A proposed Restoration Church campus at Arnold Mill and New Providence roads is drawing opposition from Milton residents who say the project would violate the city's agricultural zoning protections and erode the corridor's rural character.
Resident Sarah Moen raised the issue during public comment at the Milton City Council's Monday, Aug. 3 meeting, where the council unanimously voted to transmit the city's 2026 comprehensive plan update to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs for state review.
"Let us be completely unambiguous about our zoning laws — churches are not permitted by right on AG-1 land," Moen told the council, according to Appen Media. "Please protect our properties, preserve the integrity of our rural quarters and reject uses that are fundamentally not intended for this land."
AG-1 zoning in Milton is reserved primarily for large-lot single-family homes, farming and equestrian uses. Other uses, including churches, require a separate use permit approved by the Planning Commission and City Council.
No formal application has been filed.
Moen's comments amounted to an early warning, not a response to a pending case before the council.
Arnold Mill's rural protections
The proposed site sits along a corridor the city has actively worked to shield from development pressure. Arnold Mill Road, also State Route 140, is a two-lane highway tracing Milton's southwestern edge for about three miles. The city describes it as "a unique rural corridor" of farmland, equestrian facilities, historic homes, forested lots and churches. Most of it is zoned AG-1 with a one-acre minimum lot size, and it has never had sewer service.
The Milton City Council adopted the Arnold Mill Small Area Plan in May 2025, creating a "hamlet" overlay meant to steer new development into two small nodes at Cox Road and Chadwick Road while holding new buildings to design standards. In 2024, the city agreed to spend approximately $1.75 million to buy land around the Cox Road node, which officials said would direct growth toward the highway and away from neighborhoods.
More recently, the council in April unanimously adopted new AG-1 zoning code amendments and lifted a moratorium on minor subdivision plats of less than 3 acres in AG-1 districts. Those changes were aimed at protecting existing landowners and preserving Milton's rural aesthetic.
What's next
The 2026 comprehensive plan, which the council advanced to state review on Aug. 3, must clear the Georgia Department of Community Affairs before a final adoption vote expected in October. Any Restoration Church use permit application would go through a separate public hearing process before the Planning Commission and City Council.
