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Tuesday, January 31, 2023 – 6:30 p.m.
Courthouse, Main Courtroom, 16001 Barnesville Street, Zebulon, Georgia
Town Hall Meeting at 6:15 p.m.
Click here to see the documents that have been uploaded with the agenda on the Pike County government page.
Everyone present except for Commissioner James Jenkins and County Attorney Rob Morton. (Attorney Morton came in later in the meeting.)
1. CALL TO ORDER ..... Chairman J. Briar Johnson
2. INVOCATION ..... Karen Brentlinger
3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ..... Chairman J. Briar Johnson
4. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA - (O.C.G A. § 50-14-1 (e) (1))
CM Rogers asked for additional executive session for personnel. Motion to approve the amended agenda. Approved 4-0.
5. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES - (O.C.G.A. § 50-14-1(e) (2))
a. Minutes of the January 11, 2023, Regular Monthly Meeting.
b. Minutes of the January 11, 2023, Executive Session.
c. Minutes of the January 13, 2023, Special Called Meeting.
d. Minutes of the January 17, 2023, Workshop.
Motion to approve all 4 sets of minutes. Approved 4-0.
6. INVITED GUEST - NONE
7. REPORTS FROM COMMISSIONS, DEPARTMENTS, COMMITTEES, AUTHORITIES
a. Monthly Reports submitted from County Departments and County Authorities, including a Revenue/Expenditure Statement for all departments and a summary check register. There are no Department Reports as they will be provided during the first Board meeting of February. Revenue/Expenditure Statement and Detail Check Register are included.
Discuss/Approve/Deny
Motion to accept the reports. Approved 4-0.
b. County Manager Report
Update on County finances for the following funds/accounts:
General Fund ..... $6,297,025.47
Fire Dept. Donations ..... $7,721.04
Cash Reserve Account ..... $467,532.59
Jail Fund ..... $39,769.41
E-911 Fund ..... $460,306.01
DATE Fund ..... $39,607.56
Juvenile Court Fund .....$13,839.94
Residential Impact Fee ..... $986,593.67
Commercial Impact Fees ..... $166,477.07
C.A.I.P FUND ..... $132,062.17
General Obligation SPLOST 2022-2028 ..... $395,977.89
L.M.I.G. Grant (DOT) ..... $721,738.73
c. County Manager Comment
Tornado on January 12. EMA Director and Fire Chief here tonight. Has a list of everyone who was a part of helping out. Thank you to everyone who helped. Without their help, we’d still be working to get the mess cleaned up.
FD Chief and EMA Director put in a lot of hours on this. Volunteer firefighters. Sheriff’s Department. The 911 operators. Spalding County’s 911 calls came to us that night. We were dealing with our own emergency as well as theirs. Sheriff went back to 911 to help out.
Individuals that came out the night of the storm and the following days who worked through the weekend include the Pike County Fire Department, the Pike County Sheriff’s Office, Ambulance service, E-911, EMA, Pike Public Works, Building and Grounds, Express Sanitation, Pike Pools, 3D Roll Off, Hammond Sight Services, Hurts Trucking, Double P, Goodman Grading, Flanders Nursery, AC’s Lawn Maintenance, Smith’s Enviro Recycling, Stewarts Tree Service, Jason Mask Company and Brannon and Sons Mobile Equipment Repair.
CM Rogers said that we were out there with no way to communicate. At one point, there was a break in equipment, but an individual with a loader came in and picked up the slack. No fatalities. We plan to learn from this and keep moving forward. They came out and did this out of the kindness of their heart. Keep that in mind as you see them. Everything has been cleaned up from the tornado.
EPD is going to allow us to have an extended burn for storm debris. Tree debris only.
Budget schedules have gone out. New finance officer has been working with this.
RFP process is rolling.
Jeremy Gilbert is working on ordinance updates. He is making great progress on this.
Georgia One project at Chestnut Oak is going well. Foundation should be going in soon. Bleachers expected in March.
Blackmon Road is also rolling on.
Between the tornado, ice storm, etc. Public Works is having a hard time catching up. We are doing our best to get to the roads. Please call us with issues. They are prioritizing the jobs. Loan application has been applied for. The decision was made to go to 10 year by the county manager after speaking to the commissioners. Trying to keep the millage rate low and not impact the budget.
d. Commissioner Reports
Commissioner Tim Guy. Thank you to all of the volunteers and first responders. Friendship and Gaulding Road need attention.
