In biblical times it was customary to place a stone at the site of a great battle to give thanks for help. Ebenezer was the name given to such a stone to commemorate Israel’s victory over the Philistines. How fitting that the latest great battle to preserve rural metro Atlanta is taking place on my street, Ebenezer Road. This street sits at the very edge of Milton and the yellow line divides Milton from Roswell. At the very end of this dead-end road is a 67-acre parcel of land that is in the final stage of attempted rezoning. This land is presently zoned as AG-1, requiring all the houses sit on at least 1 acre of land.

Brightwater Homes has proposed a plan to build 50 homes on the property, but 23 of these homes are planned to occupy only quarter-acres lots similar to cluster homes. Brightwater Homes presents itself as a “green builder” that doesn’t want to disturb the back part of the property and keep it as green space. I suspect that is a cost advantage of shorter streets, less landscaping and shorter utility runs for the 23 cluster homes that will save the developer significant amounts of money and increase the profit from the project at the expense of the AG-1 zoning. I propose that the “green builder” title refers to the color of the Brightwater’s bank accounts, not to the amount of chlorophyll preserved.

Milton City Council just voted down the conservation subdivision ordinance several months ago. It has returned in a far more malignant form using “green” and “conservation” as cover words to build cluster home communities with community septic systems at the end of a dead-end street on the very edge of Milton. There has been no compelling reason why granting this variance for cluster homes is in the public interest for the people of Milton or for the people, like myself, who live on Ebenezer Road. If this variance is granted, where will this cancer show up next?

With your help on April 25 at 6 p.m. at the Milton City Council meeting another great battle can once again be won. Please show up and encourage the council to vote against changing the zoning and to reject the variance for Brightwater Homes. Help to preserve the rural nature of Milton and Ebenezer Road.

David Gower

Resident of Ebenezer Road