Canton’s projected real estate and poulation boom could hinge on what the ARC and GRTA think about Macauley’s proposed development.
The Cherokee Tribune reports….
Regional officials will meet next week to review plans for a proposed 4,000-acre development in west Cherokee County.
Atlanta Regional Commission and Georgia Regional Transportation Authority staff will meet at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday with representatives from Macauley, which is developing the mixed-use project, A Village in the Forest. The meeting, which is open to the public, will be at the ARC office at 40 Courtland St. N.E. in Atlanta.
The meeting is part of the state’s development of regional impact process, which is required for the project due to its size.
The regional agencies will determine whether the project is in the best interest of the region and the state. This determination is only a recommendation to be considered by the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners when it votes on the rezoning request. If a project determined not to be in the best interest of the region and state is approved by a local government, it could result in the loss of funding for infrastructure including roads.
The DRI process is scheduled to be completed this month in time for the case to be heard by the Cherokee County Planning Commission on Dec. 5 and to be considered by the board of commissioners on Dec. 19.
Issues expected to be reviewed at next week’s meeting include the impact the project will have on infrastructure such as Highway 20 and wastewater treatment.
The proposed development south of Highway 20 at Upper Sweetwater Trail near Lake Allatoona will include as many as 12,000 homes, including single-family houses, apartments and townhouses, and 250,000 acres of commercial space. Thirty-seven percent of the total project is to be kept as green space. Another 1,000 acres in Bartow County also will be included in the project.
Macauley is requesting 4,000 acres of the land, which also is known as the Willoughby-Sewell tract, that are in Cherokee be rezoned from agricultural to traditional neighborhood development for a mixed-use community.
Residents have expressed concerns the project will put too many cars on the two-lane Highway 20. The ARC estimates the development will add 80,000 daily car trips to the highway, which would require extensive improvements and widening. Improvements to the highway are overseen by the Georgia Department of Transportation, but Macauley officials have said they would work with the agency to fund upgrades.
Wastewater treatment is another issue raised by residents. Options being considered by Macauley and the Cherokee County Water and Sewerage Authority include sending sewage to an existing wastewater treatment plant or constructing a new wastewater treatment plant in the area. It has not been determined how these projects would be funded.
Macauley has promised the Cherokee County School District land for schools although the details have not been agreed upon. The developers also have said they are working to provide a site for use by the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office and Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services.
For information about the ARC meeting, call (404) 463-3100.
