PUBLIC HEARING
A
public hearing was held by the Spalding County Board of Commissioners in their
office in the Courthouse Annex, Thursday, February 24, 2000 beginning at 6:00
o’clock p.m. with Commissioners, Michael Kendall, Martha McDaniel, Merrill
Massengale, Johnie McDaniel and Earle Childres present. Also present were County Manager Mike
Ruffin, County Planner Nancy Moon, Zoning Attorney Newton Galloway and
Executive Secretary Phyllis Doane.
A G E N D A
1.
Call to order – Chairman Kendall
2.
Special Exceptions, Rezoning Requests and
Text Amendments:
Application #99-46S: New
Covenant Worship Church, Owner – 2921 North Expressway – requesting a Special
Exception to allow a church/private school.
Mr. Bill Christopher gave his address as 127 Liberty Hill Street,
Newnan, GA, and stated he represented New Covenant Worship Center as their
Executive Director of the Schools and is present to answer any questions.
There was no one else signed up to speak
for or against this application.
Upon motion by Commissioner Childres,
seconded by Commissioner Martha McDaniel Application #99-46S was
unanimously approved by a vote of 5-0.
Application
#00-05S: Patricia W. Dewberry, Owner – GeoTrans
Wireless, Agent – 2421 East McIntosh Road – requesting a Special Exception to
allow a telecommunications tower in the AR-1 District. Mr. Allen Richardson, GeoTrans Wireless,
spoke on behalf of this application and gave his address as 1080 Holcomb Bridge
Road, Building 100, Suite 175, Roswell, GA.
He stated that he was representing Nextel Communications in this
matter. He said that Nextel is looking
to expand their coverage throughout Spalding County. They intend to do this by constructing six (6) more towers by
2001, three (3) on the east side and (3) on the west side of the county. He said that to expand coverage first you
look to collate on an existing tower; however there was not one in close
proximity to work with and this brought them to having to construct a tower. He said that all county requirements have
been met. They intend to construct a
self-supporting 250 ft. tower where other carriers can collate on the east side
of US 19/41. The tower will be buffered
by trees from East McIntosh Road and also buffered from the Rice property,
which adjoins the property. He said you
would not be able to see the tower site from East McIntosh Road. He said they do everything they can to keep
the natural vegetation and use what natural resources are available to buffer
the tower.
Commissioner Massengale asked Mr. Richardson how much a buffer did they intend to have between their side and the Rice family property, which is 279 acres. Mr. Richardson stated that the lease site is 100 x 100 sq. ft. and backs up to the property line. He said that it is 54.7 ft. from the tower itself to the property line on the north side of the site. Mr. Massengale asked if possible to move the back line 100 ft. from the Rice property. Mr. Richardson stated that he would check with his construction engineers and see what they have to say about this request and possible be able to do this.
Ms.
Margie Cheeves gave her address as 2495 E. McIntosh Road and stated her
objections to this tower. She said the
tower will be constructed next door to her property and she does not feel that
it is appropriate for the area.
Upon
motion by Commissioner Massengale, seconded by Commissioner Johnie McDaniel Application
#00-05S was approved by a vote of 4-1 with Commissioner Childres voting
against.
Application
#00-06S: Arthur W. and Margaret G. Sauley, Owners
– GeoTrans Wireless, Agent – 2771 West Ellis Road – requesting a Special
Exception to allow a telecommunications tower in the AR-1 District. Mr. Allen Richardson also spoke on behalf of
this application. He stated that he was
representing Nextel Communications in this request also. He said that this would also be a 250 ft.
tower for future co-locations and would be located on the west side of US
19/41. He said this tower will be
located on 89 acres and the tower itself will be located more than 900 ft. off
West Ellis Road and the nearest occupied residence is greater than twice the
height of the tower. There are existing
trees on the property, which will help buffer the tower. All county requirements have been met and
exceed any setbacks as required by the Spalding County Ordinance.
Commissioner
Massengale commented that in the future he would like for the tower locations
to show on the tax plats.
Mr.
Arthur Sauley gave his address as 2771 West Ellis Road and stated he is the
owner of this property. He said that he
had a petition, which he presented to the commissioners, with 31 signatures of
adjoining landowners who border his property and they are in favor of the
location of this tower. He asked to
speak after the objections had been made.
Those
speaking against the application are as follows:
Mr.
