GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A developer wants to build 59 new homes on farmland in north Gwinnett County, and hundreds of neighbors are fighting to stop it.
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The Gwinnett County Planning Commission voted 9-0 last Tuesday against MBC Developers’ plan to rezone almost 12 acres for 47 townhouses and 12 detached homes near the new city of Mulberry. More than 800 neighbors signed a petition against the project before the hearing.
Ray Rodden lives nearby. He said the roads in the area cannot handle what is already there, let alone more.
“They’re trying to put 15 pounds of stuff in an 8-pound sack,” he said. “It’s just not going to hold.”
Rodden said the type of housing matters more to neighbors than the development itself.
“It’s not that we don’t want the land developed, it’s just that high-density housing just doesn’t fit the region,” he said.
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The developer’s attorney, Gabrielle Schaller, told commissioners the project actually fits with what the county wants for the area.
“The proposed development is in conformity with the policy and intent of the 2045 comprehensive plan,” Schaller said.
The developer also pointed to two new roundabouts going in nearby by the end of the year, arguing the intersections will be safer than what is there now. Even so, the planning commission sided with neighbors.
The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners will make the final decision on the rezoning next Tuesday.
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