Neighbors battle over proposed homes on business land in Alpharetta

ALPHARETTA, Ga. — A developer's request to build homes on land zoned for businesses is not sitting well with some Alpharetta homeowners.
 
Those who support the plan and those who oppose it - will pack city council chambers Monday night as the council takes up the plan.
 
Elizabeth Hooper and her neighbor David Bristol are just a few of the Alpharetta homeowners opposed to a developer's request to build 91 homes on land off Webb Bridge Road.
 
The land is currently zoned for commercial use, so the city council would have to change the zoning first.
 
"What sense does it make to turn one of the few remaining office tracts into homes? We don't really need more homes in my opinion," said Hooper said.
 
Hooper and Bristol said approving the homes contradicts Alpharetta's push to attract high-tech companies, marketing itself as the technology city of the south.
 
"This moves us more towards becoming the bedroom community of Forsyth County," said Bristol said.
 
"We feel there has to be a solid reason to change the zoning, considering the investment we've made in the economic development plan," said Hooper said.
 
"We're going to need adequate housing to support those jobs," Bristol said.
 
That's just one of the reasons why neighbor David Baker supports the change.
 
"These homes are anticipated to be half a million dollar homes. They are not going to diminish the values set in Windward," Baker said. "There are four other exits in Alpharetta on Ga. 400 that are prime for commercial, future development."
 
The project goes before Alpharetta's city council Monday at 7:30 p.m.

WSBTV