Targhee Partners Refiles 167-Home Canton Annexation After Withdrawing 194-Unit Plan

Targhee's original plan proposed 194 homes: 96 detached houses, 77 townhomes and 21 cottages. It also included approximately 9.2 acres designated for commercial or light-industrial development. Canton staff said that proposal did not match the city's Future Land Use Plan.

The original filing also drew concerns from Cherokee County over density, land-use compatibility, roadway improvements, and emergency access. County officials said the predominantly residential plan conflicted with the county's Workplace Center designation and Canton's projected Employment Center designation. The county asked that density be reduced, more of the property remain employment-oriented, Old Vandiver Road be upgraded and turn lanes be added along Ball Ground Highway.

At Canton's January public hearing, no one spoke in support of the proposal and eight speakers raised concerns involving traffic, entrance safety, drainage, buffers, school capacity, infrastructure, environmental impacts and overdevelopment. City Council requested additional information about traffic, entrance safety, the reason for annexation, home pricing, architectural renderings and existing infrastructure.

On February 5, the applicant's attorney requested that the applications be withdrawn without prejudice. Canton City Council approved the withdrawal unanimously.

The newly filed plan reduces the overall housing count by 27 units. Compared with the withdrawn proposal, it removes 37 townhomes and six cottages while adding 16 detached homes. The revised filing lists a residential density of 3.46 homes per acre.

The revised proposal addresses some of the pressure placed on the original filing by reducing the total unit count and shifting the housing mix toward detached homes.

Cherokee County had previously pushed for more industrial development on the property. During the county's July 21 review of the new filing, commissioners said the property owners had made a convincing case that the site's steep topography makes substantial industrial development impractical. Commissioners also referenced a limited affordable-housing component within the proposal.

Traffic remains a central issue.

Commissioners described Ball Ground Highway as a “tough stretch of road” and questioned whether planned improvements at Fate Conn Road would adequately accommodate traffic traveling south toward the signal near Bojangles.

The county asked Canton to consider improvements to that signal and the possibility of extending the existing four-lane section north from Old Highway 5.

The proposal is also part of a larger concentration of development activity in the area.

Only a few intersections away, Lennar Georgia is seeking to annex 176 acres near Old Shoal Creek Road and Reinhardt College Parkway for a separate 199-lot single-family development.

Together, the Targhee and Lennar requests cover approximately 224 acres and propose 366 homes.