Planning Commission Recommends Approval for Daycare, Commercial Development Requests

The Gwinnett County Planning Commission recommended approval for two Dacula area zoning cases during its June 7 meeting.

In the first case, applicant George Flannigan requested his 3.89-acre parcel at the intersection of Braselton Highway and Holman Road be rezoned from RA-200 (Agriculture Residence District) to C-2 (General Business District) to allow for the construction of a 17,385-square-foot commercial/retail building and an additional retail outparcel with a total of 85 parking spaces.

The planning department recommended approval of the request saying the new zoning would be consistent with previous zoning decisions in the area.

Michael Sullivan with the law firm Anderson, Tate and Carr appeared on Flannigan’s behalf.

“We think this would be an appropriate use,” he said.

Sullivan said his client agreed with most of the staff recommendations and conditions of usage, but did request the condition limiting access from Holman Road be removed.

“We think that would provide good flow through the site and would actually make some sense from an internal flow standpoint and we would like to have that condition stricken,” Sullivan said.

By a 5-3 margin, the planning commission recommended approval of the request and struck the condition prohibiting access to Holman Road.

In the second case, Flannigan requested his property located at the corner of Braselton Highway and South Pucketts Mill Road be rezoned from RA-200 (Agriculture-Residence District) to C-1 (Neighborhood Business District) in order to allow construction of an 18,000-square-foot child daycare center with 55 parking spaces.

The planning department recommended the zoning request be denied citing incompatibility with surrounding residential uses, inconsistency with the policies of the 2030 Unified Plan and the possibility of setting a precedent for future C-1 zoning that may not be appropriate for the area.

Sullivan said the site would not be suitable for residential development due to the size of the property, but would be an appropriate location for a daycare.

“It’s just simply not the sort of place most people would choose to build a new home,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan added several other daycare centers have been situated near residential areas and pointed out that was located near the site which, according to the applicant, would make the daycare a complimentary use.

The planning commission unanimously recommended approval of the request following the planning department staff suggestion that the property be zoned office-institutional district (O-I) with a special use permit for a daycare center. O-I zoning allows office, institutional and certain retail and service uses.

Both cases will now be forwarded to the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners for a final decision.