Planning Commission Recommends Etowah Village Approval

Yesterday the Planning Commission recommended approval of Etowah Village. Several things caught my attention during the meeting....

1.) Keith Brown, the applicant’s representative said “the Board of Commissioners urged us to move forward” (after the previous withdrawal by Dawson Village Partners).

2.) We learned that this will be “Speculative Zoning” meaning the applicant is request a change in zoning for the purpose of marketing the land for sale. Which means there isn’t a developer involved at this time.

3.) The representative also mentioned that the “Chinese Group” (his words not mine) is still interested. In fact, that group was mentioned a few times by at the applicant’s representatives.

4.) They removed the entrance on Grant Rd. That’s interesting because that will essentially funnel all traffic to one entrance.

5.) The applicant’s representative told the PC that they are looking at finding investor POD by POD. In other words multiple developers developing the project. 

6.) Emory Dooley was not at the meeting. The Chairman announced that he was “stuck in traffic”. He opposed the development last time because he is “not a fan of high density”.

7.) Neil Hornsy voted against it last time, but voted in favor yesterday. He said the removal of the portion west of the Etowah was a deciding factor.

8.) The vote was 3-0, Tim Bennett, John Maloney and Neil Hornsby voted in favor. Chairman Jason Hamby only votes in the case of a tie.