Scheduled to hear 20 zoning requests during three meetings last week, the Bulloch County Board of Commissioners denied six, approved 10, deferred three to the Dec. 3 meeting and allowed one to be withdrawn at a developer’s request.

Commissioners and county staff had agreed to this marathon of zoning matters after previous meetings in August and early October were canceled because of Tropical Storm Debby and Hurricane Helene. Unlike purchasing contracts and other business items that could be handled at quickly rescheduled meetings, zoning hearings require longer, legally prescribed public notice.

The new meetings, scheduled just before and after the Nov. 5 general election for Monday, Nov. 4, Wednesday, Nov. 6, and Thursday, Nov. 7, came during a time of transition. David Bennett has been elected since the Republican primary in May to replace Chairman Roy Thompson in the central chair in January. Nick Newkirk, who led in the Republican primary and defeated incumbent Commissioner Jappy Stringer in a primary runoff, outpolled Democrat Len Fatica last week and secured Seat 2-C for the next term.

Davis presides

But most significantly for last week’s meetings, Ray Davis, who defeated fellow Republican then-Commissioner Curt Deal for Seat 2-A in the May primary, was sworn into office two months early, on Oct. 25, after Deal resigned to move out of the county and judges appointed Davis to the vacancy. Then Thompson, after presiding as chair at the Monday, Nov. 4 session, was absent from both the Wednesday and Thursday sessions, and new Commissioner Davis, stepping into Deal’s former role as vice chair, presided.

The Monday and Wednesday special meetings had been all-zoning. Thursday’s meeting, technically the regular meeting rescheduled from Election Day, was different because some purchases, contracts and board appointments were handled first, taking up about 45 minutes. But then after a brief break, zoning and public comments filled the rest of a four-hour meeting.

Thursday evening was also the session when commissioners denied five of eight zoning requests brought before them, including two requests that were for sections of one property by the same developer. The eighth item was deferred to December.

First up Thursday was the smallest actual rezoning request of the week in acreage, but also one of the most prolonged in process. Chris Gohagan, as attorney for 5B Holdings LLC, in his closing comments also summed up the challenge that confronts the board with many of these decisions.

“This commission has a challenging job of balancing the public health, safety and welfare against the right of landowners to do reasonably with their properties as they choose,” Gohagan said.

Site on Pat’s Lane

Property owner 5B Holdings LLC had requested that four acres at 701 Pat’s Lane be rezoned from R-25 (residential, 25,000-square-foot minimum lot size) to R-2 (two-family residential, minimum 15,000 sq. ft. lots) for the purpose of building seven duplexes, in other words buildings divided into two homes each, for a total of 14 dwellings.

The seven proposed new duplexes would have been in addition to three already on Pat’s Lane. Gohagan noted that 5B holdings bought the site in May. It is across Sweetheart Lane from the established neighborhood there, which he said contains about 40 duplexes zoned R-2, off Billy Mikell Road and Highway 24.

“So it’s consistent with the neighborhood, it’s consistent with adjoining properties, and it completes a plan that’s been in place for over 30 years,” Gohagan said.

County staff had reviewed the zoning change request and recommended approval. But the appointed Planning and Zoning Commission, after hearing neighborhood residents, had voted 4-0 to recommend denial.

The elected commissioners had heard a request regarding this property before, late in 2023, but then it was for R-3 rezoning. The P and Z board had also held two hearings, the second one after deferring a decision.

Neighbors had expressed several concerns to that board about the condition of the roads in the area, the condition of the water system and the prevalence of litter, as Gohagan acknowledged.

“All legitimate concerns from members of any community, and all concerns that are shared by my client who wants a nice, marketable product. …,” Gohagan said. “I think the common theme among those concerns from our perspective is that none of those issues are responsibility of 5B Holdings.”

The neighborhood water system is owned by a different company and managed by yet another, but 5B Holdings had offered to purchase a backup generator to keep that system going during outages like one that recently occurred. The roads are county roads, and the county has a resurfacing project underway there.

But the commissioners heard from three neighborhood residents opposed to the project, beginning with Sweetheart Lane resident George Jenkins, who said there are 14 single-family, owner-occupied homes and 36 rentals in the neighborhood. He objected that more renters would result in more litter.

“Since they don’t have any ownership … every time there’s some more added, we see an increase in trash alongside the road,” Jenkins aid.

A 39% increase in the number of rental units would also bring “extra vehicles with every one of those houses,” and more traffic, he added.

Vice Chair Davis asked everyone attending the meeting who was opposing the request to stand. Six or seven people did. When he asked everyone supporting it to stand, Gohagan alone rose to his feet, but with all the seats full, some people in back were already standing.

BOC must decide

At first, when Davis asked for a motion, none of the commissioners spoke up, and he said the request had failed for lack of a motion. However, County Attorney Jeff Akins said that wouldn’t do.

“Mr. Vice Chair, there needs to be a decision one way or the other,” Akins said. “I mean, I looked at the Zoning Ordinance last night after that issue we had, and the board is required to make a decision. They can defer it for up to 45 days, but they have to make a decision.”

When Davis then asked for a motion “to approve or deny,” Commissioner Timmy Rushing made a motion to deny the rezoning action. Commissioner Toby Conner seconded that motion, and 5B Holdings LLC’s request was denied by a 5-0 vote.

A list of last week’s other rezoning decisions will be included with an update of the story.