Residents Push Back Against Webb Gin Development Plans

GRAYSON, GA -- More than 200 people packed a subdivision clubhouse Tuesday night to voice opposition to a more than 50-acre development planned on Webb Gin House Road.

Developers want to build a total of 499 apartments, homes and townhomes on 56 acres in the area, which backs up to the Snellville Exchange shopping center on Scenic Highway.

The Gwinnett Daily Post covered the at-times emotional public hearing.

Residents from 13 different neighborhoods near the proposed site of the apartments attended the meeting, Dennis Goodenow, who is leading the effort to fight the development, told the Daily Post.

The meeting was called by the developer, JLC Holdings LLLP. Concerns voiced at the meeting included increased traffic on Webb Gin House Road, possible negative effects on property values, school overcrowding and fears that the apartments would lead to an increase in crime in the area.

“If they wanted to put 200-300 homes in there, there wouldn’t be any grief at all,” said Hugh Miller, who lives in the Memory Wood subdivision. “Everybody just doesn’t want the apartments because of what they bring … I’m talking about the lower home prices and you have renters, people who don’t respect the places they live.”

According to the post, a lawyer for the developers highlighted the other types of housing that will be part of the development, saying it will transition naturally into existing neighborhoods.

“The reasons I think this is a good project for this area is that it provides a diversity of housing options in a transitional area with unified development,” attorney Lee Tucker said. “So you’ve got a $30-$40 million apartment development. You’ve got 100 single-family lots that transition from a high intensity quarter to lower density.”

Tucker told residents the apartments would be high-priced residences, and that the houses would range in price from $200,000-$400,000.

County commissioners must consider the plan. The county's planning and development staff have recommended denying it, saying the county's unified plan discourages high-density developments in existing suburban areas.

To read the original report from the Gwinnett Daily Post, click here.