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Woodstock Votes Monday on Heavy Industrial Zoning at Dixie Speedway. Here's What's Still Missing.

Sep 25
16 min read

The Short Version


Woodstock City Council votes Monday, September 28 on Case Z#173-26. The case sets the first city zoning for about 138 acres the state legislature annexed into Woodstock through House Bill 1568. The land includes Dixie Speedway, the old Dixie landfill and its waste transfer station, and the western part of Townview Commons. It's item 7.3 on the agenda.


The Planning Commission voted 4 to 0 on September 3 to recommend approval. Seven members of the public signed up to speak against it. Since then, staff added one condition, Condition 9, which bars burying any more waste in the old landfill.


Most of the proposal is unchanged since our September 2 post. New since then: the city's documents give two different bill numbers and two different case numbers. The draft ordinance accepts only two Townview Commons streets for city maintenance, leaving out Industrial Drive. And Cherokee County couldn't find a land disturbance permit or certificate of occupancy for the transfer station.



How to Take Part


Show up Monday. City Council meets Monday, September 28, 2026 at 7:00 PM in The Chambers at City Center, 8534 Main Street, Woodstock. Z#173-26 is item 7.3 under Public Hearing. Hearing assistance is available on request.


Sign up before the hearing opens. Under § 11.214(4), the sign up closes when the hearing starts.


Fill out the disclosure form. Under § 11.212(3), anyone speaking in opposition must first complete and sign a campaign contribution disclosure form. It covers contributions of $250 or more to any local government official in the past two years.


Plan your time together. Under § 11.214(6), opponents get fifteen minutes total, shared among every speaker. Decide ahead of time who covers which ask.


Top five asks for the podium:


  1. Vote on the Townview Commons parcels separately.

  2. Zone the speedway parcel LI, or explain why it needs HI.

  3. Apply Condition 9 to both Dixie parcels, and remove "or on 15N06277" from Condition 2.

  4. Send the transfer station through its own Conditional Use Permit, and ask what permits the site holds.

  5. Carry over the county protections: the 1988 ban on Bascomb Carmel Road access, the buffers, screening, and approved truck routes.


The full list of asks is further down.


Email before Monday. Start with your own ward's council member and put your ward and street in the first line. Copy planning@woodstockga.gov so it lands in the case file.


To reach everyone at once: mayorandcouncil@woodstockga.gov


Not sure of your ward? Use the city's lookup tool: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/d0968c00628e4f818b03e7976cde4b6e


Sample email. Copy it, fill in the brackets, and send:


Subject: Case Z#173-26, Dixie Speedway and Townview Commons

Dear [council member's name],


I live at [street address] in Ward [number]. I'm writing about Case Z#173-26 on your September 28 agenda.


Please vote on the Townview Commons parcels separately from the industrial parcels. I also ask you to zone the speedway parcel Light Industrial, apply Condition 9 to both Dixie parcels, send the transfer station through its own Conditional Use Permit, and carry over the buffers, screening, truck routes, and Bascomb Carmel Road access ban that applied under Cherokee County.


[Optional: one sentence on how the site affects you, such as odors, noise, or truck traffic.]

Thank you, [Your name] [Your address]


The project planner is Niwana Ray, AICP, Planning Manager.


Why This Matters


Zoning decides what can be built on land and whether neighbors get a say first. Some uses are allowed automatically. Others need a public hearing, with mailed notice to neighbors.


The written conditions Council adopts are the extra protections neighbors can count on. A promise made in a meeting can't be enforced unless it's written into the conditions.


Zoning stays with the land when it's sold. Changing it later takes a new public hearing process. Monday's decision will shape these parcels for years, whoever owns them.


The nearest neighbors live in Townview Commons, in Kingsridge West, and along Bascomb Carmel Road. What happens on these parcels affects the truck traffic, noise, dust, and stormwater runoff they live with.


What Happened at the Planning Commission


According to the staff memo to Council, City Manager Jeff Moon opened the September 3 item by explaining the history of the annexation and why it went through the legislature. Staff then reviewed the parcels and the proposed zoning.


Seven members of the public signed up to speak in opposition. Staff lists their concerns as buffers next to county properties, what could be built later under Heavy Industrial zoning, the city's notification process, and access to the waste transfer station.