Thomas M. Prince gave his address as 531 S. New Salem Road and stated he was
against this tower. He said that he had been living at this address for 22
years. He said that his property borders
Mr. Sauley’s and also presented a petition with 37 signatures that object to
this tower. He said if it has to be he
requested that it be a freestanding tower no more than 150 ft. in height and
hidden from the public. He said a tower
of 250 ft. could be seen from everywhere and ruins their neighborhood. He also asked for a rebuttal.
Mr.
Dan Oxenford gave his address as 530 S. New Salem Road and stated he was
against this tower also. He said that his property would be facing the intended
area of the tower. He said that his
concern would be sitting on his front porch or looking out his bedroom window,
he will be looking at this tower. He
also asked that a smaller tower be considered.
He said that he had not been privy to information to the tower site.
Chairman
Kendall commented the reason Mr. Oxenford did not receive a notice is our
zoning ordinance requires us to notify all the adjoining landowners.
Ms.
Barbara Kreider gave her address as 4039 W. McIntosh Road. She said that she lives across the street
from where the tower will be. She said
that she feels like a tower sticking up there is going to ruin this area and
detract from her property and decrease her value. She asked the commissioners to protect the taxpayers of Spalding
County.
Mr.
Sauley asked for a rebuttal to the comments made. He asked to see a copy of the petition that Mr. Prince presented
to the Commissioners. It was noted that
this list did not have any addresses with the signature. Mr. Sauley said that he could have gotten 400
or 500 signatures if he didn’t have to furnish an address. He said that his petition has signatures
from adjoining property owners on the west side and also the east side of his
property.
Ms.
Robin Kreider gave her address as 4039 W. McIntosh Road and stated her
objections to the tower. She said that
she did not feel that cellular technology is a necessity for Spalding County
but a convenience. She said that we
need to stop erecting eyesores and find a better way to keep up with advance
technology. She said that the
commissioners have shown in various actions that they want to protect the
beauty of this county and they should continue doing so.
Mr.
Horace S. Kelley, Jr., gave his address as 153 Dunlap Circle. He said that he owns ¾ acre of the four (4)
miles that surround this area and he had not been contacted by anyone about a
tower. He said that he had been
approached about a tower and had turned it down because he did not want this in
the neighborhood.
Mr.
Prince stated that no one had brought up that there is a private airstrip out
there and wanted to know if this might have a bearing on the decision. Mr. Richardson addressed this stating that
under the ordinance they have to do a study by the Federal Aeronautics
Administration and they tell where all the airports are located in relation to
towers and there is a minimum where you can have the tower go and we passed the
FAA study. He said this is included
with the application.
Ms.
Joy Acevedo gave her address as 1118 Vaughn Road. She asked if Vaughn Road regarding the tower, were they going to
have to go through her land to access the tower. Mr. Kendall stated that the applicant would be going through Mr.
Sauley’s land to access the tower. She
also asked about safety measures taken to keep children out. Mr. Richardson stated that there is a fence
surrounding the tower with anti-climbing devices, which follows the
ordinance. He said that it would not be
accessible to the public at all.
Upon
motion by Commissioner Massengale, seconded by Commissioner Kendall Application
#00-06S was approved by a vote of 4-1 with Commissioner Childres voting
against.
Chairman
Kendall called for a five-minute recess at this time.
Chairman
Kendall called the meeting back to order.
Application
#00-07S: Randy Davidson, Owner – 500 School Road –
requesting a Special Exception to allow a general home occupation in the R-2
District.
There
was no one signed to speak either for or against this application.
Upon motion by Commissioner Martha McDaniel, seconded by Commissioner Childres Application #00-07S was unanimously approved by a vote of 5-0.
Application #99-42Z:
Dianne Albea, Owner – 3933 North Expressway – requesting a rezoning from
C-1, Highway Commercial, to C-1B, Heavy Commercial. Ms. Dianne Albea, owner, gave her address as 207 Atkinson Avenue,
Savannah, GA. Ms. Albea presented the
commissioners a letter from DOT along with copy of invoice from Mid-State
Striping showing that she had done the recommendations made by the DOT. The Planning Commission at the rezoning
hearing had requested that she get approval from DOT. The letter stated some deficiencies and requested that white
direction arrows and “Do Not Enter” signs be added to create entrance only
drives. She said that the signs were
put in place on Monday of this week.
