At Monday’s regular county commission meeting, the commission approved three rezoning requests but denied a fourth, citing concerns from neighboring landowners and a use for the property that was inconsistent with the county’s Comprehensive Plan and the planned use for that tract.
The three requests that were approved were 11 acres at 58 Straight and Narrow Way from RM, Residential Mixed to C, Commercial for the purposes of an RV park and laundromat; 2.22 acres at 4079 Highway 32 West from R2, Residential to C, Commercial; and .81 acres at 4400 Highway 32 West from R1, Residential to C, Commercial.
The request that proved to be a sticking point was 142.1 acres at 450 Chaney Road from Ag, Agriculture to HI, Warehouse Heavy Industrial. Property owner Clarence Stewart had planned to sell the property to a company that would construct an asphalt plant on the site. According to Stewart, the company only needed about 30 acres but was willing to purchase the entire tract. Part of its attraction, he said, was its proximity to the railroad tracks. If the plant was built, the company intended to put in a spur from the tracks to service the asphalt plant.
Three individuals spoke against the request: Greg Tanner, Bob Chaney, and Larry Chaney. All three voiced concerns regarding environmental issues, traffic, and what having another railroad spur would do to the crossings in the area (there is already a spur at Premium Peanut, which is a short distance away).
The Planning Commission had agreed to the request while county staff had not.
After listening to all parties, county attorney Tony Rowell stated that he would recommend denying the request. “The Comprehensive Plan allows for commercial use but not heavy or light industrial,” he said. The commission ultimately denied the request. Stewart then said that he would like to meet with county officials and discuss what would be an acceptable use for that property. Rowell said they would get together and have a future discussion. Stewart added that had he known the request was likely to get rejected he wouldn’t have brought the matter to the commission. “Y’all knew I was definitely in violation of the plan. That should have been enough. I wouldn’t have been coming in here. I wouldn’t have driven yesterday and today. I wouldn’t have had Bob and everyone else up here,” said Stewart.
Commissioners also discussed several other items of business at the meeting, including:
- The low bid for the Otter Circle project; East Coast Asphalt submitted the low bid of $618.018.39;
- The purchase of five Ford Explorers for the sheriff’s department for $221,597.50 from Anderson Ford;
- The LMIG application, which totals $1.4 million in funds from the state department of transportation. The total cost of the projects is $2.4 million; the balance would be paid from the TSPLOST and SPLOST VII funds.