The Planning Commission voted 4 to 0 to recommend approval with staff's conditions. Staff says one condition was then changed after talks with a property owner and public input about the landfill and buffers. That change is the new Condition 9.


Public comments received after the Planning Commission agenda was posted are in Monday's packet as Attachment F. If you wrote in, check that your letter is there.


The proposed zoning map hasn't changed:


  • 15N06277, 150 Dixie Dr (speedway): county LI, proposed city HI, 41.301 acres

  • 15N06E183, 170 Dixie Dr (landfill, transfer station): county LI, proposed city HI, 48.473 acres

  • 15N06275, 7729 Hwy 92: county LI, proposed city HI and GC, 9.159 acres

  • 15N12013A, unaddressed: county R40, proposed city LI, 7.565 acres

  • 15N06301, unaddressed: county R40, proposed city R-1, 10.380 acres

  • 15N12013, 2085 Bascomb Carmel Rd: county R40, proposed city R-1, 4.930 acres

  • 15N06302, 2008 Bascomb Carmel Rd: county R40, proposed city R-1, 1.154 acres

  • 15N06E185, 186, and 187, at 540, 542, and 545 Industrial Dr: county LI, proposed city LI, 1.859 acres

  • Multiple parcels, Townview Commons: county RTH, proposed city R-3


Source: staff memo to City Council, September 28, 2026 packet, pages 161 to 165.


The New Landfill Condition


Condition 9 reads: "For the existing landfill use on tract 15N06E183, no additional waste shall be deposited on the site for permanent disposal."


It ends new burial at the old landfill. Staff's report describes the landfill as an "In-Closure" facility that EPD continues to monitor.


It doesn't restrict the transfer station's normal operations. Waste already buried stays under EPD oversight, and the condition gives the city no role.


It also covers only one parcel. Condition 2, which didn't change, approves "the continued and future operation of the Landfill and Waste Transfer station currently located on tract 15N06E183 or on 15N06277." Parcel 15N06277 is the 41 acre speedway parcel. Condition 2 allows these operations on either parcel, while Condition 9 bans new burial on only one.


Council can fix this by applying Condition 9 to both parcels, or by removing "or on 15N06277" from Condition 2. Removing those words would also keep the transfer station from moving onto the speedway parcel without a hearing.


What Still Hasn't Changed


The speedway parcel still goes Heavy Industrial. At the September 3 meeting, staff said HI fits the intensity of the speedway and transfer station (around 1:11:49 and 1:17:50 in the video). HI would give the speedway parcel most Heavy Industrial rights, and a future owner would keep them if the track closed.


A batch plant and a fireworks store are still allowed by right. Staff's list prohibits five uses: meat processing, sexually oriented businesses, mobile home sales, petroleum storage, and sawmills. It leaves out concrete and paving batch plants and permanent consumer fireworks stores, which HI allows by right and no other Woodstock district allows at all. A batch plant typically brings early hours, heavy truck traffic, dust, and noise, and one could open here with no notice to neighbors.


Three uses lose their public hearing. In LI, manufacturing, storage yards, and warehouse distribution need a public hearing with mailed notice. In HI, they're allowed by right.


The county's protections aren't carried over. Cherokee County's code required transfer stations like this one to have buffers, screening from streets and buildings, and truck routes approved in advance. A 1988 county rezoning of the landfill parcel (Case No. 88-06-033) banned access to Bascomb Carmel Road "now or in the future." None of these are in the city's conditions, so the city would have nothing to enforce.


The Heavy Industrial zoning never expires. Woodstock's reversion rules in § 11.302 cover zoning requested by property owners. The city is the applicant here, so HI stays unless Council sets an expiration, even if the transfer station closes.


The homes and the industrial land share one vote. The Townview Commons homeowners asked to be annexed and would get R-3 zoning nobody disputes. The moratorium has held up new building permits on the annexed land since May. Unless Council separates the parcels, a member can't vote for the homes without voting for the Heavy Industrial zoning.


Only part of one boundary gets a written buffer. Parcel 15N12013A, 7.565 acres, would go from county R-40 residential to city LI. It sits between the industrial park and Kingsridge West, an unincorporated neighborhood whose residents can't vote in city elections. Staff's report says only "a portion of the southeast part of the property" would stay an undisturbed buffer, covering 2.401 acres. The conditions add no buffer along the rest of the parcel's edge with Kingsridge West, and they allow utilities, access drives, and easements inside the buffer.


