Plan to bring hundreds of new homes near Gwinnett County high school on hold

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A Gwinnett County proposal to build hundreds of apartments that has drawn outrage and protests from neighbors and lawmakers hit a snag when the county planning department withdrew the rezoning application required to build it.

Neighbors with the Northeast Gwinnett Neighborhood Coalition have been fighting the plan to build 700 apartments near Seckinger High School for months in hopes of seeing a park built instead.

This week, the planning department decided to pull the developer’s application before a Planning Commission meeting on Tuesday.

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No official explanation has been given. Opponents consider the development a win, for now.

“We were very surprised,” Darlyn Wilkerson, one of the neighbors fighting the proposal, told Channel 2 Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Matt Johnson.

A revised proposal from Brand Properties now calls for 327 apartments and 60 townhouses along with retail space next to the school in the area of Sardis Church Road and Hamilton Mill Road.

Developers have indicated they plan to re-submit their zoning application with more details from their revised proposal.

Organizers expect the issue to go before the Planning Commission again in February.

“It gives us two more months to continue informing the community,” Wilkerson said.

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Opponents have said the new development is not a right fit for the area given the existing traffic concerns.

The Seckinger Athletic Association has joined in opposition by calling for a large community park and recreation center to be built near the high school instead.

“It makes sense for a park to be next to Seckinger High School,” Mark Johnson, President of the Seckinger Athletic Association said.

Mark Johnson said he plans to approach elected officials about the possibility of obtaining the land currently owned by Jackson EMC through eminent domain.

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Two lawmakers have said they have begun the process of drafting legislation to form a new city called Mill Creek in the area where the new development would go.

“I’m proud of the work by so many constituents and local community groups who fought this irresponsible attempt to build 700 apartments in an area of Gwinnett that is already suffering from overcrowding and traffic congestion,” House Majority Leader Chuck Efstration said in a statement.

Efstration and Senator Clint Dixon held a news conference last month criticizing the development proposal.

The lawmakers have said the zoning process would have been handled differently by a city government compared to a county government.

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