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Oakwood expects commercial land growth
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Oakwood may grow one-third of an acre as a result of a Monday night meeting.

And a city official said slowly but surely, there’s more commercial annexations to come with the expected Thurmond Tanner Parkway extension that will connect Mundy Mill Drive to Spout Springs Road.

Oakwood Planning Commission unanimously voted to recommend annexing a .34-acre tract from Hall County behind the Country Inn and Suites on Mundy Mill Drive.

The commission recommended approval of the request of Jim Smith Enterprises LLC to rezone the annexed tract at 3761 Mundy Mill Drive from Hall County single family residential to Oakwood highway business to the Oakwood City Council.

Larry Sparks, Oakwood planning director, said annexations of residential properties with tentative plans for commercial development have become typical in Oakwood.

He said the city annexed about 100 parcels of land on Winder Highway about a year ago, and another wave of annexations in the area could follow.

"Right now (Smith) doesn’t have any specific plans," Sparks said of Smith’s annexed property. "He wants to continue renting it as a residence until the property is developed commercially. Mundy Mill Drive is not a thoroughfare now, but ... there will probably be some developments made in the future that will bring more traffic."

Sparks said the area around the .34-acre tract is in a transitional state, with older residential homes giving way to more commercial property.

"That’s what our future land use plan calls for in that area," he said.

Sparks said construction on the Thurmond Tanner Parkway extension is slated to begin in September and could facilitate commercial growth in Oakwood.

He said the planned extension will connect Thurmond Tanner Parkway from Plainview Road to Mundy Mill Drive at Zaxby’s and United Community Bank.

"You’re going to be able to travel from Mundy Mill to Spout Springs without getting on I-985," Sparks said. "We expect a tremendous amount of traffic to be coming through here."

Cale Rogers represented Jim Smith as his attorney at the planning commission meeting Monday. He said Smith was also interested in annexing the property adjacent to 3761 Mundy Mill Drive for additional commercial development.

The Oakwood City Council will take up the issue at its next meeting on June 9 at City Hall.