What the County's Records Show


In September, a resident asked Cherokee County, which regulated the site before annexation, for the transfer station's permit records.


What the county found


The county released one document: Resolution 2024-R-076, a July 2, 2024 zoning resolution for the Dixie Landfill in Case #24-06-005S. County staff also said:


  • They have no record of a land disturbance permit (LDP) for the transfer station.

  • The Fire Department has no records. Staff said fire access plans would be part of the LDP.

  • The Stormwater Department has no records matching the request.

  • They didn't find a certificate of occupancy (CO).


What these permits are for


  • Land disturbance permit (LDP): required before land is cleared or graded. It's how the government reviews the plan for handling stormwater and erosion. When land is cleared or covered with waste piles and truck areas, rain can't soak in. It runs off faster and carries mud, dust, oil, and debris with it. Stormwater controls like ponds and silt fences slow that water down and catch what it's carrying. Without them, runoff can pollute nearby creeks, fill them with sediment, and flood yards and roads downhill. The City of Woodstock's own stormwater page says water from the basin the city sits in ends up in the Etowah River and Lake Allatoona, where most of the area's drinking water comes from.


  • Fire access plans: show that fire trucks can reach every part of the site, turn around, and get back out. Piles of wood, drywall, and other construction debris can burn, and a fire there would send smoke toward nearby homes. If fire trucks can't reach a fire quickly, it can grow and burn longer.


  • Certificate of occupancy (CO): issued after inspectors confirm a building meets building and fire codes. It protects the people who work on the site. Without one, there's no record that anyone checked the buildings for safety problems.


If the county never issued these permits, no one may have reviewed this site's stormwater controls, fire access, or buildings. The records could exist elsewhere, such as with Georgia EPD, but neither the county nor the city has made them public.


Condition 2 would approve the transfer station's "continued and future operation" as it stands. Council should find out what permits the site has before voting, and can make any missing ones a condition of approval while the conditions are still being written.


Two Problems in the Council Packet


Wrong bill and case numbers


House Bill 1568 annexed this land. The staff memo, the draft ordinance, and the attached copy of the bill all say HB 1568.


The published agenda and the agenda item cover page say "HB 1658." Every page of the draft zoning ordinance is labeled "Z#137-26 Ordinance," though the case is Z#173-26.


These look like typos. They're also on the agenda and on the ordinance Council will sign, and mistakes in an adopted ordinance can cause confusion later about what was approved. Ask the city attorney to confirm the correct bill and case numbers before the vote.


Which roads the city is taking over


HB 1568 annexed 139 tax parcels and doesn't list any roads. In the draft ordinance, Council separately accepts two Townview Commons streets for city maintenance at the HOA's request: Townview Drive (0.228 miles) and Bobbie Way (0.156 miles). Industrial Drive and Bascomb Carmel Road aren't included.


Road ownership decides who can restrict truck access. Condition 6 bars access off Industrial Drive "unless permitted by Cherokee County," which suggests the county still controls that road. Ask Council what protection Condition 6 gives neighbors, and whether the city has an agreement with the county to back it up.


What the City Said, and What the Record Shows


1. "Most closely match" the county zoning


The city said: The staff report says the goal was "designations that most closely match how the property was zoned and is utilized in Cherokee County."


The record shows: Staff's table shows four parcels moving to a more industrial district. The speedway and landfill parcels go from county LI to city HI, part of 7729 Hwy 92 goes from LI to HI, and 15N12013A goes from county residential to LI. Cherokee County's code allowed C&D transfer stations on LI land with a special use permit. Woodstock has also handled county LI land differently before: Planning Commission minutes for Case A#120-23 show a county LI parcel at 770 Dobbs Road proposed for the city's DT-GC (Downtown General Commercial) district upon annexation.


2. Heavy Industrial "so they can continue operating"


The city said: In an August 21 email printed in the Planning Commission packet (Attachment E14, as we reported September 2), staff told a resident the speedway and transfer station are proposed HI so they can keep operating as they do now.


