The city Planning Commission overwhelmingly approved a preliminary plan Tuesday to construct a 58-unit housing development along Rocky Branch Road by Route 17, marking a significant step forward for Clarkesville’s new residential development.
The Village Crest subdivision’s preliminary plat, which was presented by ARA Vision, LLC and its principal, Joe Arencibia, was authorized by the Commission. Currently classified R-2 (Multiple Family Residential), the property spans roughly 13.5 acres.
During the meeting’s comments section, the developer and his project manager, Bill Gresham, Clarkesville city manager Keith Dickerson, and a few locals publicly discussed the plan’s advantages and disadvantages with the Planning Commission.
Tammy Brown, a teacher, expressed her great concern about the possible effects of hundreds of new inhabitants on the physical infrastructure, public safety, and school system.
Has anyone contacted the school board over the development? Has anybody had a conversation with public safety? Has the landfill been contacted? She enquired.
“You must safeguard our residences,” Brown informed the commission. At City Hall, she was one of perhaps nine people in the crowd.At its meeting on July 8, 2025, the Planning Commission examined the Village Crest subdivision’s proposed plat. The 58-unit housing complex will be situated close to Hwy/17/Toccoa Highway, off Rocky Branch Road. (NowHabersham.com/Joshua M. Peck)
As the Commission asked Arencibia about his plans, the meeting was generally positive despite such worries.
Next steps
Arencibia provided a concise summary of his goals in response to worries regarding infrastructure, traffic, and congestion: We’ll do the right thing. Bill Gresham, the project manager, informed the Commission that all water drainage concerns had been addressed after cameras were installed through the pipes. The administrators said that the existing infrastructure can manage the extra strain from Village Crest.
The first step in the state’s involvement, according to Planning and Zoning Administrator Caleb Gaines, is to file a Notice of Intent (NOI) to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD). Grading of the land can start after final permission. According to the creator, he intended to start that procedure in four to six months.
The city may start awarding building permits for the construction of homes after the initial development is finished and the final plat is filed and authorized.
Paved roads, curb and gutter systems, a mail kiosk, and a number of utility easements are all included in the subdivision designs. The planned residential lots have a density of roughly 4.3 units per acre and range in size from 0.11 to 0.28 acres.
No cookie cutter homes
According to the developer, there will be plenty of pathways, room for dogs to walk, and he intends to keep the trees surrounding the land and in between the new residences. In an interview following the meeting, Arencibia stated that there will be differences between the residences as well, adding, “We don’t build cookie cutters.”
Commissioners responded to some people’s worries by stating that we must accept the proposal if the developer complies with the regulations. They claimed that the city council should handle the public’s apparent desire to completely restrict further population growth rather than the Planning Commission, which is only allowed to determine whether developers are following current laws and cannot decide whether growth is desirable in general or impose new ones.
Following the meeting, Planning Commissioner Monika Schulte stated that the mostly wealthy, middle-aged, or older residents who can afford to contribute to the type of commercial and entertainment environment she believes Clarkesville needs and desires would be drawn to the new development, which would include homes priced between $300,000 and $400,000.
“The land could be used for different housing where the new people moving in might not use disposable income on upscale entertainment which the city has to offer if this proposal and annexation are not approved,” Schulte added.
