UPSON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS 6:00 P.M. Regular Commission Meeting City/County Meeting Room March 13, 2018 AGENDA

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1 UPSON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS 6:00 P.M. Regular Commission Meeting City/County Meeting Room March 13, 2018 Attendance: Chairman Allen, Commissioner Spraggins, Commissioner Wilder, Commissioner R. Ellington, Commissioner James Ellington, Attorney Paschal English, Interim County Manager Billy Beckett and County Clerk Jessica Jones I. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Norman Allen AGENDA II. III. INVOCATION ADOPTION OF MINUTES February 27, 2018 Regular Meeting Minutes A motion was made to approve the minutes Motion: Commissioner Spraggins Commissioner R. Ellington Yes Commissioner J. Ellington Abstain IV. PUBLIC HEARING The SPX applicant is Steven Harper of Thomaston, Georgia. Mr. Harper has requested a Special Exception for an indoor/outdoor special event venue use in an A- R (Agricultural-Residential) zoning district. Activities would include birthday parties, weddings, reunions, etc. The subject property is acres MOL at 577 Roland Road. A motion was made to open the public hearing. Motion: Commissioner Wilder Second: Commissioner J. Ellington Chairman Allen explained that the ones that were signed up to speak would get 5 minutes to speak. If they had an attorney representing them, they could speak or have the attorney speak on their behalf, but only one could speak. Steve Harper, 816 Hickman Fork Road thanked everyone and stated that he would like to have a venue to have birthday parties, wedding and reunions. He does not want to do anything that would decrease the property values. He added that there were some concerns in the paper about the property being in conservation and he has documentation from the Tax Assessor s office showing it is not an issue. The following people spoke for the rezoning stating they didn t feel this would be a problem for the neighborhood and they were for the rezoning. Daryl Hudson 1025 Roland Road Brody Harper 785 Barker Road Rick Jones 150 Roland Road Angie Hausman 390 Barker Road Ben Coker 25 Shadow Wood Lane Jeff Kennedy 5778 Crest Highway Nick Kennedy 5778 Crest Highway Andy Warren 401 Spring Creek Road Brenton Andrews Steve Hudson 3552 Old Alabama Road Judy White 509 Roland Road

2 The following people spoke against the rezoning with concerns of drinking, decrease in property values, traffic, trash and loud noise. Lew & Ester Augusto 4200 Old Alabama Road Charles Boils 3719 Old Alabama Road Connie Adams 3597 Old Alabama Road Wayne Baxter 4242 Old Alabama Road James Johnson 3854 Old Alabama Road Carol Daniel- deferred to her daughter Marian Boils 606 Roland Road- she submitted a petition of over 100 individuals 50% who are landowners that oppose the rezoning. Bob Lovett 530 Forest Hill Road, Macon GA- stated that he was Ann Carol Daniel and her family. He asked the commission to hear Mrs. Daniel first giving her 5 minutes and he speak behind her giving the legal argument. He stated that he had submitted a letter to the county stating that the county has departed from the established procedures on handling an exception. Paschal English explained that allowing the attorney to speak after Mrs. Daniel is a departure from what they normally do, the board has the right to make the decision but there is no requirement to allow him to speak afterwards. Mr. Lovett asked for additional time to speak after Mrs. Daniel to present his legal case. Chairman Allen explained that the 5 minutes is something the board has done for some time and they needed to stick to that. Mr. Lovett stated that he requested an extended time in the letter he submitted to the board to present his case. He went on to explain that Mr. Harper purchased the purchased the property in 2004 and at that time applied for and was granted conservation easement and a tax abatement that was good for 10 years. In 2014 he applied for a second application which he only reported having only barns on the property and the property would only be used for agriculture. At that time the pavilion was already on the property. He submitted an application and asked that it be made part of the record. He added that he doesn t feel the planning commission has done anything to check into the number of accidents that have occurred in this area. Mr. Harper submitted a letter and the code section from the Tax Assessor addressing the code for the special exception. He added addressing the drinking that it is the responsibility of the sheriff if someone is drinking and driving just like if they were leaving any other business. He also stated that the zoning board added special conditions that no other businesses in the county have. A motion was made to close the public hearing. Motion: Commissioner R. Ellington Second: Commissioner J. Ellington Planning Director Doug Currier gave an overview of the staff report for the special exception which included as part of the minutes. The Planning Commission recommended approval with conditions.

