Up to five craftsman-style cottages are planned along Mulberry Street, a largely undeveloped and heavily wooded area off Atlanta Highway in Flowery Branch.

But first, the developer, Kellin Dobbs, hopes to sway Flowery Branch City Council to allow him to build closer to the road than normally allowed so he can take the homes out of a neighboring floodplain.

The city has a 15-foot front setback in areas zoned as traditional neighborhood development. In his application, Dobbs is asking for no setback.

A public hearing on the proposal is set for 6 p.m. Thursday in City Hall, 5517 Main St.

Dobbs’ application states that the houses proposed for the site “would increase the beauty of the lots and the street as a whole.”

The development would take place on Mulberry at East Main Street, just two blocks east of Atlanta Highway, a main artery through town. East Main also connects to Thurmon Tanner Parkway, another major South Hall thoroughfare.

“It’s a positive opportunity for the city and for that corner, and hopefully it will spur further growth (in the area),” Dobbs said Wednesday.

The city is having something of a growth spurt recently, with the redevelopment of a subdivision off Lights Ferry Road and completion of the Lights Ferry Connector featuring a roundabout at Mitchell Street.

Also, a developer is proposing a 60-unit apartment complex geared toward seniors on East Main near Thurmon Tanner. And, at Thursday’s meeting, a developer is seeking a rezoning so that a subdivision on Jim Crow Road halted by the Great Recession can be revived.

Dobbs said if his plans are approved, construction on the cottages could begin this summer.