Commissioner Jason Proctor. Also said thank you to all to who came together in our community after the storm.
Chairman Briar Johnson. We need a few more people to sign up for invocation. Call the county clerk for an application. Also an Agribusiness Board position open. Thanked Chief Wilkerson and EMA Director and all of those who helped. Commissioners and the County Manager and the county attorney were all out helping with chainsaws after the storm. People don’t realize what you do. Thank you.
e. County Attorney Report to Commissioners - None
8. UNFINISHED BUSINESS - NONE
9. NEW BUSINESS
a. Consider one appointment to the J. Joel Edwards Library Board to fill an unexpired three-year term, set to expire December 31, 2023. Applicant has met criteria.
Angela Blount. Motion to approve Ms. Blount. Approved 4-0.
b. First reading of the Pike County Code of Ordinances be amended by adding Section 39.03 entitled “2022 EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ORDINANCE” to Chapter 39 entitled “EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT Services” of Title III entitled “ADMINSTRATION”.
CM Rogers sent this out in November. Tornado after that. Jason Ritter from District 4 GEMA came down in September to discuss this with the county. We had a plan intact and this is what the EMA Director put in place for us. Questions were answered prior to the meeting from the Chair who shared the answers with Commissioner Daniel. Motion to approve 1st Reading. Approved 4-0.
c. Discussion of Parks and Recreation Impact Fees.
Clear up some confusion. Impact Fee balance sheet every month. Motion was made on 5.31.22. The motion showed an expenditure of $300,000 but there wasn’t that kind of money in there. 2 line items. $362,580 for soccer complex approved September 11, 2019. 327,712.08 approved for site work on May 31, 2022. The project has not been completed, but they had to spend their Impact Fees before using United Bank funds. They have done this. These line items are $0 at this time.
Motion to allow the Director Larry Moss speak. Approved 4-0. He asked for what has been paid and what is outstanding. Using the construction loan for the rest. Ribbon cutting is on Friday at 2 p.m. CM Rogers will follow up with him on this. This is on the record so it is open for the public.
d. Discussion of Impact Fees.
[Note from the Editor: Here is an October 27, 2022 web link to an article entitled, "Assessment of Georgia Development Impact Fees" by Chris Denson and Tyler Webb of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation. It is a great overall explanation of Impact Fees. www.georgiapolicy.org/publications/impact-fees
On December 20, 2022, an Impact Fee Letter was sent from CM Rogers to the County Clerk, County Attorney, County Commissioners, and Planning and Zoning Director Jeremy Gilbert. Rogers said that Gilbert found some information from Paragon the prior week that neither he nor Rogers knew that they had. The letter advised that the county could make the change from $2,404.15 up to $6,776.62 per dwelling for now with a full methodology report and complete study to be done in 2025.
The letter further laid out the current layout of percentages to each department as well as Paragon's and Rogers' proposed changes and the balances in each department as of 11.16.22 Out of each impact fee, the Library currently receives 6.48%, the Fire Department 14.58%, the Sheriff 8.44% Detention Facilities 35.77%, E911 8.82.%, Parks and Rec 3.51%, and Roads 22.40% to equal 100% with Admin and CIE added in to make 105.31%. (Don't ask me why it's above 100% because I don't know.) Paragon proposed to leave everything as is. Rogers recommended changes with the Library going down to 3.010%, The Fire Department going up to 15.605%, The Sheriff going up to 12.57%, Detention Facilities staying at 35.77%, E911 going up to 12.95%, Parks and Rec going up to 12.145%, and Roads going down to 7.95% with Admin and CIE remaining at 5.3% to equal 105.30%.
