The Senoia City Council April 4 conducted a public hearing and heard the first reading of a rezoning proposal that could lead to the construction of a facility to serve a portion of the city’s elderly population. The proposal by Tranquil Village, LLC involved the rezoning of 7.34 acres on Coweta Street from R-40 (Residential) to IIR (In-town Infill Redevelopment).
If approved by the council it will lead to the construction of the facility by Tranquil Village, LLC on the Coweta Street property recently surplused by the city.
The council voted unanimously in September to deed 7.34 acres on Coweta Street to the city’s Downtown Development Authority to facilitate the upcoming contract for the project.
The idea of creating the independent living center with elder care is keeping with the council’s previously stated position that the property be used to develop a facility for the city’s growing elder population.
Tranquil Village, LLC representative Dan Barnes told council members that Senoia resident Angela Bloomfield created the idea for the facility as a way of giving back to the community.
“The location is perfect. It will be a unique facility for baby-boomers and for elderly care,” said Barnes, adding that physicians will be encouraged to essentially come to the facility and donate their time. “No facility in the country is doing this.”
A part of the agreement for Tranquil Village noted last year by the council involved the company either paying $5,000 per acre or constructing a building of similar value to be used as a meeting place by the Boy Scouts. Barnes told the council that Tranquil Village intends to construct a 1,400 square-foot Boy Scout hut on the property.
The public hearing that preceded the first reading for the measure included only one resident. That comment only referenced the details of the Boy Scout hut.
City Administrator Richard Ferry in an April 4 memo said city attorney Drew Whalen advised that a rezoning to In-town Infill Redevelopment would be necessary prior to proceeding with the development. Because of this, Ms. Bloomfield made application to rezone the property from residential R40 to IIR, Ferry said.
Ferry said the council in 2006 approved the Future Land Use Map that shows the subject property as In-town Infill Redevelopment.
Ferry said the purpose of the IIR district is to foster redevelopment in and around historic downtown Senoia. As the town center is a finite space, varied residential development that is denser than development characterizing surrounding neighborhoods is encouraged, including multifamily, condominium, townhouse and loft development. For similar reasons, commercial intensification is also encouraged. The subject parcel is among those designated by the Future land Use Map as eligible for the IIR designation, Ferry said.