There was no one signed up to speak
either for or against this application.
Upon motion by Commissioner
Childres, seconded by Commissioner Martha McDaniel Application #99-42Z
was unanimously approved by a vote of 5-0.
The Resolution will be incorporated into the minutes on second and final
reading.
Application #99-43Z:
St. George’s Woods, Inc., Owner – for 3.072 acres on Old Macon Road,
located in Land Lot 180, 181, 204 & 205 of the 2nd Land District
– requesting a rezoning from C-2, Manufacturing, and AR-1, Agricultural and
Residential, to C-1, Highway Commercial.
Application #99-44Z:
St. George’s Woods, Inc., Owner – for .6927 acre on Old Macon Road,
located in Land Lot 204 of the 2nd Land District – requesting a
rezoning from C-2, Manufacturing, and AR-1, Agricultural and Residential, to
C-1, Highway Commercial.
County Manager Ruffin stated that the two
above applications could be taken together for comment but would need to be
voted on separat
Ms. Virginia Shapard gave her address as 2251 Jackson Road and stated she was President of the Board of Directors of St. George’s Woods. She said this is an existing living facility at 1401 Macon Road. She said these were two pieces of property would bring the whole parcel of land into the same category for future expansion.
There was no one else signed up to speak either for or against these applications.
Upon motion by Commissioner
Martha McDaniel, seconded by Commissioner Massengale Application #99-43Z
was unanimously approved by a vote of 5-0. The Resolution will be
incorporated into the minutes on second and final reading.
Upon motion by Commissioner
Childres, seconded by Commissioner Martha McDaniel Application #99-44Z
was unanimously approved by a vote of 5-0.
The Resolution will be incorporated into the minutes on second and
final reading.
Application #99-45Z:
JVR Associates, LLC, Owner – Brenda Robertson-Short, Agent – for 196.74
acres on Teamon Road, located in Land Lot 138, 139, 151 and 152 of the 3rd
Land District – requesting a rezoning from AR-1, Agricultural and Residential,
to R-2, Single Family Residential. Ms.
Brenda Robertson-Short, Agent spoke in favor of this application. She gave her address as 2910 Emerald Drive,
Jonesboro, GA. She said that she is requesting
this rezoning for stick built homes, 145 lots, one acre in size, which is low
density in size. She said these would
be affordable homes as well as well-built homes in the range of 1300 to 1500
square feet. She said that this goes
with the county’s land use map. She
said that she understood that there is a lot of opposition to this
rezoning. She said that she was going
to lose some of the lots because of transmission lines and possibly some from
the soil not perking.
Chairman Kendall stated that most of the
concern he has heard and has himself is the sheer number of houses that she is
proposing and also not enough infrastructure in this area for a development of
this magnitude. He said he has very much
concern about there being individual septic tanks for this size of development
in such a small area. He said that there would be less opposition if she would
cut the lots to a two-acre tract, which would cut the houses in half.
She said in this county you have to spend
the money to get your engineering construction plans almost done before you get
your rezoning done; however in other counties you can draw something out to
scale and get the property rezone and then spend all this money for engineering
and construction plans drawn up. She
said that she has already spent quite a bit of money on this site and hates to
lose her money.
Commissioner Martha McDaniel asked Ms.
Short if she would be willing to consider another zoning classification with
more square footage since she is already going to lose some of her lots. She
asked her if she would be willing to rezone to AR-2, which is a minimum
requirement of 1500 ft., five acres of land and 300 ft. of road frontage. Ms. Short said that she could not do this
because there are not enough people interested in moving to this area that
could afford that. She said that would
not be affordable housing.
Chairman Kendall asked Ms. Short if she
would consider fewer residences. She
said that she understands as the property is zoned now, she can build 1250 sq.
ft. homes on two acres. Commissioner
Johnie McDaniel brought up that she would only be able to develop five lots
with it zoned AR-1.
Ms. Moon stated that when we made the
change in the square footage, we also changed subdivision regulations in the
AR-1 zone. She said you can separate
lots in five or more tracts provided the acreage is three acres and up;
therefore, she would have to rezone if you fell under a three-acre tract.