The Library currently has $123,470.55 in its Impact Fee account, the Fire Department has $185,892.26, The Sheriff's Office $141,518.21, Detention Facilities $414,847.19, E911$80,049.71, Parks and Rec $26,553.99 (This money has been used and the account is now at $0), Roads has $186,922.23, Admin $4,259.07, and CIE $47,969.30. It was noted in the letter that the new Sheriff/Jail,E911 facility has come up of late, the county has started paying some fire fighters part-time and there is a need for more equipment for the new Blackmon Road Fire Station, Parks and Rec has $0 in their account with the community center and there are still needs for them, and roads still need work. However, Rogers reminded commissioners that SPLOST and LMIG are being used for road projects. He also reminded them that funds are required to be spent within a 6 year time period or the funds must be refunded.
Click here to read a copy of the December 20, 2022 Impact Fee Letter.
Click here to read a copy of the 2017 Capital Improvements Element (CIE) that was transmitted to the state.
Click here to read a copy of the 2018 Capital Improvements Element (CIE) that was transmitted to the state.
Click here to read a copy of the 2019 Capital Improvements Element (CIE) that was transmitted to the state.
Click here to read a copy of the 2020 Capital Improvements Element (CIE) that was transmitted to the state.
Click here to read a copy of the Impact Fee Methodology Report from 2021. It goes all of the way back to 2006 when Impact Fees were first adopted.
And I'm including the following information for the old and new building fee schedules even though the building fees and impact fees are not the same thing. Building fees help pay for running the Planning and Zoning Office, and Impact Fees help pay for future growth.
Click here to read a copy of the old fee schedule.
Click here to read a copy of the new fee schedule.
Thank you to County Clerk Angela Blount for getting this open records information back to me so quickly! Especially when she was gone to classes out of town through Tuesday night!]
Discussion: What to do with this? The funds coming in are not enough for the growth that we are seeing in the county. When we start having to turn children away because we don’t have enough facilities for them, we have a problem. Paragon provided this for the county already if we want to use that.
Do we want to make any changes to their percentages? $2,404.15 on a new home. Paragon recommended raising this to $6,776.62 and leaving the funding the same. CM Rogers recommended some changes based of projects that qualify for funding. He said that Admin and CIE make this a little over 100%. Those funds are used for servers, etc.
The study from Paragon is almost 4 years old. Chairman Johnson said that there might be something different today as far as the amount goes. If we don’t go up on Impact Fees, where will the money come from? It will come from taxpayers… if it gets done at all. This is a long-term plan that covers everything from fire, the jail, and 911 as well as recreation for the kids. May need to add to this. Commissioner Tim Guy made a motion to go with Paragon’s study and go with CM Rogers’ percentages starting on February 1, 2023. The 3rd column. Approved 4-0.
Motion to allow a citizen to speak. Kyle Johnson said that Impact Fee just increase to 2 ½ times what it was before. Are the developers getting any of this cost? Was there any consideration given to developers building these subdivisions? CM Rogers said that there was a lot of discussion about developer costs with permit fees being updated for this. There will be some changes coming for them too. Will the developers pay 2 ½ times more like individuals? We have changed fees for developers too. Johnson said that this is a large change for individuals when the developers are bringing in growth.
[Note from the Editor: Paragon has received a total of $15,055 from Pike County for various projects since 2019, but there are 3 checks that have been issued out of Administration-Professional Services that specifially mention Impact Fees. The total amount of payments through May 6, 2020 equals $7,100. Click here to see the vendor payment sheet. Thanks again to County Clerk Angela Blount for getting this to me so quickly.]
e. Approve/deny the Service Delivery Strategy.
CM Rogers and County Attorney Morton have been working on this for quite a while. Rogers has been to all of the cities. Still working on MOU’s and intergovernmental agreements. Asked for them to give an ok on this process. Impact Fees with the City of Zebulon and 911 use by the Zebulon and Molena Police Departments are still ongoing. He will be asking Mayors for signatures at city meetings. Motion to allow the county manager to proceed with what is written. Discussion: 911 and Impact Fees. When will these be done? We can adjust Impact Fees at any time. These 2 sections will be brought forward for a vote at a later time. Approved 4-0.
f. Ratification of Gleaton Concrete invoice.
The Board changed the amount of money that could be authorized by the county manager so this is above the $5,000 limit and needs to be authorized by the commissioners. $5,400. Rogers did make the commissioners aware of this by email. Motion to ratify. An unknown party caused damage in a subdivision, and this had to be fixed. Approved 4-0.
