Proposed Flowery Branch historic district comes under fire

FLOWERY BRANCH – Plans for a unified historic district in Flowery Branch drew criticism from area residents during a public hearing on Thursday. Several residents requested that their property be excluded from the district.

At the city council’s request, a private firm reviewed Flowery Branch’s existing historic preservation ordinance and requested some changes.

“There was an ordinance on the books already, a historic district. The Jaeger Company took a look at it and decided that there were some properties that were in it that probably shouldn’t be in it,” explained Mayor Diane Hirling.

After a comprehensive survey of 134 properties in the city, Jaeger recommended that Flowery Branch create a single historic district, instead of the two that were previously in place. The suggested district encompasses much of the downtown area.

At issue, residents say, is that the proposed ordinance requires property owners within the district to go before a Historic Preservation Commission at a public hearing in order to receive clearance to make major improvements to the exterior of buildings.

Major works include the construction, demolition and relocation of a building or structure.

“People do not want to deal with this historic district mess,” said Flowery Branch resident Bryan Puckette, who, like many at the packed hearing, claims the ordinance will hurt property values and stifle development.

But, developer Kellin Dobbs says the city’s historic preservation efforts are a factor that continue to attract him to build in the area.

Flowery Branch resident Joshua Carr expressed a general feeling of those assembled. “You have citizens concerned that they’re not going to be able to do what they want with their property. There’s a lot of lack of information out there,” he said.

There will be a second public hearing on the issue on July 10 at 6 p.m.