Gwinnett's Board of Commissioners approved Tuesday a scaled-back version of a controversial subdivision proposed for one of the county's more rural areas.
The community group that formed to oppose the development — pitched for about 160 wooded acres near June Ivey and Indian Shoals roads, a largely undeveloped part of eastern Gwinnett — was not appeased.
Justin Walsh, one of about two dozen members of the "Rural Gwinnett" movement present at the commission meeting, took issue with conditions that were removed from the developer's rezoning proposal. He called the whole process "smoke and mirrors."
“It gives you the feeling that it’s a game, and the rules are against you,” he said.
June Ivey Development LLC originally proposed building more than 350 homes on the property, which abuts two small subdivisions. The proposal approved by Tuesday by the commission’s 3-2 vote granted the developer a less dense R-100 zoning, clearing the way for somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 homes.
The motion made by District 3 Commissioner Tommy Hunter, however, removed several conditions that neighbors felt were favorable. Those included stipulations on buffers around the development and smaller issues like pool size and the pedestrian connections.
Commission Chairman Charlotte Nash (who lives in the area of the development) and District 4 Commissioner John Heard voted against the proposal, which had been in the air since March.
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