PUBLIC HEARINGS. (3) 20 minutes in favor. 20 minutes against.
g. PUBLIC HEARING: To receive public input regarding SE 22-06 David Troncoso owner and applicant request a special exception to allow a short-term rental for property located at 1370 Bottoms Road Concord, GA 30206 in Land Lot 113 of the 9th District, further identified as Parcel ID 041 032. The property consists of 41.09+/- acres. Commission District 1, Commissioner Tim Daniel.
Special exception. 21 conditions that would have to be met. Staff says that this does meet some of the conditions, but some are not at this time. Staff recommended approval as long as all conditions are adhered to. Planning and Zoning Board recommended denial. There are 33 signatures on a petition of people who are in opposition of the request. Asked for this to be part of the record.
From Pike County's Ordinances:
§ 156.160 CONDITIONS AND REGULATIONS FOR LIMITED LODGING AND VACATION HOMES APPROVED AS SPECIAL EXCEPTIONS IN RESIDENTIAL DISTRICTS
(A) General. Limited Lodging and Vacation Rentals, as defined in this Chapter may be approved
as special exceptions in residential and other zoning districts.
(B) The following conditions, regulations, and rules shall apply to all approved special
exceptions for Limited Lodging and Vacation Rentals:
Vacation rentals, whether there is a primary owner in residence or not, shall not be permitted
in accessory structures, non-habitable structures, nor temporary structures, such as
recreational vehicles, tents, canopies, yurts, or similar structures.
(1) Limited Lodging Vacation Rental facilities shall meet applicable International Building
Code and International Fire Code regulations. For properties that are served by septic,
Limited Lodging and Vacation Rental facilities shall meet applicable environmental
health regulations.
(2) Limited Lodging Vacation Rentals may have a maximum of four (4) guestrooms or
sleeping rooms that meet the International Building Code regulations.
(3) Maximum overnight occupancy for Limited Lodging and Vacation Rentals shall be up
to a maximum of two (2) persons per sleeping room or guestroom, plus two (2)
additional persons per property, up to a maximum of ten (10) persons, excluding
children under two (2) years of age. The property owner shall ensure that all contracts
and online listings and advertisements clearly set forth the maximum number of
overnight guests permitted at the property.
(4) The maximum number of total guests and visitors allowed at any time in a single
Limited Lodging or Vacation Rental shall not exceed the maximum overnight
occupancy plus four (4) additional persons per property during the daytime, or fourteen
(14) persons, whichever is less, excluding children under two (2) years of age.
(5) Only approved facilities, meeting current standards shall be used as a Limited Lodging
or Vacation Rental. Only one (1) tenant shall be allowed on-site at any given time:
Only one transient rental is allowed per parcel. Accessory dwellings shall not be used
as a Limited Lodging or Vacation Rental or occupied by the owner while the facilities
approved for the special exception is being used as a Limited Lodging or Vacation
Rental unless specifically authorized by the Board of Commissioners when approving
the special exception use.
(6) Parking shall be provided as follows:
a. Vehicles must be parked within the driveway, garage, or any other approved surface.
No vehicles shall be parked on the State/ County right-of-way or along any roadway
at any time.
b. A minimum of two (2) on-site parking spaces shall be available for Limited Lodging
and Vacation Rentals. However, the owner of the property/facilities is responsible
for providing sufficient parking to accommodate the guests. rooms;
c. Limited Lodging and Vacation Rentals larger than as provided in this Section are
prohibited.
d. This maximum number of vehicles permitted for guests shall be clearly set forth in
all rental agreements and in all online advertisements and listings.
(7) All activities associated with Limited Lodging and Vacation Rentals shall meet the
general noise standards contained below. Quiet hours shall be from 10:00 p.m. to 8:00
a.m. The property owner shall ensure that the quiet hours and limits on outdoor
activities are included in rental agreements and in all online advertisements and listings.
(8) Outdoor amplified sound, other than household speakers, shall not be allowed at any
time associated with a Limited Lodging or Vacation Rental.
(9) Pets, if allowed by owner, shall be secured on the property at all times. Continual
nuisance barking by unattended pets is prohibited.
(10) Recycling and refuse storage bins shall not be stored within public view unless in
compliance with neighborhood standards. Recycling and trash receptacles shall be
returned to screened storage areas within 24 hours of trash pick-up.
