Milton community reviews Ga. 9 North Visioning Study.

Traffic, safety among concerns.

by SAVANNAH LEE/ The Milton Herald

November 12, 2013

MILTON, Ga. – A meeting was held Wednesday, Nov. 6 to update the public and gather feedback on the Ga. 9 Visioning Study.

In April, Michael Elliott was hired to work with neighbors and property owners to reach a consensus on development of two subareas within the Ga. 9 Visioning Study that needed special treatment. One subarea is located at the corner of Bethany Bend and Cogburn Road, and the other is on either side of Five Acre Road and Ga. 9.

Each area had special concerns with how the land would be used. Elliott held several meetings for each location to reach a general agreement.

A developer was working with the property owners of the Bethany Bend and Cogburn Road area and used the right to move forward with rezoning. The developer agreed to work within the general agreement reached at the meetings Elliott facilitated.

The interest and concerns of the community were to minimize traffic and promote pedestrian safety and compatible land uses. The community wanted the privacy of the neighbors to be protected. Concerns of higher density redevelopment were also raised.

The proposed plan for the Bethany Bend special treatment area is for 28 single-family house lots, with 75 feet of undisturbed natural buffer to the north. The sewer is proposed to be a private sewer sized for 28 residential units. There would be one entrance on Bethany Bend.

The application for rezoning will go before the Milton Planning Commission Nov. 20 and then before the City Council on Dec. 16.

The second special treatment area has a conceptual plan that meets the general agreement from the meetings with the Five Acre and Ga. 9 stakeholders and neighbors. The interests and concerns raised for this location include traffic, safety, character of the area and look and feel of the Five Acre Road entrance. A list of acceptable and unacceptable uses was made and a height limitation of 28 feet or two stories was set.

With the information gathered in the community meetings, staff will write a report to be presented to the design review board at a later date.