Gwinnett kills mixed-use project in Duluth

After several delays, the Gwinnett County Commission on Tuesday killed a proposal for a 26-acre mixed-use project on Pleasant Hill Road near Duluth.

Commissioner Lorraine Green said the project was too dense for its location, adjacent to Shorty Howell Park on the current location of a subdivision.

“This is an incredible project in the wrong place” Green said. “A mile down the road, this would have been hailed by everyone on this board.”

An angry L. Anthony Greene, who wanted to develop the site, made an obscene gesture to commissioners as he left the meeting chambers, saying the decision had more to do with politics than good planning.

“The people in the planning department said this was the best project they had ever seen,” said Greene, who is no relation to the commissioner.

The developer accused Chairman Charles Bannister of meddling in the project, an accusation Bannister denied after the meeting.

“Absolutely not” Bannister said when asked if he had tried to prevent Greene’s proposal from being approved.

In August, Bannister did seek to delay the project until later this month after the city of Duluth objected to the proposal because of its size and potential impact on nearby roads. The commission didn’t go along with that plan, but did delay the project longer than Commissioner Green had hoped. The project was originally scheduled for a vote on July 23.

Greene’s proposal would have created a 26-acre village style mixed-use development featuring a hotel and office buildings, some as tall as 15 stories.

Neighbors in the Woodberry Acres subdivision, half of which would have been torn down to make way for the project, complained it would have been too big and intrusive for the area.