A community meeting has been scheduled to discuss resident concerns about a proposed 518-acre mixed-use village off of Dawson County’s Ga. 400 corridor. 

The meeting is set for Tuesday, April 12 from 5:30-7 p.m. at the Dawson County Board of Education’s Professional Development Center. The one-story center is located at 28 Main Street in Dawsonville, next to the BOE building. 

Atlanta developer Fox Creek Properties’ proposed village would include a subdivision, apartment complex, shops, public green space and event area, offices and a warehouse space. If built, the development would also include one segment of a forthcoming county greenway. 

The vote to recommend the rezone’s approval or denial was tabled until the Planning Commission’s meeting on April 19 following an extensive amount of citizen outcry. Before Fox Creek’s presentation then, the developer had already tried two other times to get versions of the proposed project approved. 

People’s concerns about the development include that it would create more traffic congestion on roadways, lead to an increase in crime and negatively impact the Etowah River area. 

In related news, a petition associated Facebook group called “Keep Dawson Small” have been started to oppose the rezoning.

The document was posted in the “Focus on Dawson” Facebook group the evening of Thursday, March 24. As of Friday afternoon, it had 67 signatures.

The petition asked for signatures in opposition to the rezoning. At a bare minimum, it demanded that the proposed buffer be increased to 600 feet (from 250 feet); that no apartments be in the mixed-use village and that more impact fees be paid by Fox Creek, so the cost isn’t shifted to taxpayers.