Oconee County commissioners, in quick succession on Tuesday night, approved rezone plans for a car wash and oil change shop at Epps Bridge Centre II, for a small office complex just north of Watkinsville, and for a hotel on Parkway Boulevard near Epps Bridge Centre.
No one other than the applicants or their representatives spoke in favor of any of the three rezone requests, and no one spoke in opposition. With almost no discussion, the commissioners approved all three unanimously.
With slightly more discussion, the commissioners then approved unanimously a variance request to reduce the side yard setback on a 0.23 acre lot in Westland subdivision.
In other action, the Board of Commissioners approved a contract not to exceed $141,000 for health insurance broker services to allow the county to continue to explore self-funding a health insurance program for county employees.
The Board also approved a bid of $593,150 for utility relocation for a roundabout at SR53 and Snows Mill /Rocky Branch Road and set aside $329,965 to relocate a section of water line at the Clotfelter Road Bridge over Barber Creek.
Commissioners also agreed to allocate $100,000 of Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax monies under the county’s Farmland Protection Program for a conservation easement on the Steve and Paula Nezda farm on Colham Ferry Road.
At the beginning of the meeting, the commissioners had declared Tuesday Russ Page Day to honor one of the founders of the Farmland Protection Program.
Page also was a founder of the Oconee Farmers Market and a leader in historic preservation in the county before moving to North Carolina in 2018.
Rezone Epps Bridge Centre
Frank Bishop, developer of Epps Bridge Centre I and II, was asking the Commission to amend the concept plan approved for Epps Bridge Centre II in 2016 to allow for an oil change and lubrication store and car wash on an undeveloped outparcel that abuts the petroleum station at Costco.
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| Patrick Bishop Before Board 3/4/2025 |
At the Planning Commission meeting on Feb. 17, Frank Bishop said that Costco had asked for development of the outparcel as he is now proposing, rather than as a restaurant, as originally planned.
One citizen and several Planning Commission members had expressed opposition to that change, and the Planning Commission voted 5 to 4 to recommend that the Board of Commissioners approve the change.
The Board of Commissioners voted approval of the request without discussion.
Rezone Tyler McClure
Tyler McClure, Chief Operating Officer for Rhino Mini Storage LLC, asked the Commission to modify a rezone of June 1, 2022, for the 8.37 acre parcel he owns on Moreland Heights Road north of the Watkinsville border and partially abutting the property housing the County Administrative Building.
McClure asked to increase the maximum allowed office area from 23,400 square feet to 73,800 square feet, increase the number of buildings from four to ten, and remove the previously approved assisted living facility from the concept plan.
Three previously approved office buildings are currently under construction and will include multi-tenant units that could be used for contractor office, general office, or other similar allowed uses, according to the staff report on the rezone request.
The seven new proposed buildings will have roll up doors and small loading docks for loading/unloading for smaller commercial trucks associated with the office businesses, the staff report states.
The Planning Commission had added a requirement that the seven new buildings be buffered from the nearby residences by an opaque fence to minimize the impact of headlights from the parking lot.
The Commissioners on Tuesday night changed that buffer to a two-foot berm topped with vegetation before approving the request.
Rezone For Hotel
Oval Hospitality LLC of Athens on Monday asked the Board of Commissioners to give its approval of a rezone request for a four-story, 107-room hotel on Parkway Boulevard west of the newly opened Piedmont Healthcare Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital.
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| Campbell Before Board 3/4/2025 |
The plan is to carve 3.14 acres out of a 28.16 acre parcel currently zoned AG (Agricultural) that fronts on Parkway Boulevard. The request was to rezone that 3.14 acre parcel B-2 (Highway Business) for the hotel.
Mark Campbell of Carter Engineering told the Planning Commission that Oval Hospitality has an option on the 3.14 acres, pending the outcome of the rezone request.
Minesh Patel, manager of Oval Hospitality, said after the Planning Commission meeting that he is in discussion with Hilton about making the hotel a dual brand property, possibly with Home2 Suites and Tru as the two brands.
Campbell said at the Planning Commission that Patel has developed the Fairfield Inn and Suites on Old Epps Bridge Road in Athens and has another hotel project in the works in Athens with the group.
Campbell said he expected construction will get underway on the Parkway Boulevard project in 2026 or 2027.
Developers frequently include hotels as part of rezone proposals, but they usually do not present the detailed plans for the hotel that Oval Hospitality LLC did with the rezone request on Tuesday.
