Holbrook Woodstock expansion goes to City Council Monday

The Woodstock City Council holds a public hearing Monday on a plan to add 65 homes for seniors at Holbrook Woodstock, the retirement community on Highway 92. The council will also vote.

It reaches the council with no recommendation. The Planning Commission split 2-2 on Sept. 3, so the motion to approve failed and no other motion was made. City staff recommend approval.

The details come from the agenda packet for the Nov. 9 meeting, case Z#174-26. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. Monday at The Chambers at City Center, 8534 Main St.

What Holbrook wants to build

Holbrook Woodstock sits on 20.4 acres at 13682 Highway 92, at Mountain Brook Parkway. It has independent living, assisted living, memory care and cottages. A 2017 zoning case capped the campus at 299 units, and it was never fully built out.

The application asks the city to raise the cap on independent retirement living units from 175 to 230. The plan includes:

• a new building with one level of underground parking, one level of parking above ground and three floors of independent living units on top
• 175 parking spaces in that garage
• two more cottages, taking the total from 16 to 18
• at least 338 parking spaces across the campus, written into the zoning conditions

That would be 65 more units than are built today: 63 independent living units and two cottages. Every unit stays age restricted for seniors, with no units sold outright, under the draft conditions.

The staff report puts density at 14 units an acre now and 17 after the expansion. Staff say that is below the 20 an acre the city’s Senior Living zoning would allow on a site like this.

Why the Planning Commission split

Commissioners raised two concerns after the tie, according to the city’s memo to the council:

• the city’s own target, in its Council Policy Manual, that senior living should be no more than 5% of households in Woodstock
• the plan’s density and how well it fits the existing site layout

Senior housing is already about 6% of the city’s housing, the staff report says. The 65 units would take it to about 6.1%. Staff argue that adding units inside an existing campus is a better pattern than using new land for senior living.

Three Holbrook residents spoke at the Planning Commission hearing, the memo says. They raised parking during construction, the impact on their community, the size of the new parking spaces and strain on existing amenities. The applicant’s team then proposed a parking range of 355 to 419 spaces.

Three nearby residents came to the applicant’s public input meeting on June 30. They raised the existing entrance from Mountain Brook Parkway onto Highway 92, the staff report says.

What changed before Monday

The plan the council sees differs from the one the Planning Commission saw:

• The buffer stays. The applicant first asked to build the two cottages about 20 feet into a 50-foot undisturbed buffer on the southern edge, beside the Bluffs at Mountain Brook. The applicant has since withdrawn that request, the memo says, and the draft ordinance dated Nov. 4 keeps the 50-foot buffer.
• A construction plan. A new condition requires a construction management plan approved by the city’s Development Process Committee.
• A left turn lane. Holbrook would have to build a dedicated left turn lane from Mountain Brook Parkway onto Highway 92, if the Georgia Department of Transportation approves. Highway 92 is a state route, and staff say they are working with GDOT on options there.
• Parking. The applicant has not filed a formal variance from the city’s parking rules. It will present its case for changes to the parking plan at the meeting, the agenda says.

If the council approves and land development permits are not issued within 12 months, the new conditions lapse.

What it means for you

• You can speak. The item is a public hearing, so residents can comment before the vote. The agenda for the Nov. 9 meeting is on the city’s meetings page on Granicus.
• If you use Highway 92 at Mountain Brook Parkway, the left turn lane condition is the part that touches your drive. It depends on GDOT, and the packet gives no timetable.
• If you live at Holbrook or in the Bluffs, the construction management plan and the southern buffer are the conditions to watch.

For how zoning cases work in Woodstock, see our guide to building permits and zoning.

Also on Monday’s agenda

• Downtown Playground. Staff ask the council to drop the $438,961 renovation contract it approved July 28 and hire other contractors for $345,409.54, which staff put at about $93,500 in savings. The city would still pay $201,876 for the new play structure and freight, already delivered. Drainage, a seat wall and a boulder swale are scheduled for Nov. 9-20. The new play structure, turf and safety surfacing follow Jan. 4-22, 2027. See our parks and trails guide.
• Dobbs Road sidewalk. An $85,000 budget amendment from the SPLOST VII sales tax would pay for Phase III. The city says right-of-way talks moved faster than expected and construction should start this calendar year. Our road construction page tracks city projects.
• Traffic calming. A rewrite of the council’s traffic calming policy, last revised in April 2011. Staff say it removes outdated information and follows practice in nearby cities.
• Capital plan. A resolution to send a draft amendment to the city’s Capital Improvements Element to the Atlanta Regional Commission for review.

Dates from the city’s announcements

• City offices close Wednesday, Nov. 11, for Veterans Day.
• The city’s Veterans Day ceremony is at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 11, at Woodstock City Church.
• A household hazardous waste and book recycling event and a paper shredding event run 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, at Woodstock City Church. The hazardous waste drop-off needs registration at livethrive.org/woodstock.