8/8/2016 PZC Meeting Minutes
GORDON COUNTY
PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION
PUBLIC HEARING MINUTES
AUGUST 8, 2016
The Gordon County Planning Commission held a Public Hearing on Monday, August 8, 2016 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
Randy Rule, Eddie Smith, Butch Layson, Nathan Serritt, 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 July 11, 2016. Nathan Serritt seconded the motion. All voted aye. The minutes were approved as written.
REZONING APPLICATION #Z16-14, CON-ONAULA FARMS (Applicant: OWR, LLC)
Chairman Rule read rezoning application #Z16-14, Con-onaula Farms, requesting to rezone 31.70 acres located at 3538 US Hwy. 41 South, Calhoun from A-1 to I-2. Terry Brumlow, a local attorney represented the request, explaining that OWR, LLC will buy these 31.70 acres if the rezoning is received from Con-onaula Farms to join the 25 acres that was previously rezoned in June to I-2 to build a very large food production facility at this site. Mr. Brumlow added that this would be a big boon for Gordon County. All adjoining property owners had been notified.
Ursula Desrosier, Zoning Administrator for Gordon County, recommended that the rezoning request identified as Application #Z16-14 be approved.
Jerry Lovelace made the motion to approve the rezoning application identified as #Z16-14 from A-1 to I-2. Butch Layson seconded the motion. All voted aye. The recommendation for approval was sent to the Board of Commissioners.
VARIANCE APPLICATION #V16-06, CALHOUN SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST
Chairman Rule read variance application #V16-06, Calhoun Seventh Day Adventist, requesting to increase sign square footage and height allowance for a 18.31 acre tract located at 1411 Highway 53 West, Calhoun. John Freeman, Project Manager for Valley Signs and Darrell Starkey, representing the Calhoun Seventh Day Adventist Church, addressed the Planning Commission explaining that the height variance is needed because of the 6 foot difference in the road grade to the property grade and that the size of the illuminated sign would be about 50 square feet but with the brick monument surrounding it would bring it to about 300 square feet. This is the only proposed plan that the applicants had and Randy Rule asks could they come up with a smaller total square footage plan. Mr. Starkey stated that if this application could be tabled they would come back with another plan. All adjoining property owners had been notified.
Butch Layson made the motion to table Variance Application #V16-06 until the September 12, 2016 meeting to allow the applicants to come up with a smaller sign plan. Jerry Lovelace seconded the motion. All voted aye. The variance was tabled until the September 12, 2016 meeting.
VARIANCE APPLICATION #V16-07, LARRY R. WELCHEL
Chairman Rule read variance application #V16-07, Larry R. Welchel, requesting a variance on a 2 acre tract located at 320 Baker Road, Calhoun. Larry and Peggy Welchel represented the request explaining that he had poured the concrete to build a metal carport because his wife has heart and other medical conditions and he was trying to keep her out of the rain. He also added that he was not aware that he had to be 10 feet off of the property line and that his neighbor had reported this and the ordinance officer had came out and advised him of this. Danny Wilson, an adjoining property owner, spoke in opposition to this variance stating that the slab was not level and that the run-off from the drainage would eventually damage his fence. All adjoining property owners had been notified.
Ursula Desrosier, Zoning Administrator for Gordon County, recommended that the variance request identified as Application #V16-07 be denied.
Butch Layson made the motion to deny Variance Application #V16-07 that would allow applicant to build a metal carport 6 inches off of the adjoining property owners’ line. Nathan Serritt seconded the motion. All voted aye. The variance was denied. The thirty-(30) day appeal period was explained.
ADDITIONAL BUSINESS
There being no additional business, Nathan Serritt made the motion to adjourn. Eddie Smith seconded the motion. All voted aye. The meeting was adjourned at 6:38 p.m.