Chairman Kendall said that he felt like
on that end of the county being so close to Henry County that she could attract
some people that could afford $125,000 to $135,000 houseS and would make the
development much more attractive to everybody on this end of the spectrum. Mr. Kendall said he felt like she would not
have any trouble selling them. He said
that some of the developers are selling us short in the capability of what
people can afford.
Ms. Short said that the information she
had received was a per household income in Spalding County is a little over
$25,000. Mr. Kendall stated that these
were the mid 90’s figures. She said it
would take three years to build all these houses and they would be built in
phases and if there was a demand she could build the larger 1560 sq. ft.
houses.
Mr. Earl Edmondson also spoke for this
rezoning. He gave his address as 30 New
Salem Drive, McDonough, GA and stated he was a partner in the development with
his sister and deals on the construction side.
He said as far as the septic tanks that they are going to have to
satisfy the Spalding County Health Department before getting a permit to
build. He said they would lose lots
because of soil and also for retention.
He said they are reputable builders and plan to be a good neighbor. He said this is a family business. He said the development is not going to
happen overnight.
Mr. Dan Stewart gave his address as 2754
Highway 54 N., Forsyth, GA and stated he was one of the owners of the
property. He said that he feels that he
has a right to sell his property. He
said JVR Associates came to Spalding County because we knew you were interested
in industry. He said industry provides
jobs and lot of people need this level of housing. He said that affordable homes are necessary. He said that looking at five acres is a
large piece of land. He said that his
firm has followed all the rules to get it here and it has been approved.
Commissioner Johnie McDaniel commented
that we see that from time to time again developers coming into this county to
squeeze every available lot they can as if there were no respect, no regard for
anything but the sheer numbers therein.
He said low density in our code says one acre per lot and maybe we have
a bad definition of low density in our code.
He said we would just like developers and builders come in and space
things out a little bit and give people the housing with some amenities like
are provided in Peachtree City. He said
there is a possibility that they can work something out without a fight.
Mr. Stewart commented that he understood
what Mr. McDaniel was saying but you have to make the numbers work. He said that starting out trying to sell
this property in 25-acre tracts but it did not happen so they decided to do
something else. He said that he needs
to get his money out of this piece of property and this seems to be the only
way to do so.
Mr. Charles B. Haygood asked before he
spoke if there could be a five-minute recess why he spoke with his client.
Chairman Kendall called a five-minute
recess.
Chairman Kendall called the meeting back to
order.
Mr. Charlie Haygood stated he was an
attorney from Forsyth, GA and represents JVR & Associates, LLC. He said he resides at 87 N. Lee Street,
Forsyth, GA. He addressed a copy of
letter that had been presented to the Board of Commissioners setting out some
constitutional statements he was sure they had heard before. He said that they felt like there might be
someway to make this work and his client would like some time to address this
to come up with a plan that will work for them and the people will be happy
with.
Commissioner Martha McDaniel stated
because of an incident that happened recently where a piece of property was
denied rezoning and mobile homes were put in, she would like to make a motion
to change the zoning from AR-1 to AR-2 until they could work out their plan and
bring it back to the neighbors. She
said while they were working out their plan, she did not want the neighbors to
be caught in limbo. She made a
motion to change this to AR-2 until something can be worked out with the
neighbors. Commissioner Childres
seconded the motion. Mr. Kendall stated that when you change the zoning,
applicant would have to start all over again.
Commissioner Massengale commented that he appreciated what Mrs. McDaniel
was trying to do but the applicant is amenable to trying to work something out
and we shouldn’t change the zoning.
Zoning Attorney Newton Galloway stated that before the Board votes on
anything, that the Public Hearing needs to be completed. Commissioner Martha McDaniel withdrew her
motion as well as Commissioner Childres his second.
Mr. Haygood said in all due respect they
would not be interested in going from AR-1 to AR-2 and would be happy to talk
with the attorney for the neighborhood, Mr. Johnston at the appropriate
time.
Commissioner Kendall stated that we can
go on with the public hearing and allow everyone to speak or we can table this
and call another public hearing after they have amended their proposal.
At this time Mr. Haygood requested that
the County Commissioners table the application on the decision of the
application. Commissioner Childres
commented that he was not willing to table until he hears from all the people
present, which the other Board members agreed.
Mr. Haygood asked for another five-minute
recess to confer with his client.
Chairman Kendall called for another five-minute recess.
Chairman Kendall called the meeting back
to order.
Mr. Haygood stated that his client still
request that the Board table the matter.
