Federal Government Approves Money To Protect Farmland In South Of Oconee County

Ludwig Farm

The federal government has approved $182,000 for protection of the Carole Ludwig farm in the south of Oconee County as part of the new federal farmland protection program, Sharon Holbrooks, easement specialist with the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservative Service, announced last night.

Funding was approved in early August for the Ludwig farm, Holbrooks told a gathering at the J. Phil Campbell Sr. Research and Education Center of the University of Georgia at Government Station Road and Experiment Station Road.

Oconee County Cities Will Be Holding Liquor-By-Drink Referendums On Nov. 4 By Default

1987 Law

Five intertwined but distinct Oconee County elections will be held on liquor by the drink on Nov. 4, though voters may not be aware of the complexity of the decisions they will be making.

Officially, voters will be asked if they want to allow “the governing authority of Oconee County” to “issue licenses to sell distilled spirits for beverage purposes by the drink.”

Oconee County Issued Building Permit For Cheddar’s At Epps Bridge Centre

Without Liquor

The Oconee County Code Enforcement Office last week granted a building permit to C&P Restaurant Company of Macon for construction of a Cheddar’s restaurant at the Epps Bridge Parkway entranceway to Epps Bridge Centre.

The permit is for a 8,385-square-foot wood and steel building. Cost is listed on the permit as $2.3 million.

Oconee County Planning Commission To Review Another Continuing Care Facility Proposal On Virgil Langford Road

Near Thrive

Eco Development Group of Athens is asking the Oconee County Planning Commission to recommend rezone of a mothballed residential subdivision off Virgil Langford Road so is can build what it calls a “seniors continuum of care retirement community.”

The request parallels in significant ways the 2012 request by Presbyterian Homes of Georgia to rezone an unbuilt subdivision on Rocky Branch Road for a continuing care retirement community, the official classification that also would apply to the Eco Development Group project.

Oconee County Public Works Director Criticizes State Transportation Project Agreements Now Under Review

At Citizen Meeting

The Oconee County Board of Commissioners should not approve three pending project agreements with the Georgia Department of Transportation without a clearer understanding of project details, the county’s Public Works director told a citizen group last Tuesday night.

The agreements call for one project on Jimmy Daniell Road and two projects on Daniells Bridge Road, but Public Works Director Emil Beshara said the county should not allow GDOT planners “who may or may not have been influenced by other forces, dictate to us what our projects are.”

Watkinsville Tables Discussion Of Liquor Referendum Pending Clarification Of Oconee County Vote

Attorneys To Confer

Watkinsville City Council tonight tabled discussion of a possible liquor-by-the-drink referendum in the city until it can get clarification on the legal implications of a county-wide referendum already on the November ballot.

While the Oconee County Board of Commissioners and County Attorney Daniel Haygood have discussed the November referendum entirely in terms of its impact on the unincorporated parts of the county, Watkinsville City Attorney Joe Reitman said the county referendum could affect the city as well.

Developers Of Oconee County Student Housing Complex Turn Attention To Nearby Restaurants And Commercial Center

Alcohol Ordinanace Applies

With the student housing complex Athens Ridge on Old Macon Highway now fully leased, Kelly Mahoney said he is turning his attention to the future commercial complex across the street.

The goal is to make that complex, named The Falls of Oconee, a “more boutique version of Butler’s Crossing,” Mahoney said last week.