GAINESVILLE – One approved, one tabled, and one sent back to the Planning Commission; those were the verdicts on the three zoning amendment requests on the agenda at Tuesday evening’s Hall County Commission special called voting meeting.
First, the application to rezone 12.13-acres at the intersection of McEver and Lights Ferry Road from Agriculture-Residential to Highway Business for the purpose of constructing a boat and RV storage facility was approved, but with the condition that the sole entrance be on Lights Ferry Road and not McEver Road.
Numerous area residents commented the project- most in a positive manner - but nearly all insisted any access onto McEver Road be eliminated. The developer agreed to constructing the facility’s entrance on Lights Ferry Road only and the request was approved 5-0.
Then, as expected, the application by Reveille Development Partners to rezone and develop nearly 509-acres on Old Winder Highway was tabled…again.
Finally, the application by Michelle Gibbs for special use of 4.65-acres along Ransom Free Road as an agri-entertainment venue was sent back to the Hall County Planning Commission to restart the application process anew.
Gibbs’ application was the last item scheduled to be heard by the commissioners, but due to some technical issues regarding the request it was moved to the first item as a courtesy to the large number of people attending the meeting who wanted to comment on the application.
“Due to a recent discovery on the application filed by Michelle Gibbs, staff has determined that application to be incomplete,” said District 3 Commissioner Shelley Echols, in whose district the property is located.
“So I make the motion to send the application back to the Planning Commission to be heard on their (sic) next available agenda,” Echols said.
The motion carried unanimously and with that several dozen people left the commission meeting room.
Hall County Planning Director Srikanth Yamala said after the meeting that the reason the application was incomplete was because it lacked a required signed document. “There’s a campaign contribution form that Ms. Gibbs completed as a part of her being the applicant, but her husband (legally part owner of the property) made a contribution she was not aware of. Both Mr. and Mrs. Gibbs are listed as the property owners.”
Yamala said, “It was a genuine oversight, an error that needs to be fixed, and it’ll go through the process again of the Planning Commission, and eventually it will come to the Board.”
Also approved unanimously was the final version of the county’s FY 2020 budget and all the applicable millage rates that will be used by the county to calculate property tax bills.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2019/6/807913/hall-commissioners-say-okay-to-boat-storage-but-send-agri-entertainment-request-back-to-start