After requests for two commercial developments in the northern part of the county were pulled from the agenda of the Oconee Board of Commissioners on Tuesday night, more than half of the standing room only crowd left the Commission Chamber.
A cluster of a dozen citizens remained, however, determined to fight approval of two variances being sought by the developer of just more than 181 acres in the far south of the county.
Discussion of those two variances–to allow a private access drive to exceed 2,000 feet in length, for a total length of 3,005 feet, and to increase the number of lots allowed to access a private drive/easement from five to seven–dominated the remainder of the meeting.
Commissioners one after the other tried to convince the critics of the project that nothing the commissioners could do would provide what the critics wanted–to make the development of the 181 acres go away.
The group left the meeting clearly disappointed after the commissioners voted unanimously to grant both of the variances. The developer was not seeking–and did not need–a rezone of the property.
Much happier, no doubt, were those who showed up at the Commission meeting unhappy with plans for development of 8.1 acres on Daniells Bridge Road.
The developer asked for–and the Commission approved–removal of the item from the agenda without consideration.
Less fortunate were those who showed up to oppose granting of a Special Use Approval for construction of a warehouse with an outdoor storage area and a small office on Jimmy Daniell Road at the front of Silver Leaf subdivision.
That developer asked for–and was granted–postponement of consideration of the request until the March 3 meeting of the Commission, necessitating a return by the citizens for another hearing.
Withdrawal Request
When the Commission agenda turned to zoning matters on Tuesday night, Commission Chair John Daniell reported that Krojo LLC was withdrawing its request that it be allowed to put seven office and warehouse buildings on the property at 2100 Daniells Bridge Road.
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| Horton, Daniell, Amrey Harden (L-R) 2/3/2026 Daniell Announcing Krojo Withdrawal Request |
Developer Kris Robinson, who was in attendance at the meeting on Tuesday night but did not speak, had sent an email to Oconee County Director of Planning and Code Enforcement Guy Herring on Jan. 26 saying that he and his partner, Joseph Polaneczky, had “decided to pull the plug on this project.”
Robinson did not say why he and Polaneczky had decided to make that decision. At the Planning Commission meeting, the pair objected to the county’s requirement that they build two deceleration lanes at entrances to the project–adding several hundred thousand dollars to the cost of the project.
According to county tax records, the property remains under the ownership of LCN Oconee LLC, of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
Commission Chair Daniell had announced at the beginning of the Commission’s agenda setting on Jan. 27 that Robinson and Polaneczky has indicated that they wanted to withdraw their request for a change in concept plans to allow for the office and warehouse buildings.
Laura Clementson, who had spoken against the rezone at the Planning Commission on Jan. 20, did return on Tuesday evening with her young family, in case the commissioners denied the request for withdrawal and went forward with the hearing.
Postponement Request
Shortly before the meeting on Tuesday, Oconee Medical Properties informed the Board that it intended to ask for a postponement of its request for a Special Use Approval so it could build its 20,000 square foot contractor’s office/showroom/warehouse building.
The proposed building also is to have 5,000 square feet of outdoor storage at its rear, facing the four properties in Silver Leaf subdivision abutting the acreage owned by Oconee Medical Properties.
Oconee Medical Properties had decided not to seek a rezone for the property from its current Agricultural District classification but rather to ask for the Special Use Approval for the warehouse with outdoor storage.
Only three people spoke against the rezone at the hearing before the Planning Commission on Jan. 20, but clearly the opposition had gotten organized in the interim.
Nine people signed up to speak against the requests for the Special Use Approval, with only one signing up to speak in favor.
The property, on the west side of Jimmy Daniell Road and the north side of Silver Leaf Road, runs alongside the entrance to Silver Leaf subdivision. The address is 1691 Jimmy Daniell Road.
Ken Beall, land planner representing Oconee Medical Property owners Tim Burgess and Gavin Griffith, was in attendance at the meeting on Tuesday but did not speak.
More than half of the 60 plus people in the room left after the Commission voted to grant postponement of the Oconee Medical Properties request.
Salem Road Request
JLE Farms LLC, which owns 181.4 acres in two parcels at 2361 Salem Road south of Farmington, plans to develop a large-lot residential subdivision consisting of seven lots, each 25 acres in size or more.
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| Pittman 2/3/2026 |
Joshua Evans of 1693 Saxon Road is the owner of JLE Farms LLC and of the property.
Water will be provided by private wells. Private on-site septic systems will provide sewage treatment. The property currently is vacant.
JLE Farms LLC is not seeking a rezone of the property, since the county Unified Development Code allows on land zoned AG (Agricultural) a large-lot subdivision with each lot containing at least 25 acres.
According to the county planning staff report, the property was zoned Agricultural with the original zoning adoption by the county in 1968. Most of the acreage around the property also is zoned AG.
All of the surrounding area is in the Agricultural Preservation character area on the county’s land use map.
Frank Pittman, of Pittman and Greer Engineering, representing JLE Farms LLC, told the Board that he was seeking the extension of the private drive “to get a decent lot layout.”
He said the request to allow seven lots off a private driveway is to decrease the number of driveways on Salem Road.
“I think it would just be a better situation for everybody involved,” he said.
