Residents voiced sharply different views Tuesday night as the Baldwin City Council held public hearings on a proposed annexation and rezoning for a nearly 66-acre development near the Highway 365 corridor.
Cook Construction and Real Estate is seeking to annex approximately 45 acres from unincorporated Habersham County into Baldwin. The company is also requesting highway business zoning for the annexed property. Another portion of the 65.92-acre site is already within the city and zoned highway business.
No vote was taken Tuesday. Council members are expected to consider the requests at their next meeting.
Representing the developer, Alice Price said Cook intends to develop the property with retail businesses, restaurants and other goods and services. She argued that commercial development would be a better use of the property than the residential development currently permitted under Habersham County’s suburban residential zoning.
That county zoning allows several types of housing, including single-family homes, townhomes, duplexes and multifamily developments.
“We believe that this corner is well suited to this type of commercial development,” Price said. “The overall goal of the project is to create a benefit for the City of Baldwin, to provide goods and services that the area needs and that the residents want.”
Price said Baldwin’s comprehensive plan identifies the Highway 365 corridor as an area for future commercial development. She also said the project could attract new businesses and jobs while expanding the city’s tax base.
Cook representatives also addressed previous concerns about Martha Stuckey, whose property was involved in the proposed development. Fitzgerald said Cook had completed the purchase of her property Monday.
Stuckey then addressed the council and said the company had treated her well throughout the process.
“They have been very patient. They have been very good to me,” Stuckey said. “I’m going to be okay. I’m going to be better. And I think we’re all going to be better.”
Stuckey said she had lived on the property for 50 years and had long expected development to reach that area of the county.
Supporters said Habersham County residents frequently travel to Gainesville or farther south for shopping, dining and entertainment, taking their spending and the resulting tax revenue outside the county.
Terry Williams, whose family owns property near Industrial Boulevard, described the proposal as an opportunity for planned commercial growth along a highway corridor already identified for that purpose.
“It’s right along 365. It’s the best place for commercial growth,” Williams said.
Williams said he would prefer development that offers grocery stores, restaurants, jobs and other amenities over scattered convenience stores or dense residential construction. He also argued that additional business and sales tax revenue could help reduce the burden placed on homeowners.
Vince Fitzgerald, an attorney for Cook Construction, read statements from other supporters who were unable to attend. Those statements cited the need for additional grocery options, jobs and opportunities for residents to spend money closer to home.
Heather Griffin also supported the rezoning, saying large tracts of land are expensive to own and maintain and that property owners should have reasonable opportunities to sell or develop their land. Griffin, a nurse, also spoke favorably about a continuing-care retirement community discussed as part of the development.
Opponents focused primarily on traffic, public safety, sewer capacity, infrastructure costs and distrust of the developer.
Alice Venter spoke against the annexation but acknowledged that commercial development could have less impact than hundreds of duplexes or other residential units. She urged the council to slow the process and fully understand what the project would require, particularly from Baldwin’s sewer system.
“The commercial development is going to be a heck of a lot better than 200 duplexes,” Venture said. “It is not arbitrary or capricious to slow down and understand what is being done here and what it will take so you can plan it better.”
Freda Waters said she is not opposed to progress but questioned whether the area’s roads and infrastructure could accommodate the project. She described being delayed for six traffic-light cycles near the industrial park and pointed to a rollover crash that disrupted Highway 365 traffic Tuesday morning.
“It just needs to be done right,” Waters said.
During the rezoning hearing, Cindy Blackburn delivered an extended argument against approving the proposal without additional independent analysis.
Blackburn questioned conflicting crash and traffic figures presented during discussions of the project. She said the council should determine how many permanent jobs the revised development would create, what those jobs would pay and whether existing employers could supply enough workers.
She also asked the city to independently compare the development’s projected revenue with the costs of additional police and fire protection, road maintenance, public works, water and sewer service, administration and future infrastructure.
“Revenue is only half of the equation,” Blackburn said. “Where is the independent analysis showing what this development will cost Baldwin every year?”
Blackburn said the consequences of annexation and rezoning would be permanent and urged council members to consider current residents, young drivers using Highway 365, emergency vehicles navigating congestion and families potentially facing higher taxes or utility costs.
Ashley Long joined the opposition and asked whether council members had sought opinions from Baldwin residents beyond those attending the hearings. She said the city should not rush a decision with such long-term consequences.
“There’s no need to rush a decision of this magnitude,” Long said. “Make sure that all the details are very clear and you have all the information that you need before you move forward.”
Council members also questioned the applicant about traffic volumes. Price said a traffic engineer’s trip-generation memorandum listed a figure of 26,285, although the discussion did not clearly establish whether that represented existing daily traffic or projected trips associated with the area.
The developer also disclosed that, at the council’s request, CBD stores had been removed from a proposed list of prohibited uses for the property. Price said the change would preserve the possibility of collecting tax revenue from such a business if laws governing those products change in the future.
Before closing the hearings, city officials acknowledged both the potential benefits and risks of the proposal. They noted that Baldwin’s comprehensive plan supports commercial development along Highway 365, where it could have less effect on the city’s established neighborhoods.
Officials also acknowledged that Baldwin’s water and sewer infrastructure is already strained and said the council must weigh potential revenue against the city’s responsibility to provide services.
The council will continue receiving comments from residents, but officials said another public hearing will not be held before the proposal returns for consideration at the next council meeting.
