Woodstock Council To Consider Church Variance Request

A variance request for the developer of Watermarke Church will be considered by the Woodstock City Council on Monday.

The council's meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at the Chambers at City Center.

Northpoint Ministries, the developer and affiliate of Watermarke Church, has filed a variance request with the city of Woodstock for 32.5 acres on the south side of Ridgewalk Parkway between Ridge Trail and the Georgia Northeastern Railroad tracks. 

The company wants the city to grant a variance from its form-based code to allow its buildings to be attached to single story, climate controlled hallways and allow parking to be situated adjacent to the roadway.

The land is currently zoned new community town center and Northpoint Ministries is also seeking a conditional use permit to allow for religious assembly. 

The company plans to build 250,000 square feet of buildings, which would include about 2,400 parking spaces.  

The proposal was required to go through the Developments of Regional Impact review process by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs. 

Developments of Regional Impact are described as large-scale projects that would have ripple effects beyond the jurisdictional boundaries in which they reside. 

DCA's process requires each of these developments to be reviewed by the regional commission district it falls in, which in this case would be the Atlanta Regional Commission. The process also calls for the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority to review the project's scope.

The city submitted the project on behalf of the company in September and the department last month deemed the project to be in the best interest of the region. 

See the attached .PDF to see what else is on the council's agenda.