First Speaker in Opposition
Lynn Carson, the first persons to speak against the variance requests, said “this land that is being discussed was previously owned by my family. We've owned it for over 60 years."
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| Lynn Carson Before Board 2/3/2026 |
“And discussions with the sale for this land, it was my understanding he was going to keep it residential,” she said.
“We have a lot of opposition to this plan,” Lynn Carson said, “and my house is very much in the middle of all this. The road he intends to run will come right directly behind my house, and all the land that he's dividing up will be to the back of my house. So my life will be greatly impacted by that.”
“When did we even think about having a subdivision in Farmington, Georgia?” she asked. “I thought Farmington was supposed to be kept rural.”
Lynn Carson said she had not wanted to sell the land, “but under the rights of the will, we had to.”
According to county tax records, Ben B. Carson sold the property to JLE Farms LLC in April of 2024 for $2.5 million.
“I know the gentleman paid money for this land and he has to make a living,” Lynn Carson said, “but he's going to be affecting a lot of other people with this plan. So, we are deeply against both (variances), and I appreciate you all’s time and consideration.”
Other Speakers
Donna Carson spoke next and said “I know the land like the back of my hand. I grew up down there with my granddaddy feeding cows.”
“It is very steep,” she said. “I know stuff can come in there and be fixed, but I don't see how he can put what it is without impacting the land.”
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| Cheryl Carson 2/3/2026 |
“I understand the importance of growing,” the next speaker, Cheryl Carson, said, “but Oconee County needs to stay rural. Everybody can't have subdivisions. Everybody needs a place for animals to grow, children to play, have fun, enjoy theirselves, play in the creeks, ride four-wheelers, horses.”
“And I think Farmington is a place that needs to stay that,” she said. “I would appreciate very much, if you all would vote with us to keep it that way and let us grow up being human beings instead of business people.”
Carrie LeeAnn Mitchell followed and said “you fall in love with Farmington because it is rural, it is agricultural, and it needs to stay that way. I am completely opposed to both of these motions.”
“I think we really, really need to think about keeping Oconee County in the south part agricultural,” she said.
“I'm here to ask you to deny both of these requests,” Amanda McCoy Ledford, the final speaker, said.
“I understand that the buyer, the landowner, has rights to divide it,” she said. “When he purchased the property, he knew what the laws are in Oconee County, and I'm asking you to just hold the zoning laws and don't make any changes.”
Commissioners Respond
When Commission Chair Daniell closed the public hearing and asked his fellow commissioners for discussion, Commissioner Chuck asked those who had spoken if they realized, “if we do turn it down, by right they can go ahead and do seven lots?”
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| Saxon 2/3/2026 |
"I hear what you all are saying,” he continued, “but I also know by right, and that's the county's rules, by right, the county's rules will allow them to do the seven lots even if we turn it down.”
When members of the audience argued back, County Attorney Daniel Haygood said “The way the AG zone works is that it is a minimum 25 acre lot. And if you can get a 25acre lot, you can subdivide it. That's the way the ordinance has been for 50 years.”
“The approval of both of these variances, it's going to be better for you,” Commissioner Mark Saxon said. “He's going to build seven. He's going to have seven lots no matter what.”
“I just want to make sure you understand that, because we hear what you're saying,” he repeated. “But no matter what we do here, it's not going to change the fact that he can make seven lots out of it, build another driveway, use the existing driveway, and he's going to do that regardless.”
“You sold it to him,” he said. “He has the right to do what he wants to do. He has the right to do what he wants with his land.”
“I'll just echo what Commissioner Saxon said,” Commissioner Mark Thomas, who has land in the south of the county, said. “I do feel like that these improvements to the property will be better for safety.”
The Board approved both variances before them without further discussion.
Other Action
The Board also approved a rezone by Kirk McClellan and Joseph Hale III for 5.0 vacant acres at 2251 Clotfelter Road from Agriculture (AG) to AR (Agricultural Residential).
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| Daniell, Horton, Thomas, Baggett, Baird, Saxon, Harden (L-R) |
McClellan and Hale propose creating two residential lots with frontage on Clotfelter Road.
At the beginning of the meeting, the commissioners approved a proclamation recognizing Government Communication Day.
The proclamation, read by Commissioner Thomas, said “the role of government communications professionals is to inform, educate, and engage communities” and that “robust communication in government creates trust and inspires residents to take action, get involved, and make a difference.”
“(E)ffective government communications builds awareness and understanding through storytelling, fosters engagement on civic issues, and uses multiple channels to include people in critical decisions,” the proclamation continues.
“(S)trong and reliable communication in government is a foundational element of living in a democracy where citizens have the freedom to make their voices heard,” Thomas said, and “Oconee County recognizes its government communicators for their professionalism, dedication, hard work, enthusiasm, and sacrifice.”
The Board declared Feb. 20 as Government Communicators Day and called forward Director of Communications Diane Baggett and Communications Assistant Sarah Baird for recognition.”
Video
The video below is on the county YouTube Channel.
I attended the meeting and recorded my own video as a backup.
The still images used above are frames from that video.
The meeting begins at 3:21 in the video.
Discussion the JLE Farms variance requests begins at 12:47
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