Concerns raised, but Commission approves rezoning for construction of single family homes

City Commissioners during their July session heard the concerns of a resident around Branch Street, but are expecting good things to come of a new row of houses set to go up in the coming months after giving their unanimous approval for a zoning change to a stretch of property.

Commissioners heard from developers Tim Perkins and David Autrey, discussing their plans during a public hearing ahead of the start of the regular session on Monday, July 8. They plan to build upward of 15 houses on the land for a single family dwelling due to the shape and space available on the Branch Street lot.

The portion of the property closest to the Wastewater Treatment Plant is not expected to be used, but instead turned into a pathway area for families to gain access to the Bert Wood Youth and Recreation Complex, per the developers who talked about those plans during the July 8 public hearing.

“There’s an area the we would not build that we’re actually looking to try and get a pathway to go to the recreation area that’s right there,” Perkins explained. “That way if there’s families – that’s our goal, we’re selling these. We’re not renting these, we’re not investors we’re trying to sell single family home buyers. So that way the kids have access to the street without having to go through the water (plant).”

The 9+ acres of land owned by Dwight L. Walraven Investments is one of several new residential building projects either getting or already underway in Cedartown. The rezoning allowed the future development to go from Office-Industrial (O-I) to residential (R-2) with the permission granted by the commission following Tuesday’s hearing.

At least three options are being considered for development as far as the overall layout of where new houses will go, but the single family homes are all expected to be three bedroom, two bathroom designs and are between 1,200 and 1,600 square feet each.

The developers working on the project also noted that they wanted to target single family homes over other options since they were seeking to sell and move onto new work, not act as long term landlords owning rentals.

They also noted a lack of new housing inventory available for sale, making it difficult to determine pricing in the market as new options become available and are snatched up – even those residences for sale that are more than 100 years old.

Branch Street has remained a wooded for a while, since it is situated right next to the city’s and GEO Specialty Chemical’s wastewater treatment plants. Despite being so close to the city’s wastewater treatment plant, septic is currently planned for the houses.

City Manager Edward Guzman explained the need individual septic systems for each house due to the placement of the main lift station on the other side of Branch Street, one just replaced in recent years in a major sewage upgrade project.

That lift station brings all of the city’s sewage into the treatment plant, and because of the pressure created on that station, the residential homes planned for the other side of Branch Street can’t directly tap into the system. They also can’t just immediately hook into the sewer lines at the recreation department because of elevation issues, leaving little options for developers to do more than consider septic as their final option.

Guzman said that isn’t the final plan, since the developers are working with engineers to figure out if there are other options for sewer lines connecting into the system on the site.

As it stands with septic as the leading option for the new homes, eight houses can fit onto the 9+ acre property without causing any issues. If sewer does become an option in the future, upward of 15 homes could fit onto the acreage.

The property also backs up to Lynton Drive homes that have long been without neighbors in their back yards.

City Commissioners heard from one of those neighbors, who told the board they were concerned with increased traffic from new residents. Evangelina Perez representing her family weren’t against the development, but had concerns since the land has gone undeveloped for so many years what it will do to put new homes on what is currently a wooded area.

“Our primary concern as a family since we got that initial letter in the mail, since the letter was placed in our mailbox, is how does this affect us in the long run? It might not affect us immediately, but in the long run because I believe eventually that it will,” Evangelina Perez said.

She also noted the concerns over septic versus sewage for the property development.

Commission Chair Jessica Payton did allay those fears, and also noted how excited she was to see new housing continue to be developed in Cedartown.

“I’ll tell you, and not only for your neighborhood: we have 600 jobs coming in the next few years, whether we like it or not Cedartown is going to change and we’re going to see growth. Now this particular project: it’s not going to effect your water, its not going to effect your sewer. It may increase your traffic a little bit,” she said. “But we’re going to end up having a lot more people coming around Cedartown. That is something we all need to prepare for.”

She also was appreciative to see the developers putting in the work to ensure that everything is in order before coming before the board.

“I really like your plan, and I like that you gave us three options,” Payton said.

Commissioner Sam Branch also had positive thoughts about the new housing coming soon.

“I understand your concern about the neighborhood,” Branch said. “Considering what could have been there, this is probably a good fit. It could have been multi-family apartments instead of 15, 20 maybe 30 cars added. You could have been looking at 60. It is growth, it is coming, and I appreciate the folks who developed that plan.”

Variances will also have to be sought before construction can begin, but the first step in the process was to get the residential zoning put in place.

Developers will still have to come back to the city for permits and final approval of their plans before any construction can begin.