Shopping Center Developer Rejects Compromise On Entrance

The developer of a proposed shopping center at the intersection of Mars Hill Road and the Oconee Connector has rejected a compromise offered by the county’s planning staff regarding an entrance to the commercial complex off the Oconee Connector.

The county planning staff recommended that the proposed entrance allow only right-in and right-out traffic, rather than the complete signalized entrance the developer had sought.

At present, the 47-acre parcel does not have any access off the Connector.

In a letter sent to the county on Jan. 13, an engineer for Deferred Tax LLC of Lawrenceville, which is seeking to rezone the property for a major shopping center that would include a grocery store, likely a Publix, did not accept the compromise.

The engineer also rejected the planning staff recommendation that the number of driveways to the proposed shopping center off Mars Hill Road be reduced from the requested five to two. The engineer agreed to reduce the number of driveways to four.

Representatives of the developer also have dismissed a series of environmental concerns raised by citizens and by the planning staff of the Northeast Georgia Regional Commission about existing streams and wetlands on the property.

Opposition to the rezone has been strong, with Mars Hill Baptist Church, which owns property abutting the 47-acre tract, among others, voicing opposition to the plan proposed by Deferred Tax.

The rezone request by Deferred Tax is scheduled to be considered by the Oconee County Planning Commission after a public hearing at 7 p.m. on Tuesday and then go to the Board of Commissioners for a second hearing and decision on Feb. 2.

For more on this story, please go to Oconee County Observations.