The Planning Commission on Monday afternoon recommended denial for rezoning of a 296-home subdivision at the traffic-clogged Hunter Road area.
Delbert Skidmore Properties had sought to move from A-1 to R-1 at 8209 Bell Mill Road.
Prior to the vote, County Commissioner Jeff Eversole said, "We have saturated these roads so badly that we have made ourselves dangerous. It's become Atlanta traffic."
He asked, "When is it going to stop? When is it going to slow down?"
Dan Reuter, executive director of the Regional Planning Agency, said, "The county has absolutely no money in its budget that I know of to widen Hunter Road. If we had the money, it would take years to widen the roads. We are not going to be widening any two-lane roads any time soon."
The planning official added, "So if you are going to move out in the county on a two-lane road, get used to sitting in traffic and listening to a podcast or some music."
One resident said roads in that section "are more curvy than a bucket of fishhooks." Another called the site "a sinkhole-riddled pasture."
Mike Price, speaking for the developer, said a meeting that was held with residents "was short of a blood bath."
But he said the developer's plans for the property are in line with what the planning staff said would be acceptable under the 2007 Wolftever Plan.
He said it was planned to have 2.9 homes per acre for the total of 296. He said the developer would widen Bell Mill Road to 22 feet in front of the project and fix the intersection at Bell Mill and Hunter if the county could acquire a needed sliver of land there.
Responding to another concern, Mr. Price said about 143 children of school age would be at the development and that would build up over a 4-5-year construction period.
He also said that the developer would donate nine acres for a park. County Commissioner Steve Highlander said, "Thanks for the park offer," but he said he has seen flooding at that location "over my head."