1,100 home Garden Lakes project scheduled before zoning advisory board

The proposed rezoning of three-hundred acres in unincorporated Henry County is scheduled before the zoning advisory board on Thursday, November 11. The meeting starts at 6:30 pm at the county admin building.

The proposed development — known as Garden Lakes — is located off Old Highway 3, highway 81 and Lovejoy Road. The proposal includes 613 single-family lots and 525 townhomes. The concept has 1,138 homes in total.

Residential Suburban rezoning

The applicant and property owner, LGS Holding Group 2013, LLC, is requesting a rezoning from RA, R-2 and M-1 to RS (residential suburban). The applicant is also seeking an amendment to the future land use map (FLUM). The property presently has a designation of low-density residential, medium-density residential and industrial. The applicant is seeking a change to only medium-density residential. This land use allows up to six net units per acre. Planning staff recommended approval of both requests.

The proposed RS zoning allows for a mixture of housing types. Applicants may build two of the following: single-family homes, townhomes or duplexes. In addition, single-family homes may be on lots as small as 7,260 square feet — one-sixth of an acre. This is the smallest lot size in Henry County code.

The zoning advisory board can make the following actions when considering the request:

1. recommend approval with staff conditions,
2. support approval with modified or new conditions,
3. recommend denial, but approval of a different zoning class, or
4. support denial.

The board of commissioners will consider the request for a final decision following the ZAB meeting. This meeting will be during 2022.

Lovejoy annexation and DRI review

The property owner has applied for annexation into Lovejoy city limits on several occasions. Henry County has filed an objection each time, most recently in September. Because Lovejoy would be a new city in Henry County, the county’s objection blocks the annexation. This is different from existing cities who annex at their discretion; the county cannot block it.

The property also underwent review as a development of regional impact (DRI) in 2019. The review was necessary because of the number of lots. The DRI review allows surrounding localities and the state to make comment about the project. Generally, comments focus on transportation improvements needed to support the proposed development.

Featured image shows concept site plan for Garden Lakes as of November 2021. Photo credit Falcon Design Consultants.