5/11/2015 Planning & Zoning Commission Minutes
GORDON COUNTY PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION
PUBLIC HEARING MINUTES
MAY 11, 2015
The Gordon County Planning Commission held a Public Hearing on Monday, May 11, 2015 at 6:00 p.m. in the Conference Room of the Gordon County Administration Building for the purpose of hearing variance and zoning change requests. Members present were:
Randy Rule, Eddie Smith, Butch Layson, Nathan Serritt, and Jerry Lovelace
Randy Rule called the meeting to order and advised all present of the sign-up sheets available for those who wish to address the Planning Commission on any of the zoning or variance change applications.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
A motion was made by Jerry Lovelace to approve the minutes of the previous meeting of April 13, 2015. Nathan Serritt seconded the motion. All voted aye. The minutes were approved as written.
REZONING APPLICATION #Z15-04, REBA J. PAYNE
Chairman Rule read rezoning application #Z15-04, Reba J. Payne, requesting to rezone 12 acres located at 1605 Dews Pond Road, Calhoun from A-1 to R-5. Mrs. Payne and her granddaughter, Jennifer Kenner, explained that the representatives with Greenberry Village would describe the proposed development, but that the reason that she was looking to sell 12 acres of her 21.5 acres to this development was because they had fallen on some hard times financially and that it had never been the intent of her late husband to sell unless it was for hard times. Edward Libershal and Nick Sherman with Greenberry Village explained that the intent is to develop a multi-family apartment community for senior tenants with 64 units, having 3 buildings that would be connected, a courtyard, and a community building. Greenberry Village operates 7 of these type communities in Georgia and they are strictly for residents 55 years old or older. Adjoining and area property owners, Sarah Burnley, Gene Kostreba, Roger Burnley, David Maddox, Charles Dillard, Jeff Rogers, Rodney Caylor, Lane Warren, Russ Gilbert, and Flipper McDaniel all spoke in opposition. The concerns of the speakers were distance from existing homes, to protect the integrity of single family homes, traffic concerns since the Amakanata Subdivision already has 300 homes, infrastructure since water pressure is poor at times in Amakanata, safety concerns on the existing narrow roads, property values, and that this would be an inappropriate and negative zoning for an area that has one of the largest tax bases in Gordon County. The representatives with Greenberry closed in saying that they have built in other counties with similar situations and that the prior concerns were not a problem and that they hoped that the county would improve the infrastructure with the increase they would be contributing to the tax base. It was stated also there would not be access to the development from Three Oaks Drive, only from the Amakanata Road.
All adjoining property owners had been notified.
Ursula Desrosier, Zoning Administrator for Gordon County, recommended that the rezoning request identified as Application #Z15-04 be denied.
Nathan Serritt made the motion to deny the rezoning application identified as #Z15-04 from A-1 to R-5. Jerry Lovelace seconded the motion. All voted aye. The recommendation for denial was sent to the Board of Commissioners.
ADDITIONAL BUSINESS
There being no additional business, Jerry Lovelace made the motion to adjourn. Eddie Smith seconded the motion. All voted aye. The meeting was adjourned at 7:00 p.m.
