Edge City Properties, a Georgia-based developer, previously presented plans for constructing a townhome development that required a rezoning of the property located at 11354 Technology Circle, Johns Creek, from industrial to residential uses.
The rezoning request and terms of the land use request were reviewed and anonymously approved by the Johns Creek City Council on November 15, 2021, with little to no further discussion.
According to City documents, in October 2018, a land-use petition was submitted by the developer to rezone a 4.42-acre parcel at 11354 Technology Circle from M-1A (Industrial Park District) to TR (Townhouse Residential District), to develop a 39-unit townhome subdivision at a density of 8.8 units per acre. In January 2019, Edge City Properties amended and modified the proposal to thirty-seven townhome units at 8.37 units per acre.
On March 25, 2019, the Mayor and City Council denied the land use petition at the City Council hearing. A few months later, Edge City Properties and the property owner, David Chymiak, filed a lawsuit in Fulton County Superior Court against the City of Johns Creek.
This past August, Fulton County Superior Court issued a Final Order, stating that the current M-1A zoning district is “unconstitutional, null and void,” and remanded the case to the City for reconsideration. The City is now required to rezone the property to “a constitutionally permissible zoning classification” within 60 days of the Court Order. After receiving the Final Court Order, the City appealed the decision to the Supreme Court of Georgia. However, on September 29, 2021, the appeal was not accepted and was officially denied.
According to City Planners, the Applicant and Staff produced a final set of conditions for consideration by the City Council. The final conditions effectively reduce the overall density to seven units per acre (thirty-one townhomes), requires 10% of the site to be reserved for open space, all required setbacks and buffers must be maintained, and requires that units fronting on Technology Circle be oriented towards the road.