(11) Outdoor fire areas, when not prohibited by state or local fire bans, may be allowed but
shall be limited to 3 feet in diameter, shall be located on a non-combustible surface,
shall be covered by a fire screen, and shall be extinguished as soon as it is no longer in
use or by 10:00 p.m., whichever is earlier. No fire or fire area shall be located within 25
feet of a structure or combustible material.
(12) All Limited Lodging or Vacation Rentals operating within the County must have a local
certified property manager, which can be the owner or other designated agent, who is
available 24 hours per days, 7 days per week during all times that the property is rented
or used on a transient basis. Certified property managers may be professional property
managers, realtors, property owners, or other designated person who is a minimum of
twenty-one (21) years of age.
(13) The owner of any Limited Lodging or Vacation Rental located behind a locked gate or
within a gated community shall provide gate code or a lockbox with keys ("Knox Box"
or similar) for exclusive use by local law enforcement and emergency services.
(14) Once a Limited Lodging or Vacation Rental is approved as a special exception, a copy
of these regulations shall be posted within the facilities. The owner shall post these
standards in a prominent place within six (6) feet of the front door of the facilities and
include them as part of all rental agreements.
(15) All online advertisements and/or listings for Limited Lodging or Vacation Rentals shall
include the following:
a. Maximum occupancy, not including children under two (2);
b. Maximum number of vehicles;
c. Notification that quiet hours must be observed between 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m.;
d. Notification that no outdoor amplified sound other than household speakers is
allowed; and,
e. The name, address, and number of the local certified property manager.
(16) The owners shall pay all required County property taxes and fees.
(17) The owner shall register the local certified property manager and update any contact
changes with the Department of Planning & Development, which will make said
contact information available to local law enforcement and emergency services.
(18) The owner shall obtain a business license for said Limited Lodging and Vacation
Rental and comply with all applicable provisions of this Code regarding occupational
taxes.
(19) The owners shall pay a hotel/ motel occupancy tax for said Limited Lodging and
Vacation Rental and comply with all applicable provisions of this Code.
(20) The owner may be required to pay personal property taxes for said Limited Lodging
and Vacation Rental.
(21) Initial complaints on vacation rentals shall be directed to the local certified property
manager identified in the business license or the County, as applicable. The certified
property manager shall be available 24 hours during all times when the property is
rented and shall be available by phone during these hours. Should a problem or arise
and be reported to the certified property manager or the County, the property manager
shall be responsible for contacting the tenant to correct the problem within 60 minutes,
including visiting the site if necessary, to ensure that the issue has been corrected.
Failure to respond to complaints or report them to emergency officials shall be
considered a violation of this section and shall be cause for revocation of the business
license and special land use permit. If the issue reoccurs, the complaint will be
addressed by the Director or Code Enforcement division who may investigate to
determine whether there was a violation of a zoning, licensing, or special use permit
condition. At the discretion of the Director, the special exception may be scheduled for
a revocation hearing with the Board of Commissioners, in compliance with all notice
requirements. If the special exception is revoked, a special exception for a Limited
Lodging or Vacation Rental may not be reapplied for or issued for a period of at least
one (1) year. Additionally, a license for a Limited Lodging or Vacation Rental shall not
be issued for a period of at least one (1) year upon the property as a result of the
revocation of the special exception.
IN FAVOR
Attorney Mark Mitchell from Newnan. To speak on behalf of Mr. Troncoso who has been a part of this community with the purchase of this property in 2011. He and his family live in Atlanta and enjoy coming to Pike County on vacations on the weekend, etc. Ties to La Parilla and the food service industry. They wanted to give others the opportunity to share what they found here in Pike County. October 4, 2020 he was not aware of county codes on this. He has been working since that time to ensure that he is in compliance. The properties meet all codes. Septic system meets code. 9 bedrooms but only 4 can be used at the residence for sleeping quarters. Only 10 occupants over the age of 2. Only 1 tenant at one time. Accessory buildings not used for lodging. Parking must be in specific places. Maximum number of vehicles will be limited. Quiet hours from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. Outdoor sound other than household speakers is not allowed. If pets are brought, they must be secured. Trash cans must be out of sight. Currently have an on-site property manager when the property is rented. All info must be listed for those coming to the property. He understands and recognizes but also commits that he will comply with these regulations. The staff’s findings are critical on this. Should not be detrimental to others living around there. It should not be a nuisance and should not adversely affect any existing uses in the area. Also know that the Planning and Zoning Board recommended denial based on concerns. All of the incidences in the past occurred before a 24/7 full-time on-site manager. This is his commitment to ensure that this is run right and not a problem to his neighbors. This is also his home, and his family wants to see that preserved too. He wants his guests to treat it like they would. Ask that you give Mr. Troncoso the opportunity to do this right. You can revoke his special exception if this doesn’t work.
