Forsyth County officials revisit revised Keith Bridge Road venue plan

A scaled-back special-events venue on Keith Bridge Road still has Chestatee neighbors asking the same question: how much traffic and noise can a rural stretch of Forsyth County absorb before it stops feeling rural?

County Planning and Community Development Director Tom Brown and District 4 Commissioner Mendy Moore recently revisited the revised plans for The Venue, a proposal on a 15-acre parcel along Keith Bridge Road, also known as Ga. Highway 306. The project has become a flashpoint over whether commercial events belong in an agricultural district surrounded by farms, quiet neighborhoods and long-established homes.

Narasimha Rao Tambareni first proposed a 9,000-square-foot special-events building with a helipad, an amphitheater and 155 parking spaces. After neighborhood opposition intensified, the revised version dropped the helipad and amphitheater, reduced the building to 6,000 square feet and cut parking to 62 spaces. Even with the smaller footprint, the project remains a test of what kind of growth Forsyth County is willing to allow in its rural north end.

Opponents have centered their concerns on everyday disruption, not abstract land-use theory. Ana Strauss organized an online petition against the project, and WSB-TV reported it had gathered more than 2,400 signatures by Jan. 8, 2026. Nearby resident Cheryl Riddle, whose farmhouse dates back more than a century, has emerged as a symbol of the long rural history neighbors say could be changed by a venue built next door.

Moore has said Highway 306 is a state highway designated as a commercial corridor and could be a suitable place for a wedding and special-events venue under the right circumstances. Critics counter that the corridor still cuts through a largely rural and residential area, with working farms and quiet streets that would shoulder the burden of event traffic, parking turnover and late-night activity.

The proposal moved through the county’s formal land-use process and appeared on the Forsyth County Planning Commission’s Feb. 24, 2026 public-hearing agenda. That five-member board is the county’s only public-hearing stop for rezoning and conditional use permit cases before matters go to the Board of Commissioners, making the commission hearing a crucial checkpoint for neighbors watching the venue’s future.

For Forsyth officials, The Venue is now more than one project on one road. It is a referendum on how far commercial development can push into the county’s rural landscape before the costs to nearby families become too high.