The record shows: A racetrack isn't a listed use in any Woodstock district, including HI. Staff's report on this case says a data center "would not be allowed" because it isn't in the Uses Matrix and isn't comparable to a listed use. By that reasoning, HI doesn't allow a racetrack either. The speedway keeps operating because of Condition 3, which lets it keep holding events, and Condition 7, which declares its existing buildings legally nonconforming. Council could attach both under LI or GC. The city hasn't shown why 41.301 acres need HI.


3. The second public meeting


The city said: The staff report says staff learned the week of the first meeting that notice letters "were inadvertently not mailed" to part of Townview Commons, and that a second meeting "was immediately scheduled."


The record shows: The first meeting was August 11. The Development Process Committee voted 6 to 0 to recommend approval on August 12. The second meeting, for residents who hadn't been notified, came on August 26, two weeks after that vote, and the packet shows no change to the recommendation afterward. Those residents had no chance to be heard before the committee acted.


4. "Our hands were tied"


The city said: At the Planning Commission, Moon said the city committed to the county and the legislative delegation not to restrict Dixie Speedway's historic operations, and that this tied the city's hands (around 1:03:35 and 1:08:19 in the video).


The record shows: Conditions 3 and 7 keep that commitment in any district. Staff added Condition 9 after the Planning Commission, so the conditions can still change. And on Monday's agenda, Council is considering changes to Condition 23 at 125 Lorraine Parkway, a limit on warehouse distribution that Council attached earlier this year. Council writes use limits when it chooses to.


5. A conditional use without the conditional use process


The city said: Staff's report says a waste transfer station "is only allowed in HI zoning but requires a Conditional Use Permit."


The record shows: Condition 2 declares the use "approved by the City." The packet has no separate permit application and no findings under LDO § 7.503, the standards Council uses for these permits. That review is where Council would normally set rules for operating hours, deliveries, landscaping, and odor.


We can't know anyone's intentions. Ask Council to have staff answer each point on the record Monday.


The City Says It Can't. Its Records Show It Can.


Overlays


The city said: At the August 11 meeting, residents asked about a special district or overlay for Dixie Speedway. At the Planning Commission, staff said the city isn't creating any new district or overlay in this process (around 1:20:05 in the video).


The record shows: Woodstock's planning page lists the Ridgewalk, Parkway, Technology Park, and Gateway overlays, along with the Downtown District standards, and the city's case list shows a Historic Overlay downtown. The city revised its Ridgewalk Overlay standards in January 2020. An overlay adds rules on top of a zoning district, so one could protect the speedway's operations while limiting other uses.


Changing the code


The city said: Moon said allowing transfer stations in LI would leave the existing transfer station in the HI park on Main Street nonconforming (around 1:06:06).


The record shows: Woodstock amends its code regularly. On June 10, 2024, Council voted 5 to 0 to finalize new standards for accessory dwelling units, and Monday's agenda includes ZTA#023-26, which changes the LDO's rules on livestock. The city could allow transfer stations in LI as a conditional use and keep them in HI, so the Main Street station stays conforming. This ordinance also already declares the Townview Commons townhomes and the speedway's buildings legally nonconforming.


Variances


The Z#173-26 ordinance itself grants a variance so the Townview Commons townhomes don't have to meet the city's sprinkler requirement in code section 14.89. Holbrook Woodstock, also on Monday's agenda, includes a variance request, and the Weekley Homes annexation case requested variances for setbacks and lot size. Council can tailor the rules to fit this land.


More time


Council adopted an emergency moratorium on this land in May, then a 120 day moratorium in June that runs through October 6. If Council needs more time to get the conditions right, it has used moratoriums here before.


What to Ask Council for Monday


  1. Vote on the Townview Commons parcels separately. Those homeowners shouldn't have to wait on the industrial decision.


  2. Zone the speedway parcel LI, or explain why it needs HI. Conditions 3 and 7 protect the speedway in any district.


  3. Allow transfer stations in LI as a conditional use, while still allowing them in HI, so the landfill parcel can stay LI too.


  4. Apply Condition 9 to both Dixie parcels.


  5. Remove "or on 15N06277" from Condition 2.


  6. Send the transfer station through its own Conditional Use Permit under LDO § 7.503, with rules on hours, deliveries, landscaping, and odor. Ask what permits the site holds.


