The Henry County Zoning Advisory Board will meet on Thursday, September 8, to consider a proposed development at state route 81 and North Ola Road. The board meets at the county admin building aka tag office in McDonough starting at 6:30 pm.
The 106-acre property is at the northwest corner of state route 81 and North Ola Road. The proposed uses include a mixture of single-family homes, townhomes, quadplexes and commercial outparcels.
State Route 81 at North Ola Road
The applicant, North Ola Land Holdings, LLC of Monroe, GA, purchased the property in March 2021. Now, Henry County will consider their proposed development plans. The applicant is seeking the following:
- a land use plan amendment to change the future land use map (FLUM) from low-density residential and commercial to mixed use,
- a rezoning request from RA (residential agricultural) to RS (residential suburban) and C-1 (neighborhood commercial), and
- a variance request for relief from Highway Corridor Overlay District requirements.
Each request above will have a separate public hearing during the zoning board meeting. During the public hearing, each side — those for or against the request — has up to ten minutes to address the board. Meetings occur at the county office in McDonough and are open to the public.
For those that may be unfamiliar, the RS zoning district allows the following:
- a mixture of at least two of the following: single-family detached housing, townhomes and / or duplexes, and
- single-family minimum lot sizes starting at 7,260 square feet (one-sixth of an acre).
The Villages at Ola
For this project, entitled ”The Villages at Ola,” the applicant is proposing a total of 295 residential units. This includes the following:
- 169 single-family detached lots,
- 84 townhomes, and
- 42 quadplex units.
The residential area consists of ninety-eight acres.
Commercial Outparcels
In addition, 8.32 acres is set aside for commercial development. This area consists of five outparcels at the corner with state route 81 and North Ola Road. The applicant is seeking C-1 zoning in this area which limits the allowable commercial uses. Other commercial zoning, C-2 or C-3, allow for higher-intensity uses. Zoning conditions can further limit the allowable uses. Examples would be a prohibition on discount stores or service stations.
Comparison to Publix Zoning Conditions
Henry County approved the Publix at Ola Crossroads development in April 2019. The Publix property sought mixed use zoning.
The Publix rezoning focused on the commercial component first. The balance of the property — about eighty-four acres — has zoning approval for a future half-acre lot subdivision. The zoning conditions allow up to 104 lots. In addition, minimum home sizes will start at 2,400 square feet with side-entry garages.
A half-acre lot subdivision is known as R-2S zoning in Henry County. The R-2S zoning with at least 2,400 square foot homes is consistent with several zoning approvals made by Commissioner Barham before his passing. R-2S zoning would better match Henry County’s conditions for the future subdivision beside Publix. This zoning district would also limit the project to single-family homes.
MHF News encourages those available to attend the upcoming zoning board meeting. It is important to note the zoning board makes a recommendation only on the rezoning request. The board of commissioners will consider the request at a later date to make a final decision.
Featured image shows the current zoning map in the vicinity of SR 81 and North Ola Road. Photo credit Henry County with additional features added by Clayton Carte / MHF News. Article updated with the September ZAB meeting date after the applicant postponed their requests in April and July.
