In renewing Carter's conditional use permit, the council overrode its own planning and zoning commission. Impassioned anti-development pleas from environmentalists and Skyridge Valley subdivision residents almost swayed the elected officials.

"It was a close one, but we feel the safeguards and the landscaping we are planning to put into the project will make area residents feel more kindly to the project as it is developed," Pat Chisholm, a broker at Maury Carter & Associates, tells GlobeSt.com.

Chisholm says his firm is confident it can select a developer over the next 12 months. "The demand is there; it's a great location; and the two year renewal period gives a developer time to plan the project and break ground," Chisholm says.