The Oconee Count Planning Commission, in a 7 to 3 vote last week, sided with the county planning staff and recommended approval of a rezone request of nearly 50 acres on the north side of Barnett Shoals Road east of Watkinsville for a 12-lot residential subdivision.
The county planning staff recommended approval of the rezone only on the condition that lot size be at least three acres–a condition that the property owner opposed.
Frank Pittman, representing property owner Blake Underwood, told the Planning Commission that there is little market interest in three-acre lots and Underwood needs to have nine roughly two-acre lots and three larger lots to make the project viable.
The county planning staff noted that the property is in the Country Estates Character Area on the 2023 Oconee County Comprehensive Plan and that residential lots of less than three acres are not consistent with that plan.
The planning staff also set as a condition of approval that storm water ponds be placed on a separate utility lot or lots with a large road frontage.
Pittman objected to that condition as well.
The Oconee County Board of Commissioners will receive the Planning Commission recommendation as well as the planning staff report and is scheduled to make its decision on the Underwood request at its meeting on May 6.
Zoning Request
Underwood, who told the Planning Commission at its meeting on April 21 that he now lives in Athens, purchased 49.96 acres at 2153 Barnett Shoals Road from First American Bank and Trust Company for $1.3 million on Jan 15 of this year, according to county tax records.
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| Pittman Before Commission 4/21/2025 |
The property, zoned AG (Agricultural), is oddly shaped and was created as an administrative plat in 2021. The Underwood acreage and an adjoining 49.99 acres previously were owned by Ruth Edge Brannen.
The Underwood acreage is undeveloped and contains an abandoned house constructed in 1860, according to tax records.
Underwood said in the rezone narrative he plans to demolish the house.
He is asking to rezone the property from AG to AR (Agricultural Residential) and has presented a concept plan showing 12 residential lots on a single road off Barnett Shoals Road.
Nine of those lots are just slightly larger than two acres in size, with one of the lots at the rear just less than eight acres, another at just less than seven acres, and the final one just less than 14 acres.
The AR zoning allows lots of two acres in size.
The concept plan shows two “potential stormwater ponds” at the rear of three lots.
The county planning staff recommended the rezone to AR-3, for three-acres lots, but not to AR.
It also wants the storm water ponds moved to a single lot “or lots having a minimum road frontage of 40 feet” to offer better access for county crews should it be necessary in the future.
Public Hearing
Pittman said in his comments to the Commission that “You got different tiers of people that come to Oconee County.”
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| Rezone Area Outlined In Red |
Some are “getting in for the lowest cost they can get in and those are the people in the bigger subdivisions” with lots sizes of 1.5 acres, he said.
“Now then you've got people that can afford a little bit more,” he said.
“And they want two acre lots so they've got a little bit more room,” he continued, “and then it jumps from there to people that want small farms and barns and that kind of stuff, and they usually want 5 to 10 acres or even larger than that.”
“The three acre to four acre spot is tough to sell,” he said. “It's tough to justify from a development standpoint as well.”
Pittman said the storm water condition recommended by the planning staff “is a weird request. When you create a storm water pond on a standalone lot that dictates where lot lines have to go because storm water ponds have to go where they have to go based on topography.”
Underwood told the Planning Commission that he plans to live in the subdivision where he will build “our forever home and be a part of the community.”
He said he expects two-acre lots will starting “at the $250,000 price range” and the larger lots will be “at the $500,000 plus price.” Home prices will be $1.5 to $2 million, he said.
Five people from the area around the property to be rezoned spoke at the hearing on April 21, all in favor of the project as presented by Pittman and Underwood.
Board Discussion
Following the public hearing on April 21, Planning Commission Member Jim Jenkins asked David Webb, Senior Planner for Oconee County, to elaborate on the recommendation of the planning staff that the rezone be AR-3.
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| Webb Before Commission 4/21/2025 |
Webb said the Comprehensive Plan adopted by the Board of Commissioners in 2023 “recommends that AR-3 is appropriate to County Estates.” The Underwood property falls in that land use category.
“This was a plan that received overwhelming community support,” Webb said. “Multiple public hearings, multiple public input through surveys as well as multiple meeting among this body as well as the Board of Commissioners and planning staff,” he continued.
Commission Members Matt Elder and Chris Herring questioned that recommendation, and they were joined by Commission Member James Staples in voting against the recommendation that the Board of Commissioners approve the rezone as recommended by the planning staff.
Voting in favor were Jenkins, Mike Floyd, Nathan Byrd, Colby Baker, Ann Evans, Stephen LaPierre, and Lisa Ferguson.
According to the planning staff report, the Oconee County Board of Education reviewed Underwood rezone request and offered no recommendation. The Board said that the subdivision will add six students to the system.
Video
I did not attend the meeting on April 21 because I attended the meeting of the Oconee County Board of Education held at the same time.
Harold Thompson did attend and recorded video for me. The still images above are frames taken from the video he recorded.
The audio in the county’s recording is better and is embedded below.
The Underwood request was the only item on the agenda.
3 comments:
Can you give the address of the property to be rezoned
While it is my policy to not publish comments that do not contain a full, real name, I wanted to repeat the paragraph in the post that answers this question.
Underwood, who told the Planning Commission at its meeting on April 21 that he now lives in Athens, purchased 49.96 acres at 2153 Barnett Shoals Road from First American Bank and Trust Company for $1.3 million on Jan 15 of this year, according to county tax records.
Lee
A 165 year old house in Oconee County
Not too may of those left are there?
A house that is actually fifteen years older than our 150 year old county itself
To be demolished to build...wait for it...$2 million homes
Couldn't move it to another location?? Too much to ask?? Gotta hurry & build the $2 mil cribs
Complaints all the time by county residents that Oconee is turning into Gwinnett and not preserving/protecting its history...here is thee prime example
Would have been a fair request/condition to save the 165 year old structure;
An utter failure by the Planning Commission and Planning Department to allow the demolition...Literally a historic failure
Thank you to Matt Elder, Chris Herring & James Staples for voting against it
Stay classy Blake Underwood and Frank Pittman, and Bless Your Hearts
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