While the information below focuses on a mega-church potentially being built in the Arnold Mill/New Providence area of rural Milton, every rural neighborhood or property owner is vulnerable to the same kind of development, traffic, and safety issues unless we make our voices heard. If you value preserving the pastoral, bucolic feel of Milton, it is critical to let City Council know you oppose this now.

In December of 2025, Restoration Church purchased two properties totaling roughly 29 acres of AG-1 land: 12965 Arnold Mill Road and 12950 New Providence Road. These properties are directly adjacent to the two parcels purchased by the City of Milton in August of 2024 (see my June 1, 2026, public comments related to the purchase of those properties below; starting at the 17 minute mark.) Update: On Sunday, July 26, 2026, Pastor Chuck Ramsey stated the following prior to the offering collection: "We're going to be able to buy the 15 additional acres adjacent to our current property. It's gonna give us less reason to ask for any variances, special considerations, from Milton."

Restoration Church currently operates out of their 410 Rucker Road building. They hold three services every Sunday morning (8:30am, 10:30am, and 12:30pm). Congregation occupancy is estimated at 675 people per service. Holiday services are currently held offsite to accommodate larger (5,000+ people) crowds.  Marietta Daily Journal Parking capacity is limited, resulting in off-site parking at the Alpine Bakery parking lot, with shuttle service to and from the church. In addition to daily/weekly events and activities, the church also has a growing hybrid day school. Per multiple announcements and sermons, the stated purpose for the purchase of the New Providence/Arnold Mill properties is to allow the church to expand its operations.

For size perspective:

• The new Pardue Family Event Center, a 23,000 square-foot multi purpose facility at Ebenezer Church on Arnold Mill Road, has an over 400 person capacity, which the City of Milton conditioned to only 300 people per event. Their parking lot consists of 144 parking spaces. CoM Pardue Center.
• Stonecreek Church, on Hwy 9, had an original sanctuary occupancy of 650-700 people per service in a 40,000 square-foot main auditorium. That was expanded with the addition of roughly 300 seats to accommodate 950-1,000 attendees per service. Stonecreek is in the active building initiative stage to further expand their auditorium capacity to 1,800 seats. Stonecreek
• Restoration Church's current occupancy mirrors Stonecreek's prior to their first expansion.  In correspondence obtained via Open Records Requests, Restoration Church's brokerage agent states that the church is looking for "15-90 acres, with 20+ usable acres preferred." Restoration Church is not planning to build a quaint, community church, but rather a huge, mega-church.

Traffic, Safety, and Property Tax concerns with the plan include:

• GDOT has plans to expand Arnold Mill Road to 4 lanes. Arnold Mill/140 Widening Plan
• The current design and development already underway in Cherokee County (Hickory Flat Hwy) includes a divided median, limiting left hand turns. The City of Milton, as part of the Arnold Mill Small Area Plan, hopes to work with GDOT to include landscaping in the city's Arnold Mill Road portion of the divided medians, which will further complicate any allowable left hand turns, and limit visibility.
• With long range planning already underway, there is a high probability that GDOT will view a massive church development as a “high risk conflict point” and may only permit a “right turn in, right turn out” lane for the church on the Arnold Mill Road frontage.
  • All ingress/egress traffic would subsequently be routed to the New Providence Road entrance which sits at the bottom of a series of hills on the road. “Hill Blocks View” signs are located in both directions.
  • With the exception of a couple small horse farms, and one extremely small metaphysical church, New Providence Road is primarily single-family residential properties and single-family residential subdivisions. 
• The City of Milton Comprehensive Transportation Plan does NOT include plans to widen New Providence Road between Dorris, Ranchette and Arnold Mill Road. CTP
• With the hill crest blocking visibility, lack of shoulders or a turning lane on New Providence Road, several “blind conflict points” exist.
• There is limited, if any, shoulder on either side of New Providence Road between Dorris, Ranchette and Arnold Mill Road which will impede the ability to add a designated turn lane into the church and/or a designated median turn lane in and out of the church.
• Rounding up from 675 to the conservative number of 700 people per service, at an average of 2.5 people per car, we would be looking at nearly 300 cars arriving and 300 cars leaving, simultaneously, during every Sunday changeover window. More with increased occupancy, which is the stated objective of the relocation.
• At 40 mph on New Providence Road, an estimated Stopping Sight Distance (SSD) of 305 feet of clear visibility would be required for breaking without hitting a car, or cars, stopped in an attempt to turn into the church. Additionally, an estimated Intersection Sight Distance (ISD) of 445 feet of clear visibility would be required for left turns out of the property. Without a comprehensive Traffic Study, but based on current driving conditions and difficulties making turns in and out of subdivisions, private driveways, and from side streets, the addition of heavy traffic in and out of a commercial operation on New Providence Road would pose major traffic and safety issues, and likely not meet the SSD and ISD safety requirements.
• Ranchette Road, Dorris Road, New Providence Road, Cagle Road, Cox Road, Etris Road and Arnold Mill Road would all be negatively impacted. Property owners along these roads will be faced with difficulties leaving or entering their properties, as direct church traffic, as well as traffic from travelers looking to avoid Arnold Mill and New Providence Roads, will use these side streets as alternate routes.
• If ingress/egress is allowed on Arnold Mill Road, the already heavy congestion will be increased unnecessarily.
• The Church would either have to petition to expand sewer or create an expansive Community Septic System.
• Fire Station 41, on the corner of Arnold Mill and New Providence, will experience delayed response times, posing a major public safety risk.
• As a 501(c)(3) tax exempt religious organization, Restoration Church, or any other subsequent religious institution operating on these properties, would be exempt from paying property taxes. The plan for 31, one-acre homesites, each averaging a $1.5 million fair market value, with a baseline assessed value of $600,000, subject to current Fulton County and City of Milton millage rates, and eligible for standard Fulton and Milton homestead exemptions, would average $13,000 in county and city property tax revenue per home. For 31 homes, that's an annual loss of over $400,000 in property taxes that will need to be recovered from existing homeowners. Amounts would be higher with increased millage rates. So while you and I are forced to pay higher property taxes, Restoration Church will be exempt. Update: If Restoration Church purchases the 15 additional adjacent acres, that will be nearly 45 acres of property not subject to property taxes. That is lost Fulton County School money, lost Fulton County and City of Milton infrastructure maintenance/improvement money, etc., that will end up being recovered from homeowners.

