A plan to create housing for senior residents didn’t make it past Roswell’s planning commission.
Alabama developer Grovont Partners wants to construct a 275,000-square-foot residential building on 13 acres of land at 12740 and 12770 Arnold Mill Road. The facility would feature independent and assisted living along with memory care support.
During its meeting last week, the planning commission denied sending a rezoning recommendation to City Council. The required rezoning of the project from agriculture to neighborhood mixed-use would conflict with the character of the area described in the city’s current 2035 Comprehensive Plan, officials said. That is changed in Roswell’s 2040 plan which is currently being reviewed by state officials, Director of Community Development Jackie Deibel said.
If approved, the comprehensive plan is expected to be returned to Roswell for adoption in two months. City Planner Kevin Turner told the planning commission that staff would’ve likely recommended approval if the rezoning application had been presented after the new comprehensive plan is adopted.
Grovont developed Somerby retirement communities in Sandy Springs and Peachtree City. Phone messages and an email to Grovont Partners from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution regarding the Roswell project were not returned.
The proposed site is located near Roswell’s boundary with Milton. The surrounding neighborhood is partly agricultural, residential and commercial.
Neighbors living on several acres of land on nearby Cagle Road oppose the project. During Tuesday’s meeting the residents said they worried about wildlife disruption, tree removal, traffic and sewage and stormwater problems.
Resident Michelle Tremblay said the development would be in a dangerous section of the road where vehicles speed by. “It’s a very dangerous street right there,” she said. “I’m very concerned about this kind of construction going on. It doesn’t match anything in the neighborhood.”
Dave Rodgers, Grovont principal partner, told planning commission members the firm planned to maintain 3.2 acres of wooded area and give the site an equestrian feel, as well as preserve 33 specimen trees.
Before voting against the rezoning application, commission member Carlton Hopkins said he had a “visceral concern” about the scale of the project.
“I just find it hard to imagine,” Hopkins said. “... It just seems like a big thing in the middle of a corn field ... I can understand why the neighbors have concerns because it impacts the character of the area.”
