The City of East Ellijay is not in favor of allowing one of its roads to be used by a subdivision in the early planning stages.
Mayor Mack West discussed the proposed Gilmer Village development with city councilmembers Don Callihan, Linda Smith and Ed Forrester during a council meeting last Tuesday.
Plans for the subdivision recently went before the county planning committee, and a decision from the board of commissioners will decide whether the property will be rezoned from R1 (low density residential) to R5 (high density residential).
Architectural drawings show 80 single family lots planned for the 24.98 acre development including multipurpose townhomes and single family houses.
Although the land is in the county, the development would need to use an East Ellijay road, Mountain View Drive, and an Ellijay road, Progress Road, for entering and exiting. West noted that both cities will have to give permission for ingress and egress.
“We aren’t going to let them do it,” he said, referring to whether East Ellijay will allow the road to be used.
A recent traffic study has suggested that a right turn lane be put in on the nearby Coosawattee Drive to accommodate eastbound, right-turning traffic.
West expressed that he’s also not in favor of East Ellijay funding that suggested turn lane construction or other traffic control measures related to the development.
“The city is not in a position to bear this expense,” he said.
Additional traffic from the subdivision is a main concern, West noted.
“There would definitely be a lot of additional traffic to and from Highlands mall creating safety issues and further impeding the flow of traffic by adding an additional red light at Mountain View Drive and Highway 515,” he said. “Everybody’s not going to go down Coosawattee Drive, turn right and go to the shopping center. They’re going to go right down (past) the liquor store (Appalachian Beverage) and cross over. (That’s) the real danger.”
Ellijay Code Enforcement has also expressed concern about additional traffic the subdivision could create. Plans for the development have not yet been discussed by the Ellijay City Council
Communicating with the county planning and zoning office, Ellijay Code Enforcement Officer Andrew Mathis said the traffic study done on the area is insufficient to address potential problems of increased traffic on Progress Road because it was done in June, which doesn’t take school traffic into account.
“Traffic is heavy, backing up in both directions, and the traffic volume passing the intersection of Progress Road and Old Highway 5 South is increased. Traffic on Old Highway 5 South often backs up past the Tim-Buk-Tu gas station during the morning peak hours, and from Howard Simmons to Progress Road in the evening hours. Traffic is also increased on Progress Road due to people trying to avoid the school traffic by going around it,” he stated.
West told the council another concern is more pedestrians, possibly teens, attempting to cross the busy highway to get to Walmart and the Highlands shopping area.
“To allow this development to come in there, I’d have that on my conscience. I know there’s going to be some fatalities,” he said.
The councilmembers tabled their vote on whether or not to allow the use of Mountain View Drive. West said he and City Planner Mack Wood will attend the August commissioners meeting, and he also urged councilmembers to attend.
“If the commissioners pass it, then we have to step up to the plate. But we need to be there to let them know how we feel,” said Wood.