Planning Commission on November 9th. It’s a major subdivision but there will be no interior streets and each will have at least 3 acres. It was recommended for approval with conditions.

In Favor:

Bubba Jones laid out the subdivision in accordance to our ordinances, and he will be happy to answer any questions.

Bennie Evans, member of the Planning Commission, said that there was a lot of discussion on this with lot width. He said that these lots meet our code even though some of the lots taper down to a point in some places and that he is concerned about this for future lots. We are approving 6 driveways on New Hope Road and it is a major impact on a major stretch of road. The other 3 are on Country Brown Road. He said that we need to look at future developments and what we are approving now. Suggested requirements to attach safety info about the lake for future developments. Asked them to consider this with one street for future major subdivision developments instead of 6 driveways on a thoroughfare like this. He said that this could look very different if there was an interior road.

No one spoke against it.

Motion to approve with conditions. Discussion: Minimum square footage is 1,500 square feet. Future requirements could be changed if commissioners chose to do so. Approved 5-0.

g. PUBLIC HEARING: To receive public input regarding REZ-17-05 – Virginia Rawls Murphy, property owner, and STS Development Group, LLC, applicant, are requesting a rezoning of the subject property from A-R (Agricultural-Residential) to R-15 (Single Family Residential) in order to develop a 66 lot conservation subdivision on the subject property. The subject property located off of Chapel Hill Road and Second District Road, has approximately 3173 feet of frontage along the western side of Chapel Hill Road and approximately 1518 feet of frontage along the northern side of Second District Road. The property is located in Land Lot 8 of the 2nd District of Pike County, Georgia. The property consists of 102.5 acres and is further identified as Tax Map Parcel #062 016.
Action: Discuss/Approve/Deny

From the CM Report: Request for an R15 conservation subdivision. They have requested R15 since they intend to develop with 1800 square foot houses. The next available zoning is R20 and is above the minimum square footage desired by the applicant.

Commissioners are not asked to approve a layout of the subdivision. You are deciding whether to approve this as an R-15. It is setting out a bunch of open space with houses on smaller lots. This is only the first step toward a conservation subdivision. Roughly 100 acres but AR only allows about 33 acres. R-15 will allow about 50 lots. 66 lots were in the concept plan but will likely be less than that. Not approving a lay out or certain amount of lots though. It could have 20 lots right now with 1,100 square foot houses now. Went before the Planning Commission on November 9th with conditions.

Rob Morton said that while everyone is concerned about what this could turn out, tonight’s decision is solely about rezoning this tract from AR to R-15.

This is only about 100 acres that is in Pike County. David Allen said that 1,800 square foot homes were discussed but not voted on. This board could make any conditions that it chooses.

In Favor:

Bennie Evans said that there is a lot of concern about houses and traffic. The first conceptual drawing had more houses than is allowed by our ordinances. This is walking through the steps to a conservation subdivision. He said that he thinks that a conservation subdivision will have fewer driveways on the road and be hidden better than it would be as regular lots.

Steve Reeves represents the developers on this. The number of lots will be determined by the soil because that may limit the number of septic systems. Water is another issue. The Water and Sewer Authority has said that it can provide water. They are looking to find out what is possible on this and look forward to working with the county on this so it can be a good project. Rob Morton said for the record that a letter was received from a property owner and that it is part of the record in favor of this project since the property owner could not be here tonight.

Opposition: (20 minutes total)

Jessie Malone spoke. He asked why 66 houses would even be allowed. He named how many houses and how many cars would be added if every house has just 2 cars. 13 houses between the county line and Hwy 362. 26 cars on that road if every house has two cars. It will increase the traffic 70 percent and that doesn’t include the church that meets there every week. Development will affect water and septic and there is a creek that feeds into Elkins Creek and the Flint River. He even said that 66 houses would bring about a need for a fire department right there. He said that this will be a traffic problem for those living there. There were 231 people who signed his petition against this proposal from this area. He said that this will affect the way of life of everyone who lives there. He said that not household that he visited wanted this development to go in. He said that this property is not the place for this type of proposal and that it will negatively affect those who already live around there.

Bobby Love said that he has lived on Chappel Hill Road since 1983 and has seen a lot of change in our area. He has seen both good and bad. He said that Pike County is built on bedroom community standards, and he moved to Pike County to get away from rooftops everywhere. He said that we will regret things if we allow this move forward. He said that nobody wants this thing and praised the county for work on the roads around there. Several people who died on that curve over the past several years and to invite more traffic is to invite more wrecks. He urged commissioners to vote no.

Charles Smith said that he lives in that curve and has witnessed some of those deaths practically in his yard. He said that his main concern is safety and problems with a lot of people in one area. He said, If you lived there, would you want it? He said that traffic is a real problem there already and can’t imagine it with 66 new homes with 2 vehicles at each home. He urged commissioners to go with 28 lots and limit the impact.

Joyce Malone presented commissioners with a picture of the intersection. This is about stopping negative growth in our community. She quoted out ordinances regarding traffic and the density that would come about from allowing 66 lots with a possibility of more than 100 cars coming into this section. The angle of the intersection at Chappel Hill Road and Hwy 362 is already dangerous. She said that traffic is bad there already. Two of the roads as an alternative are dirt and one of those roads has a space there at the curve by Mr. Malone’s property where two vehicles can’t pass without one having to pull off of the road. She said that the impact will be felt in Pike as well as Spalding County.

Leslie Malone proposed that this commission at least have some sort of environmental study done out there with a specific look at the impact of run off down the hill to the creek. She has put in a call to the RiverKeeper.

Ivy Lockett said that she didn’t want this development. (There was only about 10 seconds on the clock when she signed in.)