  7. Designate the industrial parcels a stormwater hotspot. LDO § 14.500(d) applies the city's stormwater standards to any commercial or industrial hotspot, regardless of size, and § 14.700(d)(iii) lets the city require extra controls for the pollutants a site produces. The code leaves hotspot status to the city's stormwater administrator. A zoning condition would settle it for anything built or rebuilt on these parcels.


  8. Prohibit concrete and paving batch plants and consumer fireworks sales.


  9. Keep the hearings. Require Conditional Use Permits for manufacturing, storage yards, and warehouse distribution on the HI parcels.


  10. Carry over the county protections: the 1988 ban on access to Bascomb Carmel Road, the 50 foot and 25 foot buffers from that case, screening, and approved truck routes.


  11. Extend the undisturbed buffer on 15N12013A along its full edge with Kingsridge West.


  12. Require a public hearing for any unlisted use on these parcels.


  13. Set an expiration so the HI zoning reverts if the transfer station use ends, as § 11.302(2) allows.


  14. Explain Condition 6 and who controls Industrial Drive.


  15. Fix the bill and case numbers. Also ask the city attorney to explain how the timing fits O.C.G.A. § 36-66-4(d), which describes zoning hearings taking place before an annexation takes effect.


Explanation of terms


Zoning districts

  • HI (Heavy Industrial): Woodstock's most intense industrial district. It's the only city district that allows waste transfer stations.

  • LI (Light Industrial): a lighter industrial district for business parks, warehouses, and limited manufacturing.

  • GC (General Commercial): a city district for stores, restaurants, and other businesses.

  • R-1: the city's least dense residential district, up to 2 homes per acre.

  • R-3: a city medium density residential district. It's proposed for the Townview Commons townhomes.

  • R-40 and RTH: Cherokee County residential districts. R-40 means lots of about an acre. RTH is the county's townhome district.


How uses get approved

  • By right: allowed automatically. Staff issues the permit with no public hearing and no notice to neighbors.

  • Conditional Use Permit (CUP): allowed only after a public hearing with mailed notice and a Council vote. Council can attach rules like hours or screening.

  • Special Use Permit: Cherokee County's version of a Conditional Use Permit.

  • Conditions of approval: the written rules Council attaches to a zoning decision. They stay with the property.

  • Uses Matrix: the chart in Woodstock's code showing which uses are allowed in which districts.

  • Legally nonconforming: a use or building that was legal when it started but doesn't meet the current code. It can continue, but usually can't expand.

  • Variance: permission to depart from a specific code rule.

  • Reversion: when a zoning approval expires and the land goes back to its earlier zoning.


Land and buildings

  • Parcel: a piece of land with its own tax ID number, like 15N06E183.

  • Buffer: a strip of land along a property line that must stay undeveloped, to separate a use from its neighbors.

  • Setback: the minimum distance a building must sit from a property line.

  • Land disturbance permit (LDP): the permit needed before clearing or grading land. It covers erosion control and stormwater.

  • Certificate of occupancy (CO): official approval that a building meets code and can be used.


Waste

  • Landfill: a site where waste is buried permanently.

  • Waste transfer station: a site where trucks drop off waste so it can be loaded into larger trucks and hauled to a landfill somewhere else.

  • C&D: construction and demolition debris, like concrete, wood, and drywall.

  • EPD: Georgia's Environmental Protection Division, the state agency that regulates landfills and transfer stations.

  • In-Closure: EPD's term for a landfill that has stopped taking waste and is going through the closure process.

  • Stormwater hotspot: a land use that can produce more polluted runoff than normal. Woodstock's code lists examples such as gas stations, industrial facilities, material storage sites, and garbage transfer facilities. The city can require hotspots to add extra stormwater controls.


Process and law

  • Annexation: bringing land into a city.

  • Legislative annexation: annexation by an act of the state legislature. That's how this land came into Woodstock.

  • Initial zoning: the first city zoning for annexed land. Until Council votes, these parcels have no city zoning.

  • LDO (Land Development Ordinance): Woodstock's zoning and development code.

  • Planning Commission: an appointed citizen board that holds a hearing and recommends a decision. Council makes the final decision.

