Monday, October 05, 2015

Oconee County Issued A Permit For LED Sign On SR 316 At McNutt Creek; Two Other Sign Applications Pending

One On Mars Hill Road

Oconee County issued a permit for an 8 foot by 12 foot LED sign at SR 316 and McNutt Creek Road Sept. 29 and is processing applications for two additional large LED signs, one at the Oconee Connector and SR Loop 10 and the other on Mars Hill Road just north of Barber Creek Drive.

A small sign on the property on the northwest corner of SR 316 and McNutt Creek Road will be removed, and the large replacement sign will be just beyond the 10-foot setback from the state right of way for SR 316.

The 1.9-acre lot is owned by Nona and Mike Thornton of Watkinsville and contains a 5,000-square-foot showroom and warehouse built in 1996. Terminix Pest Control Services Bogart Branch is listed on the web as the tenant.

The new sign will have a single pole and will tower 35 feet above the ground. The plans show the sign as two-sided.

The sign will be operated by USA Outdoor, with an Athens post office box address. Lou Ferrando is listed as the principal. The sign is valued at $35,000.

Connector And Loop

The LED sign being proposed for the Oconee Connector and SR Loop 10 is on a triangular piece of property of less than a half acre in size where Jennings Mill Road is stubbed off at the Connector. Just across SR Loop 10 is Epps Bridge Centre.

The parcel is owned by E.A. Development LLC with a mailing address of 1500 Langford Medical Drive, which is the address of the Ellis Pain Center in the Three Sixteen Professional Quarter.

The proposed sign would be 7 feet by 14 feet in size and would be 40 feet above ground level but 20 feet above the road grade. The Oconee Connector is elevated at that point to pass over SR Loop 10.

LED Sign Proposed For Here

The plans submitted to Oconee County Code Enforcement on Aug. 21 with the permit application show a two-sided sign on a single pole.

The sign is valued at $116,134 and would be operated by Adams Outdoor of Roswell.

Mars Hill And Old Mars Hill

The application for the sign on Mars Hill Road opposite Old Mars Mill Road was submitted on Aug. 11 by USA Outdoor, with an Athens post office box address.

The LED sign requested in the application would be 8 feet by 12 feet in size and stand on a single pole 35 feet about ground level. The two-sided sign would be 20 feet above Mars Hill Road, now being rebuilt.

The sign would sit on a sliver of land that was part of Daniells Bridge Road before that road was re-designed to intersect at a right angle with Mars Hill Road when the Oconee Connector was built in 1999 and 2000.

The 1.8-acre parcel, for which the sliver forms a tail, is owned by Paul Keller, Susanne Chastain and JJMB LLC. Athens dentist James McDonald is agent for JJMB.

The sign is valued at $35,000, according to the application.

Residential Neighbors

The Mars Hill Road sign would sit in front of a 14-acre parcel stretching from Mars Hill Road to Daniells Bridge Road that currently is undeveloped.

It also would be near the Barber Creek Business Park and the residential area off Barber Creek Drive behind the business park.

Across Mars Hill Road from the proposed sign are residences on Mars Hill Road, on Old Mars Hill Road, and on Hollow Creek Drive.

Oconee County Board of Commissioners Chairman Melvin Davis had proposed that the county reconnect Old Mars Hill Road to Mars Hill Road opposite Barber Creek Drive to facilitate development along Old Mars Hill Road.

At the Board of Commissioners meeting on Aug. 29, the commissioners turned back that proposal.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

It appears the Commissioners can't wait to trash up the county as quickly as possible.

Beanne said...

Ugly, ugly, rural area no more.

Anonymous said...

Those aren't signs...they are BILLBOARDS!

Once again, Melvin and Jamie Boswell are turning us into Gwinnett County-lite, and Oconeeians won't realize it until it's too late.

Anonymous said...

These signs are distracting to drivers and thus dangerous. And, the light blight is ridiculous.

Unknown said...

This is truly awful. More light pollution 24 hours a day. More ugliness in Oconee County with these hideous signs. People moved here for the rural unspoiled character of the area. The commissioners are screwing over the residents they represent and for what? $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
The commissioners should listen to their constituents and keep the development over on 316 and epps bridge... and AWAY from residential areas! I'll be voting against every single one that supports this destruction of our quality of life.

Anonymous said...

Chris Razz brings up some valid points, but here's the rub: All of this originates from Melvin Davis and Jamie Boswell.

The other four commissioners allow Melvin to do whatever the heck he wants, which includes projects that benefit a few favored property owners.

Bubber in particular is an utter embarrassment. We need smarter, fresher commissioners who know and appreciate best practices. What we have now is a commission and county manager who has no problem with constant raw sewage spills into our watershed, including hiding it from the public. Here's contact info. for the other four see no evil, hear no evil commish's:

Commissioner Jim Luke, Post 1, jluke@oconee.ga.us
Commissioner John Daniell, Post 2jdaniell@oconee.ga.us
Commissioner W.E. "Bubber" Wilkes, Post 3; bwilkes@oconee.ga.us
Commissioner Mark Saxon, Post 4, msaxon@oconee.ga.us