Eatonton city council addresses housing developments

Two separate housing possibilities provided the focus for Monday evening’s Eatonton City Council mid-month meeting.

The first came in a rezoning of 26-plus acres on Monticello Road (Ga. 16) across the road from Ingle’s grocery store. Current plans would build 71 townhouses for sale or long-term rental, according to Athens-based Rick McAlister, the agent for owner Mathers Meats and More.

The bulk of the land had been zoned Agricultural, with the butcher business and home zoned C-1 (commercial).

However, because of a creek’s flood plain on one side of the triangular-shaped tract and a Georgia Power Co. transmission lines easement on the other, the developable land was reduced considerably and required a “planned development” (i.e., negotiated) designation for the requested R-3 zoning (high-density residential).

McAlister and the council agreed to four conditions to the rezoning: the current two tracts be combined into one, a right-turn deceleration lane be built along the west side of the tract’s 1,000-foot frontage on Monticello Road, providing 5-foot-wide sidewalks, and building setbacks of 23 feet from the edge of the pavement.