He said that they submitted the application based on what they thought
the rules were. He said they understand
the Board’s concerns and are perfectly willingly to go back and redo the plan
to make it work economically.
Chairman Kendall continued with the
public hearing.
Mr. Bryan Colwell gave his address as
9337 Meadowgate Lane, Jonesboro, GA. He
said that he was the realtor involved with this and trying to help Mr. Stewart
sell his property. He said that builders
do not know what the rules are and are scared to come here and build. He said that the Land Use Plan is very
lacking to run into all this opposition.
He said that Spalding County needs a new Land Use Plan. He said how could you expect developers to
come down here, follow the rules, spend thousand of dollars and then the rules
change. He said that they are meeting
and exceeding the Land Use Plan and he just does not understand. He said that the dissension seems to be
magnitude and they are willing to try to work something out.
Commissioner Martha McDaniel stated that
she believes in every county he deals with they are changing the rules. She said that Henry County and Clayton
County are a perfect example. You have
to change the rules because you are dealing with infrastructure and growth is
going faster and quicker than counties can take care of. Henry County has a moratorium on building at
this time.
Mr. Allan McCallum gave his address as
2831 Williamson Road. He said was
disturbed by the statements that the infrastructure was not capable to handle
this magnitude of homes and if that is the case where are our tax dollars going
and where are the local sales tax money going.
He said this question needs to be addressed because growth is coming to
this county.
Mr. Horace S. Kelley, Jr. gave his
address as 154 Dunlap Circle. He spoke
for the proposal. He said that he did
not know what the vision for Spalding County is now. He said that the Land use Plan needs to be redone. He said these people are abiding by the
rules and then we do not approve it. He
said that this Board is the most inconsistent thing he has ever seen on zoning
decisions. He said that we need 1300
square foot homes in this county because that is all the people can afford.
Those signed up to speak against are as
follows:
Mr. Tom Dean gave his address as 1250
Teamon Road. He said that he has owned
his property for 43 years. He brought
up about Cherokee Rose opening back up and the disadvantages that will arise
with its reopening. He said these
people are going to have a problem selling their property as well as the people
living out there. He said that he feels
that we need to base zoning on the attitude of being proud of what we have in
Spalding County. He said that it should
be need, not greed. He said that
property owners have a lot of acreage up and down Teamon Road, even the modular
homes across the road have at least three acres. He addressed the concerns about their well water being polluted
by the sewage and not adequate police protection. He said they want to be aggressive but proud. He said that he agreed with the rezoning of
AR-2.
Mr. Roy Smith gave his address as 956
Teamon Road. He said that his property
joins this property. He said that he
has springs on his property and he already has water coming on his
property. He said he was going to be
watching out for any pollution and so is EPA for any spillover water in his
springs.
Mr. Bill Slaughter gave his address as 24
Slaughter Road, SunnySide, GA. He said
that the City of SunnySide had major concerns regarding traffic at the intersection
where Teamon Road comes into SunnySide.
He said there were already 25 to 30 cars in this area around 5:00 p.m.
and with 145 more houses there could be 300 or more cars.
Mr. Bill Johnston, an attorney for Mr.
& Mrs. Rick Ingram gave his address as P. O. Box 767, Griffin, GA. He said that he usually represents the
contractors on zoning; however tonight he is not. He said that he is a proponent for growth but it needs to be
managed growth and planned growth. He
handed a packet to each commissioner which in it stated the constitutional
objections if the petition was granted.
He said that his clients feel that they have property rights, including
the enjoyment of rights that go along with that property infringed upon in the
event this rezoning takes place. He
said what the seller is proposing is not conducive to the area. He numerated what the zoning ordinance is
for, which is (1) reduce the occurrence of hazardous traffic patterns in
general congestion; (2) secure safety from fire, panic and other dangers; (3)
assure that adequate light and air are provided; (4) prevent the overcrowding
of land and undue concentration of population; (5) facilitate the adequate
provision of public utilities and facilities; (6) protect property against
blight and depreciation; (7) efficient development and use of community utility
networks; (8) economy in governmental expenditures; (9) a higher level of
convenience, order, prosperity and esthetics and gave an example of how all
this was being used against these rules.