Discussion: Chairman Briar Johnson asked David Allen about conservation subdivisions and said that this actually encourages interior roads, right? The builder has agreed to an 1,800 square foot minimum? But it wasn’t voted on so this is not in concrete.

The subdivision adjacent to this has homes that are approximately 2,200 square feet with minimum one acre lots. On the future land use lot, this section is flagged for medium density residential.

Tim Guy said that environmental studies will be done on this property as this proposal moves forward. David said that there are statewide requirements for buffers in this watershed that will affect how this is laid out.

Rob Morton said that there is an Environmental Review Board that will review the impact on the watershed and creek. Commissioners can ask that this be part of the development as it goes forward. He told them that they could add this as a requirement if they wanted.

Chairman Johnson said that there were some ways that this did not meet our ordinances so there will be requirements that will have to be met as this moves down the road. If this were approved with one acre minimum, what does that mean? The lots would kind of blend together whereas Ashley Glen is actually one acre lots. It’s R-18 with larger houses.

The 2nd and 3rd phases of Ashley Glen are 2,200 square foot houses on 1 acre lots. Staff recommendation recommended a condition of 1,800 square foot homes.

Plat approval would have to go back before the Planning Commission. This is only regarding the zoning request from AR to R-15. Minimum square foot is for 1,500 in R-15. If they submit a plan for 1,500 square feet and we don’t address this tonight, we will be looking at litigation because technically they will have met our criteria. Currently this would only allow 28 homes. [Note from the Editor: This was a very good point. Anything that is a requirement over and above what our ordinances allow should be included as a condition so everyone can be on the same page.]

Motion to postpone this and talk to the developer and Planning Commission about this matter and get more information and then bring it back before the next meeting. James Jenkins said that he is concerned about a lot of the concerns that were brought before commissioners tonight. David Allen asked for clarification on what Commissioner Jenkins wants from this. David to get more info? Have a workshop? An agenda item for the Planning Commission at the next meeting? This will be an item on the next Planning Commission meeting if someone gives a second to the motion. [Note from the Editor: I have been known to write in blue and complain to commissioners when things are postponed that should have been researched before a meeting. In this case, there was a lot of confusion about this type of subdivision, and it was necessary to gather more information.]

Our next BOC meeting is December 13 and the Planning Commission meets on December 14. Then this couldn’t be heard until January. They could have a called meeting or this will be heard on January 10. Tim Daniel gave a second.

No discussion. Approved 5-0.

Short break to allow the crowd to clear the room.

h. Discuss / Approve / Deny 60 day moratorium on approval of new flag lots in major subdivisions, effective from November 28, 2017.

Discussed on November 9 at the Planning Commission meeting. At one time, we had a standard for spacing on these and there were some restrictions on these on major subdivisions, but it was removed somewhere around 2010 maybe even inadvertently. Spacing used to be that no two could be closer than 400 feet that would have required two regular lots between two regular lots. David Allen said that he thinks that this ought to be back in our code and proposed the following: December 14 to the Planning Commission and then to the BOC in January and the end of January for the 2nd reading. A major subdivision is more than 4 lots.

CM Hanson said that this a major concern because of putting in driveways, etc. and this is tough on the road department and emergency services with the possibility of 10 driveways right beside each other on a road.

Motion to approve the 60 day moratorium. Approve 5-0.

i. Approve/deny request from Pike County Parade Committee to use the courthouse grounds on Sunday, December 10, 2017 for the Pike County Christmas Parade and Festival from 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

There are over 60 vendors already. This will be the biggest one ever. Motion to approve. Approved 5-0.

10. PUBLIC COMMENT- (Limited to 5 minutes per person)

a. Carol Boronkas to address the Board regarding the proposed Conservation Subdivision at the corner of Second District Road and Chapel Hill Road in Williamson.

She said that she appreciates the way that the board handled this evening. She said that she still thinks that it should be R-18 and have to abide by this.

b. Bennie Evans to address the Board regarding conservation zoning.

Bennie gave an overview. In 2003 and 2004, we had the first Comprehensive Plan where this was discussed. The rural atmosphere was mentioned over and over. Rural doesn’t mean the same to everyone. Conservation zoning does not increase the number of homes on a piece of property. Clumping homes together is protecting them and gives every house access to open space. It does require interior streets with 40% open space overall. Density is the total amount of houses on one piece of property.

Motion to extend Bennie’s time. Approve 5-0.

Green space and buffering is important. Planning is expensive and building is very expensive. The county’s overhead is reduced because there is less streets. There are buffers between the buildings and county streets. This is a nationwide movement, and it is different so it’s not for everyone, but people who live there seem to be happy with it. He thinks it is something that we should have available for builders and it should be in our ordinances.

c. Misty Meeks to address the Board regarding Homeowners Insurance.

She discussed the rates. In 2015, they purchased their home with a Class 6. In the reevaluation, most places went to Class 5. Her home d went from $900 to $2,300 per year when it went from a Class 6 to a Class 10. This concerns about 80 homes. Their home is just outside of the 5 mile radius. Even if they are .10 miles outside of the 5 mile radius, they are classified as a Class 10. She asked for a fire station or a substation that will bring them down to a Class 5 like surrounding homeowners. She lives on Highway 18 going toward the Lamar County line.

CM Hanson said that the last ISO evaluation reduced a lot, but this area was affected negatively as well as one other area of the county. The county is trying to address this by doing something in regard to this with fire protection. It is our goal to get that ISO rating down for our residents.

11. EXECUTIVE SESSION - None

12. ADJOURNMENT

Motion to adjourn. 8:15 p.m.

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