Johns Creek Approves 48-Home Subdivision on Church Campus

Johns Creek has approved 48 detached homes on part of the Johns Creek United Methodist Church campus, clearing the way for underused athletic fields near Medlock Bridge and Bell roads to become a residential neighborhood.

The Sept. 14 City Council approval rezones approximately 21.65 acres from office and institutional use to a Community Unit Plan district. The church will remain, along with recreational space and pedestrian connections shared with the new neighborhood.

The decision also grants a variance for an existing church parking lot that extends into a required landscape strip along Bell Road. That parking configuration will not expand as part of the project.

Smaller lots toward the center

The subdivision will have 15 lots of at least 5,000 square feet along Bell Road and the Bell Road Connector. The remaining 33 lots can be as small as 3,600 square feet and will sit farther inside the property.

At 2.2 homes per acre, the development will be less dense than nearby Bellmoore Park, which has a density of 2.88 units per acre, and The Reserve at Foxdale, at 3.07 units per acre.

Homes would have two-car garages and facades combining brick veneer, stone and cementitious siding. A private internal road will connect to a full-access entrance on Bell Road.

The approved site concept includes a 25-foot perimeter setback and landscape strips along Bell Road and the Bell Road Connector. A 40-foot landscape strip will remain along Medlock Bridge Road, with a 25-foot undisturbed buffer beside the Georgia Power substation to the north.

Open space includes ponds and recreation

Approximately 4.08 acres, or 18.85% of the rezoned property, will count as common open space.

That area includes bioretention ponds as well as a dog park, soccer field, playground and landscaped park. Internal sidewalks will connect the homes to those amenities and the remaining church campus.

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Because stormwater facilities are included in the open-space calculation, not all 4.08 acres will function as conventional recreational land.

The project will use an existing detention pond and add an underground stormwater facility in the northeastern portion of the property. Bioretention areas will help manage runoff from the new streets, roofs and driveways.

Bell Road will carry most subdivision traffic

The neighborhood is expected to generate approximately 635 vehicle trips during a typical day, including 37 during the morning peak hour and 49 during the evening peak.

The city’s conditions require dedicated turn lanes on Bell Road to serve the development. The subdivision will have one full-access entrance rather than a connection directly to Medlock Bridge Road.

Fulton County Schools estimated that the homes could generate 16 to 44 students. The district did not anticipate a capacity problem at Shakerag Elementary, River Trail Middle or Northview High as a result of the project.

Water and sewer capacity are also available for the development.

Construction does not begin with the zoning vote

The council’s decision establishes the permitted land use and development conditions. It does not give the builder immediate authorization to begin constructing homes.

Detailed engineering plans, stormwater designs, subdivision plats and building permits must still complete the city’s review process. The publicly available case materials do not provide a construction schedule, anticipated home prices or an opening date.

The change will eventually place a new residential enclave between the church, Bellmoore Park, Bell Road and the offices along the Medlock Bridge corridor. The next visible step will come when the conceptual plan becomes a detailed construction submission.