Townley Family Partnership’s plans for a 120-lot residential subdivision on 300 acres north of Hog Mountain Road between Rocky Branch and Hodges Mill roads received a setback on Monday when the Oconee County Planning Commission recommended denial of a rezone for the project.
The 4 to 3 vote against the rezone request by the Townley Partnership came after its representative agreed to double the delay in the start of the project to 10 years and to add two segments of multi-use paths to the development to connect with the county’s Master Trail Plan.
Russell Wills, an accountant for the Partnership, told the Commission that Townley has no clear plans to develop the property and only is seeking the rezone to set in place the conditions for development of the property at some point in the future using today’s standards.
Five citizens spoke against the development in the public hearing held by the Commission before the vote, citing concerns about traffic congestion.
The minimal discussion among Board members gave little indication of its sentiment before a motion to approve of the rezone request failed and then a second motion to recommend to the Board of Commissioners denial of the rezone passed by the 4 to 3 vote.
In other action, the Board approved, in a 5 to 1 vote, a rezone request by Dixon Family Trust of 2012 to grant a special use request allowing it to add 10 rental cabins to 19.6 acres it owns at 6011 Hog Mountain Road, just west of the Lane Creek Road intersection.
The Board voted 6 to 0 to recommend approval of a request by Prince Avenue Baptist Church for special use for development and expansion of its campus onto roughly 30 acres it has acquired to increase parking and to add a 60,000 square foot building.
Townley Request
Townley Family Partnership LLLP is planning a 120-lot residential subdivision on what is now farmland bordered by Hodges Mill Road, Hog Mountain Road, and Rocky Branch Road in the northwest of the county.
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| Location Of Townley Rezone (Click To Enlarge) |
The Townley rezone request involves seven different parcels totaling 257.46 acres. Some of that acreage already is zoned residential, so the request is only to rezone 194.94 acres.
Two parcels totaling 42.48 acres will be incorporated into the subdivision but are not part of the rezone request because they already are zoned for residential development.
The subdivision, being called Old Rocky Branch, will be accessed via both Hodges Mill Road and Rocky Branch Road.
Each home will be 2,500 square feet or larger, according to the narrative for the rezone, with average cost of the residences at $1 million.
Lots will be two acres in size. Sewage will be treated by individual septic systems. Water will be provided by the Oconee County Water Resources Department.
Tony Townley, one of the founders of Zaxby’s, is the general partner of the Townley Family Partnership.
The Oconee County planning staff recommended approval of the rezone, with conditions that would apply to the entire 299.94 acres that will make up the residential subdivision.
Comments By Applicant
Jeff Carter, of Carter Engineering, representing Townley, on Monday night referenced the county’s Land Use Map, Comprehensive Plan, current zoning, and area development and told the Commission that “we feel like this is a very appropriate use for this location.”
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| Concept Plan Townley Rezone With Illustrations of Buffers (Click To Enlarge) |
Carter spent much of his time responding to the conditions that the planning staff had recommended for the rezone.
Carter said that he accepted the condition that a 15-foot “open space area” be included where the subdivision abuts Hodges Mill Road, Hog Mountain Road (SR 53), and Rocky Branch Road, but he wanted to propose some variation on how those areas are designed and planted.
He also said he accepted the requirement that an eight-foot-wide concrete multi-use path be installed beside the road within the planned subdivision that connects Hodges Mill Road and Rocky Branch Road, provided that such a road is included in the final plat, as is now planned.
The planning staff also has recommended that a multi-use path be installed on Hodges Mill Road to connect to the planned multi-use path along Hog Mountain Road currently in the county’s Master Trail Plan.
And Carter also said he accepted the condition recommended by staff that “No Final Plat shall be granted for a period of 10 years from the date of Board of Commissioners approval.” Townley originally had proposed a five-year delay.
“This is no small condition,” Carter said. “I've been doing this for 25 years. I have never ever even seen anything close to this. A developer that is saying I'm okay with a 10-year moratorium on doing anything on the property?”
“And he is agreeable to this,” Carter said. “And so we're not asking for any changes to that condition.”
Wills, who followed Carter to the podium, said “Our intent is just kind of to lock in zoning so that we know what we have and what we can for sure count on in the future.”
“Tony's very content farming it for the long haul--the 10 years,” Will said. “It's something he's willing to accept. You know, not much is going to change. He lives across the street from there. Mr Harold (Tony Townley’s father) lives across the street from there.”
Speakers In Opposition
Carolyn Elster, whose property nearly abuts the proposed subdivision, said “we have enjoyed for 26 years Tony Townley's beautiful farmland.”
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| Opponents Of Townley Rezone 12/9/2024 (Click To Enlarge) |
“My concerns for us and the people of my neighbors is the property taxes that this will do in the future...All these $1 million homes would impact us. We're all pretty much on fixed income.”
She said she also is concerned about traffic on Hodges Mill Road. “That area is so bad, and we've been jammed up by all these subdivisions,” she said.
Richard Elster followed his wife and said “I can look out my backyard and see a little pond and cows grazing and stuff and, you know, I’m going to lose that. So, you know, that's about all I got to say.”
Julie Gentry, who lives south of Hog Mountain Road, said “We do not want another Gwinnett County here in Oconee County. Traffic out there, as previously said, is absolutely horrendous.”
Bobby Crowson, who also lives south of Hog Mountain Road, said “I’m afraid that growth is going to outstrip infrastructure. By infrastructure I mean sewage, water. I mean traffic, roads.”
Stein Jacobsen, who lives on Rocky Branch Road across from the proposed development, said traffic on the road already is heavy and “it’s amazing there has not been some major fatality on that corridor.”