He went on to say that every tract out there has a house 1600 SF and
above on three (3) acres. Also in this
packet was a petition with 31 signatures opposed to this subdivision. He addressed the modular homes across the
road and stated every one of them is more than 1700 SF on three-acre lots. He also addressed the DOT map with the outer
perimeter that might be a reality some day.
He addressed the wetlands in this area and showed a video of the terrain
of the property and the surrounding area.
He said that they have made no provision for runoff.
Mr. Johnston requested that this rezoning
decision not be tabled tonight but vote to deny this request unanimously or
either rezone the property to AR-2. He
said his clients want a resolution to this matter tonight.
Mr. Jim Harp gave his address as 420
Teamon Road. He said he moved here from
Oklahoma City and knows how it is when just starting out. He said this is a beautiful tract of land
and used to be in peach trees. He said
that he wanted a piece of this land on Teamon Road and purchased 60 acres and
built a house that would compliment the area.
He said that he is 74 years old, probably want be around that much
longer but needed to speak up for this tract of land.
Mr. Paul Grayson gave his address as 941
Teamon Road and stated that he moved out of Jonesboro and purchased four (4)
acres. He asked that these people have
to go by the zoning rules like they had to do and no special favors be granted
to them.
Ms. Gail Dean gave her address as 1250
Teamon Road and addressed her concerns about the infrastructure problem. She said that schools, law enforcement,
water, environmental concerns, garbage disposal, roads, etc. should not have to
be dragged along behind this development.
She said that she liked Mrs. McDaniel’s proposal to five-acre lots;
however there was no good reason to change this zoning at all, especially to
smaller. Chairman Kendall commented to
Ms. Dean that he like the phrase she used “infrastructure dragging along behind
development”.
Ms. Debra Powell gave her address as 727
Teamon Road and stated she was one of the people that owned a modular home
across the road. She said that she
moved out of a trailer park because of burglary and moved out on Teamon
Road. She said that crime has not been
mentioned tonight but she has been broken into twice on Teamon Road. She said that she did not want 145 homes
across from her house because she wants privacy.
Mr. Steve Coker gave his address as 230
Boynton Road, which runs parallel with Teamon Road. He said that he feels like there is too much of a concentration
of 145 houses and the infrastructure is just not there. He asked the Board to vote on the proposal
before you and to deny the proposal and also entertain the motion of changing
the zoning.
Mr. Gene Ward gave his address as 1206
Crossings Place and owns property on Teamon Road where he plans to move in the
near future. He stated he would like to see the development conform to the area
such as three acres or larger tracts of land and that would be too many houses
in one area.
Ms. Tonya Garnett gave her address as P.
O. Box 960805, Riverdale, GA and stated that her mom is a single parent with
three children and they live in a subdivision in Jonesboro. Because of the overcrowding they purchased a
tract of land on Teamon Road. They do
not have their house yet but have planted a vast amount of plants on their
property and asked that this land be kept rural.
Mr. Jimmy Relliford gave his address as
1301 Teamon Road and stated that he had to have two acres when he purchased the
land to build his house and feels if he has to have two acres then they should
have to too. He also addressed traffic
concerns on Teamon Road.
Mr. William Johnson gave his address as
707 Teamon Road and stated that there are only 40 lots combined on 258 acres
with the smallest lot being three acres on the property across the road where
the modular homes are located and it had been mentioned before that there was
as many lots there as there would be on the proposed development. He addressed the overcrowding of school at
Beaverbrook that exists now.
Mr. Mike Garcia gave his address as 765
Teamon Road and stated that he has lived in Clayton and Henry Counties and
moved out here because of subdivisions moving in and the close proximity of
houses. He addressed the overcrowding
of schools in Clayton and Henry Counties that exist and what will happen to
Beaverbrook School with this many new homes.
He asked the Commissioners to deny the rezoning or change the zoning to
AR-2. This will allow for green space
and we won’t end up with a mobile home community.
Ms. Teresa Whitaker gave her address as
230 N. Pomona Road. She said they have
just built their home. She said they
did live in Clayton County and still work there and her children go to school
in Clayton County. She said they looked
a long time for their land that they purchased from JVR & Associates and
they were told they would not sell less than five-acre tracts and required
covenants and it would be like living out on a farm. Now they are coming in and try to change all that and she said
she feels they should not be able to do this.
If zoning passes we will move.