In December, the Board of Commissioners approved a rezone of a 14.3-acre parcel on nearby Plaza Parkway to create two lots, one for a 15,000 square foot, 90-room hotel and the other for a 72,000 square foot exercise facility with an outdoor pool and pickleball and tennis courts.
The hotel was described only as a “business hotel.”
Oconee County collects a 6 percent special hotel excise tax on the rental of a hotel room in the county.
Other Actions
In the final zoning decision, after some discussion, the Board approved a request by property owner D.R. Horton for a Special Exception Variance to reduce the minimum required side setbacks from 10 feet to nine feet for an existing single family dwelling in Westland subdivision.
The Board of Commissioners late last year had considered moving toward self-funding of health insurance for its employees in January but pulled back to gather additional information.
On Tuesday the Board agreed to a contract with Gallagher Benefit Services for health insurance broker services to further explore the self-funding option.
Commission Chair Daniell said he expected the cost to be less than the maximum allowed of $141,000.
The roundabout construction at SR53 (Hog Mountain Road) and Snows Mill /Rocky Branch Road is a collaboration between the county and the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT).
GDOT has reviewed bids, including for the relocation of the Water Resource Department facilities, and informed the county that the final bid amount for the relocation is $593,150. The county will pay GDOT that amount.
GDOT also is planning to upgrade the bridge carrying Clotfelter Road over Barber Creek, requiring relocation of the water line.
Oconee County is responsible for $329,965 to cover those costs.
The Commissioners previously had greed to spend $100,000 of Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax monies under the county’s Farmland Protection Program for the conservation easement on the Nezda farm, but the legal transaction is only now coming to fruition.
Athens Land Trust will hold the easement.
Russ Page Recognition
At the work session of the Board of Commissioners on Feb. 25, when the payment for the easement on the Nezda farm was discussed, Commission Chair Daniell noted Page’s contribution.
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| Page 2018 |
“We were just talking before the meeting about Russ Page,” Daniell said, “and he's kind of the father of this thing that got it started. So kudos to him for pushing that through all those years.”
Page moved away from Oconee County in the summer of 2018 to be closer to family.
After that Feb. 25 meeting, Daniell decided to formally recognize Page through a proclamation.
Commissioner Chuck Horton, who read the proclamation for Page on Tuesday, began with a few personal comments, saying Page “loved Agriculture and when he went to the podium (at a Commission meeting), that's what you were going to hear--a plug about agriculture in Oconee County.”
“He was certainly a good citizen of this county, and he loved the county,” Horton said. “He wanted to protect agricultural land. And so I think if you didn't know him, you missed a good, good person.”
The proclamation noted that Page came to Oconee County in 1981, was an adjunct professor at the University of Georgia, ran a farm and a related breeding business, co-founded the Oconee Farmer’s Market, co-founded the Farmland Protection Program in the county, and was an advocate for historic preservation.
That Farmland Protection Program has protected more than 750 acres of farmland in the county, the proclamation noted.
The Commission proclaimed March 4, 2025 as Russ Page Day and recognized Page “For all of his contributions to Oconee County.”
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| Click To Enlarge |
Video
The video below is on the Oconee County YouTube Channel.
The meeting begins at 4:53 in the video.
The presentation of the proclamation for Page is at 7:31 in the video.
Discussion of the Epps Bridge Centre rezone request is at 12:19 in the video.
Discussion of the McClure rezone request is at 15:19 in the video.
Discussion of the rezone for the hotel is at 24:05.
The still images above are screen captures from video I shot at the meeeting.
4 comments:
Re: "GDOT also is planning to upgrade the bridge carrying Clotfelter Road over Barber Creek." If this "upgrade" will result in thru trucks being allowed on Clotfelter Road, let's stop right now. The residents along Clotfelter do not need the continuous racket of large trucks nor does Oconee County need the increased cost of road maintenace.
Lee, I thought a conservation easement was an agreement to preserve land by putting limits on how it can be used in the future. Can you explain why that requires a $100K payment. Thanks.
Jim,
The idea is that the farmer sells the easement, which, in this case, is held by the Athens Land Trust, stipulating that the land will not be developed in the future. That easement has value, calculated based on the amount of land with certain characteristics, and the farmer is compensated in part for granting that easement. The farmer actually "donates" some of that value, with the county contributing a part and, historically, federal funds picking up a part. The sale of the easement provides to the farmer compensation and provides protection for the land by requiring that it cannot be sold for development. The farmer continues to farm the land as in the past, but the land cannot be sold for development.
Lee
Thanks for the explanation, Lee.
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