Commissioners continue to raise concerns over rezoning application

Jan. 11—THOMASVILLE- Developer Joey Collins modified a rezoning request under consideration by the Thomas County Board of Commissioners Thursday afternoon, but Commissioners continued to raise concerns about it.

Readers may recall Collins withdrew his rezoning request prior to the November 28, 2023 Commissioners meeting, where a public hearing was set to take place. Despite not having the public hearing, residents still turned out en masse to air their concerns.

Collins originally sought to have 64.36 acres of a property, located on Springhill Road and U.S. Hwy. 319 South, rezoned from R-1 to R-2 to allow for the development of a residential subdivision, consisting of approximately 88 lots.

At the time, Commissioners expressed concerns with the number of lots, along with the buffers and setbacks required.

Hearing their concerns, Collins withdrew the application and took time over the holidays to meet with residents and revise his proposal.

Collins' new proposal still seeks to rezone the 64.36 acres to R-2 but has condensed the number of lots to 79.

While this is in part due to the neighbors' concerns, it also stems from a change in the state requirements, which previously allowed for lots as small as a half-acre. It now requires the acreage for all homes in R-2 to be 0.625 acres.

Despite the Planning staff's recommendation for approval and Collins following all protocols and regulations from the state, Commissioners still had concerns about rezoning the property to R-2. Newly appointed Commissioner Chair Wiley Grady asked if the rezoning to R-2 would be conditional, requiring Collins to have buffers and an entrance on Springhill Rd.

Inspections and Planning Director Ken Gay informed Grady and the rest of the Board that Collins has offered to not only create an entrance off Springhill but create a buffer of vegetation on Springhill and the south side of the property. Commissioner Mark NeSmith appreciated Collins' willingness to make these adjustments, but still shared concerns about rezoning the property to R-2.

"What happens if, for whatever reason, his deal falls apart?" NeSmith questioned. "Then, everything they've told us they've committed to doing goes off the table and the new developers come in and they can push in as many houses as they want."

Gay explained to NeSmith that in the event that did occur, the Commission's decision would become public record on the atlas, located in the Planning and Zoning office, which would show any interested applicants what R-2 was zoned for and what the stipulations and conditional uses were for the property.

Following Gay's explanation, County Manager Michael Stephenson told the Board, that he believed they were mixing up two different issues. The issue at hand was to rezone the area, not approve the plat. The plat would come before them at a separate time, where they could raise concerns with driveways and buffers, but the focus should solely be on the rezoning.

"You are not approving the plat," he emphasized. "It is fine to look at the plat and see what is being proposed but you're not entertaining a plat today. It still has to go through the staff and the Health Department. You're trying to jump ahead."

Following Stephenson's explanation, the Board had no remaining questions for the applicant or Gay. They will now hear from the public in regard to the rezoning at the next Board meeting, before approving or denying the proposal.