DACULA, GA-Gwinnett County commissioners are expected to vote in November on a controversial shopping center proposal that has come up before them twice in the past three years.

By most retail development standards, H&B Hog Mountain's proposed 15-acre shopping center near the Hamilton Mill subdivision in Gwinnett County wouldn't be considered a big deal. But a three-year unsuccessful effort by the developer to have the county rezone the land for the project is drawing attention to the political clout of residential activist groups, area brokers tell GlobeSt.com. The site is about 40 miles northeast of Downtown Atlanta.

Residents in the nearby Hillgrove subdivision have opposed the project, largely because it would sit on a hill 30 feet above their homes. The shopping center would be under 100,000 sf, area brokers familiar with the project tell GlobeSt.com. The county has twice denied the rezoning request, even after its own planning commission approved the project, county staffers familiar with the developer's file tell GlobeSt.com.

The developer has sued the county twice, effectively winning both cases when the court, each time, sent the zoning request back to the planning commission. The planners approved the project each time and sent it up to the county commission for a final vote. County commissioners denied the request on each occasion.

Gerald Davidson, the developer's representative, couldn't be reached by GlobeSt.com's publication deadline to learn what the developer would do if the county again rejects the rezoning application. However, area brokers and other sources in a position to know tell GlobeSt.com the developer already is considering either building homes or a bowling alley on his land near Auburn and Jim Moore roads.