Public Participation Meeting for RZ-26-0003 at 5700 Abbotts Bridge Road, September 3, 2026
Public Participation Meeting for RZ-26-0003 at 5700 Abbotts Bridge Road, September 3, 2026
On September 3, 2026, at 7:00 PM, the City of Johns Creek held a public participation meeting in City Hall Council Chambers at 11360 Lakefield Drive for land use petition RZ-26-0003, located at 5700 Abbotts Bridge Road. The applicant, Eric Johansson, speaking on behalf of property owner Aztec Eagle Properties, presented a proposal to rezone the property from AG-1 to R-4 to develop seven detached single-family homes. The meeting included an applicant presentation followed by a Q&A session; the live stream was ended before the candid Q&A portion. City staff reminded attendees that this was the applicant's meeting and that project-related questions should be directed to the applicant, while city code questions could be directed to the city.
Applicant Presentation
- Eric Johansson presented for the applicant and property owner, Aztec Eagle Properties. He stated that owner Danny Rojas purchased the property for lot development, not for the existing house, and that Rojas is in the stone business, not homebuilding.
- The property is currently zoned AG-1. The applicant proposed R-4 zoning, describing it as consistent with nearby neighborhoods: Abbotts Walk is R-4 and Surrey Park is R-3.
- The maximum density under R-4 is two units per acre; the proposal is 1.7 units per acre. The plan includes seven lots with no requested variances for lot sizes or setbacks.
- The applicant stated homes would be in the million-dollar price point and up, and that the eventual builder would be required to primarily use stone and masonry products to match the area.
- A 40-foot required landscape strip along Abbotts Bridge Road is included. The proposed entrance would be a full-access entrance, coordinated with GDOT, placed on the left side of the site to avoid a future raised landscape median in the roadway.
- Wetlands on the site would be preserved except for normal grading allowed under a nationwide permit, described as 10% or less of the acreage, approximately a tenth of an acre. A raised boardwalk is proposed instead of paved or invasive construction through the wetlands.
- The applicant said the stream buffer along Johns Creek would be observed, including the 25-foot state buffer, an additional 25-foot city buffer, and the impervious setback. Only backyard grades would extend into the impervious setback area.
- Sewer service would connect to the adjacent Abbotts Walk community through an easement of less than 200 square feet. The applicant said he had been in contact with Southern Property Management and Richard Lewis about the connection, and that Lewis had also met property owner Danny Rojas. Public water would be brought in from Abbotts Bridge Road.
- The site plan includes a cul-de-sac meeting city standards, coordination with the fire marshal, and an above-ground detention pond so that no drainage goes into the creek.
- A trip generation study using ITE data for single-family lots estimated 87 trips for the seven-lot neighborhood.
- Lots would be 75 to 85 feet wide, accommodating houses roughly 50 to 60 feet wide after side setbacks. Garages would be at least two-car, likely three-car, and turned so they do not face the road directly.
- Houses backing up to Abbotts Bridge Road would be buffered by the landscape strip and a wall or fence. Some lots would back up to the creek, which the applicant described as an amenity and a buffer between neighborhoods.
- The applicant stated the near-term intention is to obtain zoning and development entitlement, then sell lots to a builder who would construct homes consistent with the area.
Q&A
- After the presentation, the city closed the live stream and opened the floor for direct questions from the public to the applicant. The transcript available does not include substantive public questions or applicant answers; it ends shortly after the Q&A portion begins with an unclear remark: "What's the shutter?"
Key Outcomes
- No votes, motions, or city decisions were made during this meeting; it was an applicant-led public participation meeting.
- The applicant indicated next steps would be completing the zoning and entitlement process, working with GDOT on the entrance, and ultimately selling the lots to a builder.
Meeting Transcript
Hello everybody, thank you for joining us for our September 3rd public participation meeting. This meeting is for RZ26 0003 at 5700 Abbots Bridge Road. The current zoning is AG1. The applicant is proposed zoning to R4 to develop seven detached single family residential homes. The format for this meeting will include the applicant presenting the case and a QA portion at the end. This is live stream, so I do ask you uh speak into the mic to make sure our viewers at home can hear you appropriately. And once your presentation is concluded, we'll cut the internet feed and we will go to a more candid QA portion with just you guys and the applicant. Uh as a reminder, this is the applicant's meeting. So this is your opportunity as the public to interact directly with our applicant and ask questions regarding his plan. Uh when it comes to the city, if you have any questions regarding code or something the city may have insight on, feel free to ask. But I do remind you that if there's anything regarding the project itself, that is for the applicant to engage with you guys as the community. So with that, I'd like to invite Mr. Eric Johansson up here to speak to y'all today. Yeah, it's already up here. Oh, I see the slide button. If you ever need a point, you can click here or point at those screens. Thank you. Good evening, Eric Johansson. Um representing the applicant and the property owner, Aztec Eagle Properties. Um recently purchased this property for the development of lots. He did not buy it for the uh house that sits on it today, or the adjacent house is not part of this application. Um he is in the uh stone business, so uh, you know, one of the questions is what are the houses are gonna look like is we're gonna uh mandate to the end all builder at the end of the day that they primarily use stone and masonry products on the house. So it'll be consistent with what you guys see in the area. Um the property is zoned AG1 right now, and uh what we are proposing is an R4 zoning. The R4 zoning is consistent with the uh adjacent neighborhood. Uh Surrey Walk is uh or I'm sorry, Surrey Park is uh I believe R4 or R3 and and Abbott's uh walk is R4. I I you get them backwards. I've got a zoning map um right here. Um Abbott's Walk is the R4 and and Surrey's the R3. Uh we're proposing an R4 development on the site. The maximum density on an R4 site is two units of the acre. We're at 1.7. Um it's seven lots, and that's seven lots without asking for a variance or reducing any lot sizes or reducing any setbacks. That's the full um required landscape strip along Abbots Bridge Road, which is 40 feet. Uh we're currently working with um uh GDOT right now on our proposed entrance as it couples with the road work that they've been doing out there right now. The place where we're proposing an entrance would be a full access. Um if we went down to the left, uh say we moved over and did the right thing. If we moved over kind of in the middle lots over there, that would conflict with the uh raised landscape median that they're gonna put out there in the middle. So we're over further to the left and being further to the left, it definitely makes a site uh more efficient. Um we're honoring the wetlands that are on our site. We don't propose any encroachments to the wetlands other than just normal grading, which would be allowed under a nationwide permit, 10% or less uh of the acreage, uh uh a tenth of an acre. Um within the wetlands, we would have a raised boardwalk that we're proposing that would not be a uh paved sidewalk or or wouldn't be invasive construction of uh bulldozers and excavators or or bobcats going through there, but just a raised boardwalk construction. We do have a stream buffer on the back side that uh borders John's Creek. It's the 25-foot state, the additional 25-foot city buffer, and then the impervious setback. We're not getting into any of that other than just the impervious setback, just chase out grades of the backyards. Um we would have a proposed sewer connection with the adjacent Abbots Walk uh community. If any of you guys live in the Abbotswalk community, uh reached out to your uh property association, Southern Property Management. They got me in touch with Richard Lewis, Richard Lewis, and I have had several phone calls about it. And uh he told me he was gonna be at this meeting night, but then he was going out of town. And uh he's also um met the uh property owner, Danny Rojas, and just went over and introduced himself at Danny's Stoneyard so he could go out there and just kind of see uh who Danny is and and what he is for real.
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