"I believe it’s going to have a severe negative impact on this subdivision," resident Patti Davis told Oakwood City Council.

Nicholas Martin and John and Elizabeth Wilson were seeking a rezoning to a highway business classification from a residential one to make way for the 1.1-acre development on Chestnut Drive off Winder Highway.

The two lots, along with a third one already in the city, would serve as the site for the center.

Residents said they were concerned about entrances to the development from Chestnut Drive, which serves as the main road into the 50-home subdivision.

William Gresham of Gresham Planning & Development in Clarkesville spoke in favor of the development.

In other business Monday, the council was scheduled to consider an ordinance governing speed zones in the city, including ones that include state routes. The law would replace one already on the books. The city updates the ordinance every four years, City Manager Stan Brown said.

The only significant changes in the new law are that the speed limit on Railroad Street between Main Street and the city limits would drop to 30 mph from 35 and the speed limit on Frontage Road between Ga. 13 and Ga. 53 would drop to 40 mph from 45.

Also, the city is adding H.F. Reed Industrial Parkway to the list. The 1-mile road runs between McEver Road and Thurmon Tanner Parkway and has a 45-mph speed limit. The speed zones were based on a traffic engineering study by the Georgia Department of Transportation, according to the ordinance.