Council approves rezoning for 67 townhomes at Wooten Tract, removes GDOT sound‑wall condition

Alpharetta City Council on July 28 approved a comprehensive land use plan amendment, rezoning and variance allowing 67 for‑sale townhomes on about 10.19 acres at the end of Beaver Creek Road in the Northpointe area.
The project, proposed by developer David Weekley Homes, will change the site’s future land use from mixed use to high‑density residential and rezone the property from O&I (office/institutional) to R10M, enabling 20‑foot‑wide, three‑story townhomes.
City planner Michael Woodman summarized the request, saying the proposal would yield a density of about 6.58 dwelling units per acre and provide nearly three acres — roughly 30% of the site — as open space, including pocket parks, bioretention and walking trails. He also noted the site was previously approved for a 170,000‑square‑foot office project under an expired Gateway Center master plan.
Resident Daniel Porzio, who identified his address as 435 Summerfield Drive, said he was “not in opposition to the project, but I do have questions and some cautions,” raising concerns about noise from nearby Georgia 400, density, a single point of ingress/egress and fire safety.
Applicant attorney Steven Jones told council the developer will replant the required 60‑foot vegetative buffer along Georgia 400 and said the company would consent to staff’s recommended conditions. “We would ask that you vote consistent with staff’s recommendation and the planning commission’s recommendations,” Jones said.
Planning Commission had unanimously recommended approval subject to 19 staff conditions and added a sentence to condition 14 requiring the developer to construct a sound barrier if the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) did not build one as part of the Georgia 400 expansion. Councilman Markle moved to remove that Planning Commission–added sentence; Councilman Hipes seconded. The motion passed; the final approval removed the second sentence of condition 14 and passed unanimously.
Key project details included: 67 townhomes, rear‑loaded units with two garage spaces plus two driveway spaces per unit (staff counted 268 total resident spaces and 18 on‑street guest spaces), retention/bioretention on the south end adjacent to Big Creek, and screening and supplemental evergreen plantings proposed around an existing billboard in the Georgia 400 buffer. Staff noted there are two specimen trees on the site that cannot be preserved because they front an existing right of way. The applicant indicated an expected price point in the “high fives, maybe pushing into the sixes,” describing market uncertainty.
The council’s approval amends the land‑use map and zoning for the parcel and grants the variance to allow a gated, private street and alleys maintained by the HOA. Council discussion emphasized applying the city’s zoning standards and meeting UDC requirements; Councilman Dirigo noted the council’s role is to apply the code rather than substitute council judgment for a property owner’s decisions.
The project will proceed subject to the staff conditions in the council packet, minus the Planning Commission’s added sentence about constructing a sound wall if GDOT does not.