Mr. Mark Murdock gave his address as 1156
Interlaken Pass, Jonesboro, GA but owns the property at 750 Teamon Road where
it has been approved for him to put in an airstrip on his property. He said that he works for Delta and plans to
build a 2400 SF home and will be right in the middle of this subdivision. He
said if zoning were passed he would not build on this piece of property. He said that the people were looking for a
development that is compatible to the area.
Mr. Richard Ingram gave his address as
300 N. Pomona Road and addressed the Board on compatibility. He said when these people purchased this
property they were not aware of Spalding County not allowing flag lots any more
and were blindsided and this is how they are trying to get out of this
predicament they are in. He also asked
the Board to deny this rezoning request.
Mr. Dan Stewart asked for a rebuttal at this time. He said there were 9 lots on North Pomona Road, south of where Mr. Ingram owns and are separate from what we own and those 9 lots did have covenants with five or more acres. He said that Mr. Murdock was never told that we were going to stay in three-acre lots. He said that he does not think the gun club backs up to this property but is near it.
After Chairman Kendall addressed this
issue and all the comments made, Commissioner Martha McDaniel made a motion to
rezone the property to AR-2. Commissioner Childres seconded the
motion. Mr. Kendall stated the last
thing he was going to do was rezone someone’s property when they have not
requested it. Commissioner Martha
McDaniel asked for Chairman Kendall to call the question on the motion. Commissioner Johnie McDaniel stated that
early on in the proceeding we led the applicants to believe that we would
entertain the citizens who wanted to speak at this public hearing and they have
endured this thinking that we might give them an opportunity to address these
concerns and this is his position. Mr.
Kendall stated that this was his position also.
Chairman Kendall called the
question. Commissioners Martha
McDaniel, Earle Childres and Merrill Massengale voted for the motion to rezone
the property to AR-2 and Commissioner Johnie McDaniel and Michael Kendall voted
against the motion. The motion passed
by a vote of 3-2. The Resolution
will be incorporated into the minutes on second and final reading.
Commissioner Martha McDaniel left the meeting after the vote was taken on this application.
Amendment to UDO #A-99-16:
Appendix K. Landscape and Tree
Preservation Ordinance – Sections 303, 304, 305 & 306 – add
provisions. Nancy Moon stated that this
should not have been on the agenda and asked that it be tabled. Upon motion by Commissioner Childres,
seconded by Commissioner Kendall UDO-A-99-16 was tabled by a vote of
4-0.
Amendment to UDO #A-99-17:
Article 21. S-2 Sensitive Land and Watershed Protection – Section 2103 -
add provision.
There was no one signed up to speak for
or against this amendment. Zoning
Attorney Newton Galloway stated this ordinance adopts the watershed map
included in the Comprehensive Plan. Upon
motion by Commissioner Kendall, seconded by Commissioner Childres UDO-A-99-17
was approved by a vote of 4-0. The Resolution will be incorporated into the
minutes on second and final reading.
Amendment to UDO #A-00-01: Article
11. R-5 Single Family Residential District – Section 1103:B(4 & 5) –
special exception uses.
Commissioner Childres asked to address
the Board and said with the retreat coming up this weekend, we will be
discussing planning and zoning and feel this should be tabled so will be able
to talk about this and make sure that this what we all agree upon. Chairman Kendall stated if we table this R-5
amendment then we need to also table A-00-03.
Zoning Attorney Newton Galloway agreed with Mr. Kendall. It was agreed by the Board that even though
these amendments are to be tabled that they should go ahead with the public
hearing to allow people that have been here for four hours the opportunity to
speak.
Mr. Greg Pruitt gave his address as 55
Partridge Path and asked the Commissioners if the Special Exception is for
houses and manufactured housing both and will not have to come back to the
commissioners for approval.
Upon motion by Commissioner Childres,
seconded by Commissioner Kendall UDO-A-00-01 was tabled by a vote of
4-0.
Amendment to UDO #A-00-02:
Appendix A. Subdivision Ordinance – Section 408:A: Final Plat Submission
and Section 410: Recording and Dedication.
There was no one signed up to speak for
or against this amendment. Zoning
Attorney Newton Galloway stated that Deputy County Manager Wilson requested
this ordinance because of problems with final platting. Upon motion by
Commissioner Childres, seconded by Commissioner Massengale UDO-A-00-02
was approved by a vote of 4-0.
The Resolution will be incorporated into the minutes on second and
final reading.