The Arnold Mill Road Hamlet Overlay Plan:

• The City of Milton has paid over $150,000 in consulting fees for a comprehensive area plan: the Arnold Mill Small Area Plan for the Arnold Mill Road Hamlet Overlay District.  The Arnold Mill and Cox Road Activity Node (which the church-purchased property falls into) was presented by staff and consultants to the Milton City Council as two options: both with 31, one-acre homesites, green space, wide buffers to preserve the rural viewshed, and limited, if any, commercial use along Arnold Mill Road. Neither plan included the amount of traffic and potential road safety challenges that a church of this size will bring. On the contrary, a significant part of the plan's purpose was to create traffic relief for Arnold Mill Road.
• From the City of Milton's Arnold Mill Q&A page: Question: "Is the intent to commercialize this area, making it into another downtown-like area?" Answer: "No. The intent was to retain the rural, unique feel that currently defines this area-not to set the stage for major development." Arnold Mill Q&A
• The plan was presented, voted on, and adopted by Milton City Council, on May 5, 2025. Arnold Mill Small Area Plan
• Public participation at all of the community meetings related to this plan was overwhelmingly opposed to any commercial activity…anything that would increase traffic, noise, or activity along the corridor.

What Next?:

• Per multiple Open Records Requests, Restoration Church has yet to submit any applications or plans required for development, land disturbance, and/or building permits.
• Churches are not a “by right” use on AG-1 property under the Milton Unified Development Code (UDC).
• The Church will be required to apply for, and receive approval for,  a “rezoning” from AG-1 via a Special Use Permit (SUP)/Conditional Use Permit (CUP)  before being allowed to operate. Use Provisions
  • The Georgia Zoning Procedures Law (ZPL) mandates strict public participation processes for rezonings, special use permits, and variances. At this time, NONE of the required public participation notices have been published in The Milton Herald, no public hearing notices regarding a rezoning or SUP/CUP have been placed on the church-owned property, and according to multiple Open Records Requests, at this time, no administrative permits or special event permits have been applied for or issued to the church for church-related activities on the property. However, the church is already operating church-related activities on the property without having gone through the legally mandated zoning procedures.

    

• If approved, the SUP or CUP will run with the land, allowing any other religious institution to purchase the property from Restoration Church and operate under the same conditions. Translation, if Restoration Church outgrows the property, sells, and another religious group (any denomination) buys the property, they can operate under the same conditions the City of Milton places on Restoration Church.

We need to stop this NOW! Milton’s explicit SUP/CUP evaluation criteria bars development that causes an “excessive or burdensome use of existing streets.”

Under the City of Milton's Unified Development Code, Article 3.1 Agricultural Districts Article 3 AG-1, the clear scope and legislative intent of the AG-1 district is to protect lands primarily devoted to single-family residential subdivisions and low-density agricultural uses. While our code allows for a Special or Conditional Use Permit, it is a privilege and not a right. The operational intensity of use for a 700 plus seat sanctuary, operating three back-to-back Sunday service turnarounds, alongside an active weekday school and various other weekly events, directly collides with the legally protected rights of the surrounding single-family residences and single-family residential neighborhoods.

What YOU can do:

• Please contact the Milton City Council and tell them you are opposed to the development and rezoning for a mega church on New Providence Road and Arnold Mill Road.
• Attend a Regular City Council Meeting and speak during General Public Comment to make your opposition known and get it formally on the record.
• Sign the petition and share with everyone you know. With most low-density residential properties in Milton existing on AG-1 land, if a mega church can be built here, one can be built ANYWHERE a large parcel of AG-1 land exists or comes available for sale.
• Put a sign in your yard. (Call or text 770-881-3725 to request a sign.)

City Council Contact Info:

Mayor Peyton Jamison;  ph: 678-242-2484;  email: peyton.jamison@miltonga.gov

Brian Dolan;  ph: 678-242-2493;  email: brian.dolan@miltonga.gov

Doug Hene;  ph: 678-242-2494;  email: doug.hene@miltonga.gov

Juliette Johnson;  ph: 678-242-2495;  email: juliette.johnson@miltonga.gov

Carol Cookerly;  ph: 678-242-2497;  email: carol.cookerly@miltonga.gov

Jan Jacobus;  ph: 678-242-2498;  email: jan.jacobus@miltonga.gov

Phil Cranmer;  ph: 678-242-2496;  email: phil.cranmer@miltonga.gov