Members of the Dalton-Varnell-Whitfield County Planning Commission voted last week to recommend approval of the rezoning of a roughly three-acre parcel along South Hamilton Street in Dalton from C-4 transitional commercial to an urban planned unit development (UPUD) classification.
The request came from the Dalton-Whitfield County Joint Development Authority (JDA).
“The request here is unique,” said Northwest Georgia Regional Commission representative Ethan Calhoun. “Just during the last planning commission meeting, the planning commission passed the text amendment which created the new zoning district.”
The maximum parcel size for a UPUD designation is eight acres.
The surrounding properties near the three-acre site, Calhoun said, are a mixture of commercial, light industrial and even heavy industrial further to the east.
“You can even see low-density residential just a few blocks to the west,” he noted. “This would not be a spot zone because what is being proposed here would be the introduction of residential zoning and development within a commercial area, as opposed to vice versa.”
The property was formerly owned by Mohawk. Where an industrial facility sat years ago is, today, a green space.
“It has triple frontage on public roads,” Calhoun said. “We did not foresee residential development in this particular location in the joint comprehensive plan … the potential for negative impact on adjacent property and disrupting the character of the area, we don’t see as an issue in this particular case.”
Calhoun said that any “significant deviations” from the project site plan would require another petition from the applicant.
“Of course, there’s adequate water and sewer utility access here,” he continued. “There’s no concern for any capacity issues.”
Calhoun said that local agencies received a $1.5 million grant via the Georgia Department of Community Affairs’ (DCA) Rural Workforce Housing Initiative.
“So the State of Georgia is in support of this project,” he said, “and believes it is excellent implementation of that program.”
Calhoun said he’s optimistic the proposed development could serve as a “catalyst” for additional redevelopment within the corridor.
Todd Pangle, the assistant city administrator of Dalton, spoke in favor of the rezoning.
“I’m actually representing the JDA tonight,” he said. “The city has also shown a nod of approval to this, as well, by giving, or committing, over $600,000 to infrastructure development for this property — that was a condition for the approval of the grant that was given by DCA, there had to be a match from your local municipality.”
Pangle said officials had taken trips to other communities to see similar developments, including sites near the BeltLine in Atlanta.
“To be honest with you, I wouldn’t have believed in it until I saw it, but it works,” he said. “You take a small piece of property, such as this, and you’re able to maximize the output on that property.”
Any street parking within the UPUD, he said, would be on curb cuts.
“It would go into the property rather than the street,” he said.
There was no public opposition to the proposed rezoning at the Jan. 22 meeting.
Earlier this month, JDA Executive Director Carl Campbell told the Dalton Daily Citizen that approximately 40 homes are planned for the site, with the one-, two- and three-bedroom houses spanning from 800 square feet to 1,400 square feet.
“We are hopeful to have a home being started before the end of this year and all of them being done within 24 months of that point,” Campbell stated.