Parkland Homebuilders wants 106 stacked townhomes on 7.9 acres off Hurricane Shoals Road, beside the Costco site. City Council takes it up Tuesday, with staff backing it.
A builder wants to put 106 stacked townhomes on land right next to the Costco site that Lawrenceville approved two weeks ago. The City Council discusses the rezoning at its work session at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall.
Parkland Homebuilders asks the city to rezone about 7.9 acres at 2555 University Parkway and 104 Hurricane Shoals Road for multifamily housing. City planning staff recommend approval with conditions, according to the staff report in the Oct. 13 work session packet.
The land sits between Hurricane Shoals Road and Buford Drive, near Georgia 316. The Costco warehouse the council approved Sept. 28 is directly to the north, the report says. Part of the townhome site is a slice of the same parcel, and the City of Lawrenceville is one of the listed owners.
What Parkland wants to build
The staff report and the builder’s letter of intent, filed Aug. 7, set out the plan:
- 106 homes at about 13.5 units an acre
- buildings up to three stories, in rows of three to eight
- each building split into a two-bedroom home and a three-bedroom home stacked above it, each with two and a half baths and at least 1,600 square feet
- a one-car garage and a driveway space for every home, reached by rear alleys, with 237 parking spaces in all
- a pool, pavilion, playground and mail kiosk near the entrance
- one entrance on Hurricane Shoals Road, plus a link to the driveway between the RaceTrac and the fast-food restaurant on Buford Drive
- a trail connection toward future shops, including the Costco site
The site now holds a used car sales and service business, the letter says. The builder puts common open space at about 29% of the property.
The variances
A stacked townhome counts as an apartment building under the building code, because the homes do not run from foundation to roof. So the site needs the city’s RM-24 multifamily zoning, and the plan does not meet several of its rules.
| Rule in RM-24 zoning | Requirement | Proposed |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum lot area | 10 acres | about 7.9 acres |
| Front setback | 50 feet | 30 feet |
| Landscaped strip along streets | 50 feet | 30 feet |
| Share of three-bedroom units | 10% at most | 65% |
| Brick or stone on each side | 75% | 30% |
| Stream buffer | 50 feet undisturbed, plus 25 feet with no paving | building inside both |
The plan also needs variances for each home to have its own outside front door instead of a shared hallway.
Staff wrote that most of these match variances granted earlier this year for 90 stacked townhomes at Spring Lake and Paper Mill Road. The stream buffer request would allow the trail link and is “in line with” the buffer variances for the Costco site, the report says.
One problem is unresolved. The city’s zoning text does not allow the 10-acre minimum to be reduced by variance. Staff wrote that “a text amendment may be required to proceed” and that “further discussion will be necessary.”
The Planning Commission held a public hearing on the case Oct. 5. The packet does not yet record its recommendation.
Also on Tuesday’s agenda
The council meets twice Tuesday. A special called meeting at 5 p.m. comes first, according to the special call agenda:
- New council member. Darion Ward is sworn in to City Council Post 1. Ward was the only candidate to qualify, so the city canceled the Nov. 3 special election. The term runs through Dec. 31, 2027.
- A lease at 205 Culver St. The city would rent the city-owned building to Dobbins Law LLC as a law office for five years from Nov. 1. Rent starts at $3,000 a month and rises each year to $3,650.
The 5:30 p.m. work session also covers:
- Police technology. Chief John Mullin asks for $835,000 for a consolidated Axon contract that adds three police drones and 10 fixed cameras. Read our story on the police drone proposal.
- 409 Simmons St. A $340,000 purchase of land in the Grizzly Parkway area. The city plans to partner with the Downtown Development Authority on future redevelopment there.
- A carwash at 425 W. Pike St. Smokerise Services wants a special use permit at the corner of West Pike Street and Dons Way. Staff and the Planning Commission recommend approval with conditions.
- Truck and trailer parking. Special use permits for a vehicle storage lot and an 8,347-square-foot building addition at 401 Industrial Park Drive, and for outdoor storage, a contractor’s office and gravel parking at 272 Hurricane Shoals Road.
- “DTL” sculpture. An update on three large steel letters spelling “DTL” for the Lawrenceville Lawn on Clayton Street, by artist Huelani Mei Rottmann. The Arts Commission puts the cost at about $80,000, with installation possible in spring 2027.
- A committee ends. A resolution would dissolve the Financial Review Citizen Committee, which met each year during the budget. A new Citizen 101 program would take its place.
- Parking rules. A presentation on how city code and zoning treat cars parked at homes, including driveways and parking pads.
What it means for you
- Nothing is decided Tuesday. A work session is for discussion. The council votes at regular meetings; the next one is Monday, Oct. 26, at 7 p.m.
- Watch or attend. The meeting is at City Hall, 70 S. Clayton St., and is streamed on the city’s meeting videos page. Agendas and packets are on Municode Meetings.
- Have your say. There is no public comment on work session items unless the mayor and council allow it. To speak at a regular meeting, use the clerk’s sign-up form; our page on who to call at City Hall has the contacts.
- Live nearby? The builder’s letter notes the site is close to Rhodes Jordan Park; our Paper Mill Road and Rhodes Jordan Park guide covers the area.
Have your say