No New Dairy Queen for Hamilton Mill Area

Dairy Queen fans will have to continue driving to Buford or Dacula for hot eats and cool treats.

On Nov. 5, the Gwinnett County Planning Commission voted to deny a request to rezone a 1.65-acre tract near the intersection of Hamilton Mill Road and Puckett's Mill Road from RA-200 to C-1 to allow the construction of a Dairy Queen Grill and Chill. 

Several area residents spoke in opposition to the request.

Dennis Oshinski, president of the Ivy Creek Homeowners Association which is a group of neighborhoods located behind the subject property, said he and his neighbors felt the business was not needed as there is another Dairy Queen little more than three miles away. He also expressed concern that rezoning the property would pave the way for more commercial development in the area as opposed to the office and industrial development which he said would be more appropriate for the area.

Jack Skidmore, president of the Cascade Falls Homeowners Association, emphasized the residential nature of Hamilton Mill Road between Puckett's Mill Road and Wallace Road.

"If we put C-1 here, it's just going to open the door for what we envision is a shopping center or a bunch of C-1, C-2 outbuildings right across from the entrance to our subdivision," Skidmore said. "We just don't want that."

Guy Abernathy, who represented the applicants, argued commercial is the highest and best use for the property. He also addressed the concerns of area residents regarding traffic, saying a proposed intersection alignment at Hamilton Mill Road and Puckett's Mill Road would address those issues.

In the end, that argument failed to sway the commission.

District 4 representative Brad Crowe motioned to approve the request saying the commercial development already in place at the intersection and the fact the road will be increased to five lanes in the future made the property suitable for commercial development. Clint Dixon, the other District 4 representative, seconded the motion, but it got no further support failing by a 7-2 vote.

District 3 representative and chairperson Chuck Warbington made a subsequent motion to deny the rezoning request which passed 7-2.

Did the planning commission make the right decision? Let us know in the comments.