AGAINST
Kyle Johnson. Lives on Bottoms Road. There was direct communication made with Mr. Troncoso from community members asking him to fix this issue with using this as a party home and were ignored. The commissioners have known about this issue for some time. Our ordinances do not allow this in the first place. Who is going to monitor this on a daily basis? Do we have the basis to monitor this every weekend? This is not a commercial zoning and should not be used like this. Don’t want to give up our peace and quiet for those who come in and disrespect our community.
Paula Nalley. Lives directly across from the property. Hear a lot about what should be done, will be done. It was party central last weekend. 2, 3, 4 o’clock in the morning. Yelling, cussing, gunfire. It’s unpleasant. I ask that you deny them.
Tom Lambert. Lives across the road. Hearing about respect for community and the property. He went out in his back yard. Had a drone on his property. I’m not over there for their entertainment. It’s been party central since he bought it. He’s trying to make money from it. Heard 15 or so shots coming from there at 2 or 3 in the morning. I’m opposed to it.
IN FAVOR REBUTTAL
Attorney had asked for remaining time for rebuttal. One of the issues raised is that this has been ignored. The property manager is on-site now. The ordinance requires that the phone number be given to law enforcement, the county, etc. to address any issues that might arise. Guest home. Our ordinance prohibits accessory structures for short-term rental. Only for the main residence. Will comply with the guidelines for 4 bedrooms and the maximum number of people.
Attorney Mitchell said that it seems like anything that goes wrong in the neighborhood is being blamed on Mr. Troncoso. No short-term rental last weekend. Please give him an opportunity to show how this should be done in compliance with ordinances.
Mr. Troncoso. We’ve never been an issue since 1 ½ years ago. Been in the hospitality business since he was 14. We love Pike County and this area. He never wants to do anything to hurt the community. I’ve had 2 official complaints. Kyle has his phone number. Asked for an opportunity to do this for 6 months. The property manager will control the guests.
AGAINST REBUTTAL
Kyle Johnson. This is not personal. I have nothing against him as a person. This is for the community. The attorney told y’all a lie. There has been a husband and wife who have been living on this property who repair damages to the property and reside on the property. There is nothing there to suggest that this will improve. Asked again how this will be monitored by the county to show that only 4 bedrooms will be used.
Motion to accept the Planning Commission’s suggestion to deny. Denied 4-0.
h. PUBLIC HEARING: To receive public input regarding REZ-22-07 Double P Properties, LLC owner and applicant request a rezoning from A-R(Agricultural-Residential) to R-20 (Single Family Residential) for property located at on the West side of US Highway 19 South, north of Vickery Road in Land Lots 206, 209, 240 and 241 of the 8th District, further identified as Parcel IDs 073 011, 073 013 and 073 014. The property consists of 434.51 +/- acres and the request is to rezone the property to R-20 to develop a 37-lot subdivision. Commission District 3, Commissioner Jason Proctor.
Applicant wants some flag lots longer than allowed and also want to allow larger homes. No livestock or agricultural use. Heard by P&Z on December 8, 2022. Recommended approval. 5 conditions plus 2 others. Staff recommendation. Prelim plat prior to development. Full set of development plans shall be constructed in accordance with any construction on property. All roads shall be constructed in accordance to Section 155.27 of Pike Code. All structures must be constructed of brick, stone, stucco, or cement fiber board or a combination; no vinyl siding except for eves and soffits. No more than 37 lots. Planning and Zoning recommendation went with that and two others. All houses must be 2,500 square foot minimum. All driveways must be paved for flag lots.
