The Oconee County Planning Commission tonight voted unanimously to recommend to the Board of Commissioners that it turn down a rezone request for a recreational vehicle storage facility at the corner of New High Shoals Road and Union Church Road.
The Planning Commission took the action after hearing from 19 people who spoke in opposition to the rezone request. No one other than the applicant’s agent spoke in favor.
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| Jon Williams Makes Case For Client |
Opponents packed the chamber of the Board of Commissioners, which seats nearly 70 persons, and spread out well into the Courthouse hallway beyond.
In other action, the Planning Commission unanimously voted in favor of a request to rezone 14 acres at the corner of Jennings Mill Road and Virgil Langford Road for what is planned as Phase III of Three Sixteen Professional Quarter.
And the Commission approved by a split vote a request to divide 15 acres on SR 15 south of Watkinsville into two lots, one for a single-family home and the other for what had been built as a tenant house.
66 Ready To Speak
Sixty-six persons had signed up to speak in opposition to what is being called Watkinsville RV Storage and is proposed to be developed by Watkinsville Storage as an extension of its facility at 67 Greensboro Highway (SR 15) in the industrial park in Watkinsville.
Planning Commission Chairman Dan Arnold repeatedly requested that the opponents limit their comments, but the 19 who spoke said they wanted to add new arguments to those already made by earlier speakers.
The opponents said the project did not belong in a largely residential neighborhood, would be unsafe, would create traffic problems and light pollution, and would decrease the value of their properties.
Only Jon Williams of Williams and Associates, representing property owners Herbert E. Michael and Mark Selvidge, spoke in favor of the project.
Medical Center and Borders
Oconee Medical Holdings LLC sought the rezone for the property at Jennings Mill Road and Virgil Langford Road for a $30 million project consisting of seven buildings totaling 140,000 square feet in size. No one spoke in opposition to the medical and office complex.
Two people spoke in opposition to the request by Samuel F. Border to divide his 15 acres into two lots.
The Planning Commission and Board of Commissioners rejected a similar plan in 2012 when nearby residents objected.
Border modified his plan by changing access to the two properties to address the concerns of the neighbors.
Five member of the Planning Commission tonight supported the request by Border, and five opposed. Arnold voted to send the request forward to the Board of Commissioners with a favorable recommendation.
The Board of Commissioners is scheduled to take up all three of these rezone matters at its meeting on Jan. 6. That meeting will start at 7 p.m. at the Courthouse in Watkinsville.
4 comments:
Fighting to turn down the RV Storage might not have been a good idea. What happens when a new buyer comes who wants to add a convienance store? The excuses such as "light pollution" and "tearing up the roads" are a completely insane. Most RV storage lots don't see traffic for days on end. All of the vehicles stored are allowed on any road in the state unless there is a bridge involved. I'm just hoping the commission has more sense than planning has. It's a good business, good company backing it and low impact on the surrounding area.
Although I am a farmer in the south part of the county and hate to see more development like this, that corner is not very attractive as it is. I agree with anonymous that this is a pretty quiet endeavor, just a lot of trailers resting as most people don't use them as much as they plan when they buy them and out of sight is out of mind. Probably the residents could face something worse there in the future.
I am surprised that they would allow the Borders to sub divide a farm tenant house. It seems like the county made a mistake when they did not check out the Hay Farm.
The Borders should not be able to sub divide a farm tenant house that was built without a farm.
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