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.
With the rezoning approved, McAlister said the tract would be sold to an unnamed developer.
A second housing-related matter involved the council’s endorsement of efforts by the Eatonton Housing Authority for funding to replace eight units at Sumter Street’s Hillside Apartments with an elevator-assisted, multistory building. Eventually, another 50 units may be added after the demolition of the eight units.
The council’s endorsement gives additional weight to the authority’s redevelopment grant application through the Georgia Initiative for Community Housing.
“It is very early in the process, and I don’t want to get hopes up too much,” said the authority’s executive director, Vonda Gibson. “But we have plenty of people who need housing.”
Hillside was built in 1979 and originally was aimed at serving elderly and disabled clients.
The council also voted for the adoption of the five-year update of the state-required city-county hazard mitigation plan. The 215-page document identifies potential hazards, from floods and fires to chemical spills and long-term power outages, and then goes on to list available resources and future needs.