The smallest lot is 7 acres. Staff recommended not packing 2 and 3 acres lots as would be allowed in R-20. Maximum 37 lots. 434 acres.
IN FAVOR
Steve Reeves. Representing Double P. Any of remaining minutes, would like to reserve for rebuttal. Notice given that application of zoning… Applied for rezoning of 434 acres for 37 acres. They can develop this per our ordinance under AR zoning. We asked for R-20. There is control for the county with this with rules for the animals. AR could be 1500 square foot houses with 3 acre lots. Asking for the rezoning to give you better control over this. Under our ordinance, we can still apply for this. Reminded commissioners that tonight is just a discussion of R-20 or AR. A problem with the 2,500 square foot home. Already looking at 2,000 foot square home but added an extra 500 feet that isn’t in the ordinance. Not once has he ever seen a requirement for paved driveways. We can shrink lots to shorten the flag lots if that is what the commissioners want. Under AR, the county has virtually no say so on what is done up there. Emphasized that they will be able to talk about the lot sizes, etc. at a later time.
AGAINST
Jo Studdard. Was unable to attend the December meeting. Questions about the development of this land. Moved from Rockdale. She saw her neighbors selling off properties for subdivisions. Have to educate these children. She lives just the other side of the line. There will be a water situation there because all of these properties will be on a well. Worried about building too close to the neighbors who are already there. Really worried about having even more houses there. Worried about the water situation. What about the entrance to the property? Terry Adams. Live on Vickery Road right in front of where they want to build. He thinks that the ordinance should change so no small houses are coming in there. Worried about the water. Thinks that they should have county water and sewer up there. He said that they have to build the right way. Wants better housing up there. And said that the entrance needs to be on top of the mountain.
Rebuttal? Steve Reeves said no need for rebuttal.
DISCUSSION
Chairman Johnson said that he has no problem with 2,000 square feet instead of 2,500. He questioned the requirement for paving the driveway. He is good with everything else. 7 to 25 acre subdivision would be better than what it could be.
Jason Proctor asked if Planning and Zoning Director Jeremy Gilbert could answer some questions. What is the property line? 30 feet from the back and sides. 60 feet from the right of way in the front. People won’t be able to disturb the entire property under R-20. DOT will ok the entrance. Not approving anything but zoning tonight. 2 other hearings will be heard in the future for the preliminary and final plats. They do have a conceptual at this point but will move forward after tonight. 3rd meeting will be held at a later date. Only looking at changing the zoning. Can ask them to do a water study if needed prior to the preliminary plat approval. Needs to be added as a condition. There could be some resistance because it is not required in our ordinance. R-20 to have 2,000 square footage. Board does discretion to make decisions on this beyond our current ordinances. It is a strong possibility that the lots could be reconfigured with flag lot conditions. Driveways need to be able to accept our fire trucks, emergency services, etc. though not necessarily make them pave them. You do have final approval on the plat. Requirements could be discussed at a conference. A development agreement could be agreed to between the developer and the county.
Attorney Morton said that they can require a development agreement that would address specifics like square footage of the home and the size, type of the driveway.
Johnson appreciates the quality with R-20.
Michael Pierce was asked to come forward. Do you have a problem with 2,500 square foot houses? I don’t. How many lots did you think would go in there with 434 acres? A lot more than this. How about paving the driveways? Against. But the driveway has to be accessible.
Jason Proctor. Prior to prelim approval, wants to see a discussion about water. Wants some coordination that emergency vehicles can access the driveways. Motion to approve the rezoning of the property with 2,500 square foot home including the conditions. Not including a development agreement but said that he will be asking if all the coordinating has been done. Back to a discussion of the motion for rewording. Motion to approve with 2,500 with 4, 5, and 6 which are not included in our current ordinances. 2nd approved the changes. Approved 4-0.
10. PUBLIC COMMENT - NONE
11. EXECUTIVE SESSION: 8:48 p.m.
a. County Manager Brandon Rogers requests an Executive Session to discuss the possible acquisition of real property pursuant to O.C.G.A. 50-14-3 (b)(1).
Back in session. 10:13 p.m.
12. ADJOURNMENT: 10:14 p.m.
Agenda subject to change.
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