A proposed Restoration Church campus at the intersection of Arnold Mill and New Providence roads is facing pushback from Milton residents who argue the project would run afoul of the city's agricultural zoning protections and chip away at the corridor's rural feel.
Resident Sarah Moen raised the concern during public comment at the Milton City Council's Monday, Aug. 3 meeting — the same session where the council voted unanimously to send 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. She urged the council to safeguard existing properties along the corridor and reject development she said doesn't belong on land set aside for rural use.
AG-1 zoning in Milton is intended mainly for large-lot single-family homes, farming operations and equestrian properties. Anything else — including a church — requires a separate use permit that has to clear both the Planning Commission and City Council.
No formal application for the Restoration Church project has been filed with the city. Moen's remarks were an early flag rather than a response to any case currently before the council.
Why Arnold Mill is protected ground
The proposed site sits along a stretch the city has spent years trying to insulate from development pressure. Arnold Mill Road — also known as State Route 140 — runs roughly three miles along Milton's southwestern border. The city has called it "a unique rural corridor" of farms, equestrian operations, historic houses, wooded lots and churches. Most of the land along the corridor carries AG-1 zoning with a one-acre minimum lot size, and it has never been connected to sewer service.
In May 2025, the City Council adopted the Arnold Mill Small Area Plan, establishing a "hamlet" overlay designed to concentrate future development into two small nodes near Cox Road and Chadwick Road while holding new construction to specific design standards. The year before, the city committed roughly $1.75 million to purchase land around the Cox Road node — a move officials said would channel growth toward the highway itself rather than into surrounding neighborhoods.
More recently, the council voted unanimously in April to adopt updated AG-1 zoning rules and lift a moratorium on minor subdivision plats under 3 acres within AG-1 districts. City officials said the changes were meant to protect current landowners and preserve Milton's rural character.
What happens next
The 2026 comprehensive plan, advanced to state review on Aug. 3, still needs sign-off from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs before a final adoption vote expected in October. Separately, any use permit application Restoration Church eventually files would go through its own public hearing process before both the Planning Commission and City Council.