  • DPC (Development Process Committee): a city staff committee that reviews cases before the Planning Commission.

  • Moratorium: a temporary pause on new permits and applications.

  • Open records request: a request for public documents under Georgia's Open Records Act.

  • §: the symbol for "section."

  • O.C.G.A.: the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, which is Georgia state law.


Sources

  1. City of Woodstock City Council agenda and agenda packet, Regular Session, September 28, 2026. Case Z#173-26 is at packet pages 161 to 257, including the staff memo to Council (pages 161 to 165), the September 3 Planning Commission staff report, Attachment F, and the draft ordinance with Exhibits A through C (pages 243 to 257). https://www.woodstockga.gov/your_government/meetings_agendas_and_minutes.php

  2. Video of the September 3, 2026 Woodstock Planning Commission meeting. Timestamps in this article are approximate. https://www.woodstockga.gov/your_government/meetings_agendas_and_minutes.php

  3. NGA CAN, "Woodstock Wants 90 Acres of Heavy Industrial at Dixie Speedway. The Operation It Is For Ran Lawfully Under Light Industrial for Years. So Why Now?" September 2, 2026. Source for the Woodstock Uses Matrix, Cherokee County's transfer station rules, the 1988 county conditions, the August 21 staff email, and the hearing rules. https://www.ngacan.org/post/woodstock-wants-90-acres-of-heavy-industrial-at-dixie-speedway-the-operation-it-is-for-ran-lawfully

  4. NGA CAN, "Woodstock Could Let a Concrete Plant Open at Dixie Speedway Without Telling the Neighbors. You Have Three Meetings to Change That." August 11, 2026. Source for the moratorium dates and the disclosure form requirement. https://www.ngacan.org/post/woodstock-could-let-a-concrete-plant-open-at-dixie-speedway-without-telling-the-neighbors-you-have

  5. Cherokee County response to a resident's open records request for the transfer station's permit records, closed September 9, 2026.

  6. Cherokee County Board of Commissioners, Case No. 88-06-033, adopted July 26, 1988, obtained by NGA CAN through an open records request.

  7. Cherokee County Zoning Ordinance, Table 7.2 Permitted Uses. https://www.cherokeecountyga.gov/Zoning/_resources/Table-72-Permitted-Uses20230815.pdf

  8. City of Woodstock Land Development Code, including Chapter XIV §§ 14.500 and 14.700 (Ord. No. 7944-2022) and the Chapter II definition of Hotspot. https://library.municode.com/ga/woodstock/codes/land_development_code

  9. House Bill 1568, signed text with parcel list. https://gov.georgia.gov/document/2026-signed-legislation/hb-1568/download

  10. City of Woodstock, Stormwater and Environmental Management page. https://www.woodstockga.gov/your_government/departments/public_works/stormwater_environmental_management.php

  11. City of Woodstock, Current Planning and Zoning page, list of zoning overlays. https://www.woodstockga.gov/your_government/departments/community_development/current_planning___zoning.php

  12. City of Woodstock, Municipal Code of Ordinances page, listing the January 2020 Ridgewalk Overlay revisions. https://www.woodstockga.gov/your_government/municipal_code_of_ordinances.php

  13. City of Woodstock, Public Hearing Cases page (Holbrook Woodstock, Weekley Homes, and Historic Overlay cases). https://www.woodstockga.gov/your_government/departments/community_development/public_hearing_cases.php

  14. Woodstock Planning Commission minutes, Case A#120-23, 770 Dobbs Road. https://woodstockga.granicus.com/MinutesViewer.php?clip_id=243&doc_id=3b1bec2e-b15d-11ee-bb82-0050569183fa

  15. Cherokee Tribune & Ledger News, "New Standards Approved for Accessory Dwelling Units in Woodstock," June 2024, via NewsBreak. https://www.newsbreak.com/woodstock-ga/3489483464266-new-standards-approved-for-accessory-dwelling-units-in-woodstock

  16. Cherokee Tribune & Ledger News, "Woodstock passes moratorium for recently annexed properties," June 2026. https://www.tribuneledgernews.com/local_news/woodstock-passes-moratorium-for-recently-annexed-properties/article_e65e7f7b-fee5-44c7-85a3-91c84f63b792.html

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