at the existing curve on Old Atlanta and Daves Creek,” he said. “That is just one part of it. Another part, in part but not the whole idea, was putting another leg on that intersection at Old Atlanta would make it just absolutely unbearable.”
Neighborhood approved on Stoney Ridge Road
Applicant: Stoney Rock, LLC
Where: 1725 Stoney Ridge Road
The plan: to rezone 19 acres from agricultural district (A1) to single-family residential district (Res2) for 24 residential lots.
Decision: Approval with variances and conditions
Notes: Zoning attorney Sean Courtney said the project would follow the southeast Forsyth design standards and that the development would be accessed from Stoney Point Road with no access to Stone Ridge Drive.
“[The developer] expects that they’ll be well over $1 million homes,” Courtney told the board.
Vine Community Church plans expansion
Applicant: Vine Community Church Inc.
Where: 4655 Bethelview Road.
The plan: Applicants are requesting a conditional-use permit to operate a place of worship in an existing 20,923-square-foot building and for a future expansion to include a 9,300-square-foot amphitheater, a 2,500-square-foot pavilion, a soccer field and a 4,740-square-foot foster home. The entire project is on about 10.6 acres
Decision: Approved with conditions
Notes: Mark Pugh, the church’s pastor of operations and outreach, said “the permit composes of about three or four key projects,” particularly plans for the foster home.
“It’s been a dream of the church for 20 years when the church was founded back in 2002 from our lead pastor knowing that the county has kind of always struggled with having enough homes to keep the kids in Forsyth County fostered in Forsyth County,” he said.
He said the church had considered providing a group home before deciding on a home for a family to be able to foster, which he said would likely be capped at 6 children.
Pugh noted that the field would be used by both the foster children and the church’s youth and said the amphitheater already existed but the church needed the permit for terracing a hill at the amphitheater.
New church building planned on Settingdown Road
Applicant: First Christian Church of Cumming, Inc.
Where: 4680 and 4710 Settingdown Road.
The plan: The applicant is requesting a conditional-use permit to build a 15,000-square-foot sanctuary and a 6,700-square-foot pavilion with 102 parking spaces on 8.3 acres.
Decision: Approved with conditions
Notes: Zoning attorney Christopher Light said the church, which currently meets at a building on Hwy. 369, is planning a move to land that currently has two homes on it. He said one home, which is closer to Settingdown Road, would be used for church operations during the move and may later be torn down and the other home would be used by the church once the build-out is complete, possibly as a residence for a pastor.
The plans will follow the Coal Mountain Overlay.