Amendment to UDO #A-00-03: Compatibility
Standards for Manufactured Homes in the AR-1 District. Chairman Kendall stated that even though a
decision has been made to table this amendment until after the retreat, we will
continue with the public hearing to allow people to speak.
Zoning Attorney Newton Galloway explained
what this amendment does. This applies
to manufactured homes in AR-1 zones and also applies to manufactured homes and
conventionally constructed dwellings less than 1250 SF in R-5 zones. He said there are nine standards established
along with a standard review committee, which will consist of a the zoning
administrator, building official and a
Spalding County Tax Assessor with alternates set out in line and they will meet
and determine compatibility. To do
compatibility review we did not feel the need to come back to you for a Special
Exception hearing. He said that is was
unclear if the commissioners wanted both compatibility standards and special
exception or just compatibility standards.
He said the basis for the compatibility standards ordinance was the
Coweta County ordinance but enhanced to surpass their ordinance.
Chairman Kendall called for a five-minute
recess before hearing the people signed up to speak.
Chairman Kendall called the meeting back
to order.
Mr. Kevin Drewry gave his address as 1512
Highway 19 North, Thomaston, GA. He
spoke regarding the compatibility standards.
He said that this Board won the 4:12 roof pitch, require block
foundation wall to make them more compatible with the site-built homes in the
county and now you are saying because it is a manufactured home, it needs to be
approved by a committee of three people.
He said that he feels it is only fair that every single application go
through the same legal hoops regardless of manufactured or site-built homes.
Mr. Tom Ross stated he was owner of Ideal
Homes and gave his address as 101 Moreland Road. He requested the Commissioners
to reverse the Special Exception that was denied on second reading and passed
on third reading, which was illegally enacted.
He said that it is burdensome and costly for the people of Spalding
County for the citizens to have to wait 60 to 90 days. He said that he thought the intent of the
compatibility review process was to replace the Special Exception. He said that he was in favor of the
compatibility review over the Special Exception. He addressed some of the sections in the proposed Ordinance and
asked for clarification of “residential developments”, suggested changing in
Section 201 a distance of one mile radius in lieu of one-half mile, consider
rendering decisions in seven days in lieu of fourteen days, under Section 401
the filing fee of $200 is too much and requested that it be changed and asked
there be no fee to appeal decision of Review Committee.
Ms. Brenda Wing gave her address as 450
Mangham Road and stated that she lives in a singlewide mobile home and would
like to replace it with a 24 x 60 manufactured home. She has been told that she would have to go through the process
of a Special Exception and have to wait until early May to get a decision. She feels that this is not right to have to
wait that long.
Mr. Kendall commented to Ms. Wing that
she file this application because what the rules are now will be the process it
goes through. Mr. Kendall said that he
did not think it would be a problem for her to get this Special Exception
approved. She was told from this date
it would take a minimum of sixty days.
Ms. Peggy Bostwick gave her address as
1173 N. McDonough Road and stated that she and her husband live in a 20 year
old mobile home and it looks a lot better than some of the homes out
there. She said that they have lived in
a brick home but likes the mobile home better.
Mr. Horace S. Kelley, Jr. gave his
address as 153 Dunlap Circle. He
recommended that the Board do the compatibility standards because it is the
fairest and agreed with Mr. Childres that the same rules be for everyone and
not discriminate.
Upon motion by Commissioner Kendall, seconded by Commissioner Johnie McDaniel UDO-A-00-03 was tabled by a vote of 4-0.
Amendment to Code of Ordinances of
Spalding County: Alternative Onsite Management Sewage
System – Sections 5-3001 – Zoning Attorney Newton Galloway stated that this is
not a zoning ordinance and does not require a public hearing but was reviewed
by Planning Commission. He said this
amendment was drafted at the request of the Spalding County Environmental
Department and the purpose is to allow non-conventional or drip emitter septic
private systems on property that cannot accommodate a conventional septic
tank.
Upon motion by Commissioner Childres,
seconded by Commissioner Massengale the Ordinance was approved at first reading
by a vote of 4-0. The Ordinance will
be incorporated into the minutes on second and final reading.
3.
Adjournment.
Upon motion by Commissioner Childres, seconded by
Commissioner Massengale the meeting was adjourned at 11:36 PM.
County Clerk/County Manager Chairman
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