Commission Vote
When Commission Chair Chuck Hunt closed the hearing on the rezone, Commission Member Jim Jenkins asked Guy Herring, Director of Planning and Code Enforcement, if he was agreeable with the three options for the buffers proposed by Carter and with Carter’s discussion of the multi-use path.
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| Vote To Recommend Denial Of Townley Rezone 12/9/2024 |
Herring said he was.
Commission Member Nathan Byrd asked Herring to respond to questions about infrastructure.
Herring said the developer would “have to mitigate any impacts” of the development on traffic that are identified in a traffic study.
Commission Member Colby Baker asked if buffers were required between the residential lots in the planned subdivision and existing residential lots. Herring said because they are compatible uses, no buffer is required.
Commission Member Stephen LaPierre asked Wills if Townley planned to develop the land himself. Wills said “There is no plan to develop it now between now and 10 years from now...We’re just trying to get it locked in.”
Jenkins made a motion to recommend to the Board of Commissioners that it approve the rezone request by Townley Family Partnership. LaPierre seconded.
The motion failed when only Jenkins, LaPierre, and Byrd voted in favor.
Baker made a motion to recommend denial of the rezone. Ann Evans seconded.
That motion passed with Baker, Evans, Lisa Ferguson, and James Staples voting in favor of the motion to recommend denial, and Jenkins, LaPierre, and Byrd voting against the motion.
Recreational Cabins
Dixon Family Trust of 2012 is seeking a special use approval for the construction of 10 recreational cabins and for the conversion of an existing dwelling, all to be used for overnight rentals, on a 356- acre parcel bordered by Hog Mountain Road, Lane Creek Road, and Moore’s Ford Road.
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| Hedges Before Commission 12/9/2024 |
The 10 heated rental cabins will be approximately 1,000 square feet in size. The existing house, which is unoccupied, has three bedrooms and is 1,530 square feet in size.
Plans call for a trail system and a common meeting area. An existing garage would be converted to a “Common House” for gathering, cooking, games, and other activities.
The site will be accessed from Lane Creek Road. A second “service vehicles” access will use an existing gravel drive on Hog Mountain Road.
The Dixon Trust is proposing to utilize Oconee County water. Sewage disposal will be provided via on-site septic.
Mick Kittle from SPG Planners and Engineers, representing the Dixon Trust, said on Monday night that the total acreage surrounding the proposed development under control of the Dixon and Hedges names is about 470 acres.
The development will be on an existing parcel of 19.6 acres, Kittle said, with additional acreage taken from a larger 336.4 acre parcel to provide paved access to the project from Lane Creek Road.
The total site for the recreational rentals will be about 20 acres, he said.
Rentals will be $750 to $1,000 per night, Kittle said.
Tracie Dixon Hedges, daughter of original land owner John Dixon, said “as you can imagine, 470 acres is a lot to take care of. We knew we wanted to keep doing what we've always done. We kind of started talking about we got to create some revenue in order to hold it. So that's when we started these conversations.”
Opposition From Neighbor
Kyle Setzer, whose 16.7-acre parcel abuts to the west the 19.6 acres owned by the Dixon Family Trust on which the recreational cabins are to be built, spoke in opposition to the plans before the Commission.
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| Dixon Family Trust Concept Plan (Click To Enlarge) |
“I have three small children,” Setzer said. “We purchased that particular parcel about four years ago, and the last thing that me and my family had in mind would be short-term, constant out-of-towners in and out beside my property.”
“But most importantly for us is the buffer and the screening,” he said, asking for “some kind of extra barrier in there "for security concerns for out-of-towners and short term turnover there as well as noise.”
“The other concern I have is with the gathering terrace,” he said. “So that's where everyone's going to be at a communal area.” A fire pit is part of the terrace.
“And it's again right by our property,” he said. “For a concentration of 40-plus guests. Bonfires. We all know what happens, if you ever been out in the country, and been to bonfires. They're not necessarily quiet. So could that potentially be relocated to another central location?”
Applicant, Commission Response
Kittle said they would “revisit” the location of the fire pit and possible “pull it further off the property line.”
He said “we understand the concerns” about the buffer “and we’re happy to address those.”
In response to a question from Baker, Planning Director Herring said existing code specifies that no one will be allowed to stay at a rental for more than 30 days.
The Commission voted to recommend approval of the special use with the added condition that the buffer be increased from 50 to 75 feet and the fire ring be moved to a “central” part of the project.
Ferguson had left the meeting before the vote, and Byrd voted against the motion. Staples, Baker, Jenkins, Evans, and LaPierre voted in favor of the motion.
Prince Avenue Expansion
The final item on the Planning Commission agenda on Monday was a request by Prince Avenue Baptist Church for special use approval for development and expansion of its campus onto roughly 30 acres it has acquired, bringing its total campus to 74.4 acres.
All of the acreage occupied for the campus is zoned Agricultural, and the special use will allow the Church to add a 60,000 square foot event facility with 531 additional parking spaces.
Carter from Carter Engineering, representing Prince Avenue Baptist Church, said on Monday that “parking is at a premium,” necessitating the immediate expansion before the Commission.
Carter labeled the building “as a little bit more long-term, but it will serve several functions” when built.
The Commission recommended approval of this request 6 to 0.
The Board of Commissioners is scheduled to take up these three recommendations at its Jan. 7 meeting, which begins at 6 p.m. at the County Administrative Building, 7635 Macon Highway, north of Watkinsville.
Video
The video below is of the full meeting of the Oconee County Planning Commission on Dec. 9, 2024.
The meeting took place at the Oconee County Administrative Building.
Discussion of the Townley Family Partnership rezone is at 3:19 in the video.
Discussion of the Dixon Family Trust special use request is at 50:08 in the video.
Discussion of the Prince Avenue special use request is at 1:23:15 in the video.
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