Hall County commissioners voted to approve a 248-lot subdivision on the Ga. 365 corridor near Lula Tuesday evening, although the vote did not come without controversy.
The Revive Land Group, LLC was looking to rezone just over 100 acres of land off of Cagle Road from Agricultural Residential to Residential Mixed to build the subdivision. The rezoning had initially been tabled at the commission's March 27 meeting, with District 3 Commissioner Gregg Poole, whose district the property lies in, citing affordability and density concerns during that meeting.
At Tuesday's meeting, Poole again motioned to table the request, although he quickly retracted it after expressing concerns over lack of public input before the final vote. The last legally required public hearing for the rezoning was held at the March 27 meeting, meaning no public hearing was required before Tuesday's vote.
"I was informed the voting meeting was over, public comments were not [to be] taken, yet we take phone calls from their attorneys, influencing our own people," Poole said.
After Poole retracted his motion, he made a motion to deny the request. That motion failed, opening the floor for a motion from another commissioner. District 1 Commissioner Kathy Cooper then made a motion to approve the rezoning.
"The decisions I make are strictly my own, and they're based on what I feel like is good for the community, good for the whole county," Cooper said.
Poole responded, saying he did not have an issue with Cooper, but was frustrated with the process leading to Tuesday's vote. He alluded to a petition that was collecting signatures of residents in the area who were against the rezoning.
"I'm not telling nobody how to vote," Poole said. "I'm just telling you what I've been told last week to this week, when their attorneys called our people and then it got changed all of a sudden, so that we could not have a petition."
District 4 Commissioner Jeff Stowe responded to Poole, pointing out that there had been no public comments against the development at the previous public hearing or at the public hearings held when the rezoning was before the Hall County Planning Commission.
"They've also had over two months to do a petition and get it in by the public hearing," Stowe said.
Cooper's motion passed 3-1, with Poole being the lone vote against the development.
"Nobody up here behind this table has talked to one person in my district. Not one," Poole said. "We're not listening to our voters. I'm ashamed of that."