3 The staff recommended approval with the following conditions. Commissioner J. Ellington asked how many similar venues we have operating in the county. Mr. Currier responded maybe 3 or 4. A motion was made to approve the Special Exception SPX Steve Harper A-R indoor/outdoor special event venue. Motion: Commissioner J. Ellington Second: Commissioner Wilder Commissioner J. Ellington recommended that they change Fireworks are prohibited in Condition B to Commercial Firework shows are prohibited. Chairman Allen added that he spoke with the Sheriff; he assured him that his office will do their job if there are any types of legal issues. Commissioner J. Ellington added that requiring the applicant to build permanent bathrooms is making the applicant do more than the county is doing with Sprewell Bluff. That should be optional for the applicant. He recommended removing Condition I. The previous motion and second was withdrawn. A motion was made to approve the Special Exception SPX Steve Harper A-R indoor/outdoor special event venue. Changing Condition B to Commercial Fireworks Shows is prohibited, and removing Condition I. Motion: Commissioner J. Ellington Commissioner R. Ellington Yes Second: Commissioner Wilder Commissioner J. Ellington Yes

4 The CU applicant is Verizon Wireless of the East, L.P of Basking Ridge, New Jersey. Verizon Wireless of the East, L.P. has requested a Conditional Use Permit for a telecommunication tower in the A-R (Agricultural-Residential) zoning districts. The subject property is Parcel , 2243 Crest Highway/SR acres MOL. The Conditional Use permit issued for this location December 13, 2016 has expired. A motion was made to open the public hearing. Motion: Commissioner Wilder Second: Commissioner J. Ellington Ivy Cadle- 300 Mulberry Street, Macon, GA- stated that the board had approved this before, but the company that he represents did not pull the permits within the time frame. A motion was made to close the public hearing. Motion: Commissioner J. Ellington Planning Director Doug Currier gave an overview of the staff report for the Conditional Use Permits which included as part of the minutes. A motion was made to approve the Conditional Use Permit for a telecommunication tower in the A-R zoning district. Motion: Commissioner Wilder Second: Commissioner J. Ellington Commissioner R. Ellington Yes Commissioner J. Ellington Yes The title of the proposed poultry house ordinance, modifying Upson County s regulations for the placement of poultry houses, is as follows: AN ORDINANCE OF UPSON COUNTY, GEORGIA TO AMEND THE CODE OF UPSON COUNTY, TO AMEND THE UPSON COUNTY ZONING ORDINANCE TO SET STANDARDS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF POULTRY HOUSES; PROVIDING FOR BY RIGHT APPROVAL; PROVIDING FOR REPLACEMENT; REQUIRING MINIMUM ACREAGE AND SETBACKS; REQUIRING DRY STACK HOUSES; PROVIDING FOR REPEAL/CONFLICT; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. A motion was made to open the public hearing. Motion: Commissioner Spraggins Bill Thompson -428 Kendall Road- stated that he was ok with the ordinance except for the required acres and the setbacks on structures. All other agriculture only has to have a 5ft setback.

5 Julie Weatherford 1428 Rest Haven Road- stated that since the special exceptions were removed and there would not be a public hearing, she would like to see the setbacks at 1250ft from the home if the owner doesn t own the home on the property. She would like to see the existing farms grandfathered in. She would like to see something added regarding odd shaped lots. She would like it to be required that 1 house have 15 acres and 2 houses have 15 acres. A motion was made to close the public hearing. Motion: Commissioner Spraggins

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7 Mr. Currier gave an overview of the above draft ordinance. He explained that there are three zoning districts where agriculture is permitted. They are A-R, M-1 and M2. A motion was made to table the discussion of the poultry house ordinance to do more research. Motion: Commissioner J. Ellington Commissioner R. Ellington Yes Commissioner J. Ellington Yes V. PUBLIC COMMENTS There were no public comments. VI. NEW BUSINESS a. Discussion and approval of a Resolution for a CDBG Grant

8 Chairman Allen read the above Resolution for a CDBG application for the Logtown Community. A motion was made to approve the Resolution removing Logtown Road. Motion: Commissioner Wilder Commissioner R. Ellington Yes Commissioner J. Ellington Yes b. Appointment to the Board of Health A motion was made to reappoint Anita Whitmore to the Board Health Motion: Commissioner R. Ellington Second: Commissioner Spraggins Commissioner R. Ellington Yes Commissioner J. Ellington Yes County Manager, Commissioners and County Attorney Comments County Attorney Paschal English had no comments. Interim County Manager Billy Beckett had no comments Commissioner Spraggins had no comments. Commissioner J. Ellington stated that everyone won t always agree on situations and there are times. As Commissioners they try to make the best decisions for the community and he would like everyone to find common ground with the situations. He is proud of our community and he wants everyone else to be. Commissioner R. Ellington Commissioner Wilder had no comments. Chairman Allen stated that the County received a letter from the Director of the Georgia Emergency Management Agency commending Upson County for meeting the incentive standards for Georgia EMA Homeland Security federal, state and local match policy. Heart and Soul program is up and running. He congratulated that UL Running Knights. ADJOURMENT

9 Comm. Spraggins made a motion to adjourn, with a second by Comm. R. Ellington to adjourn the meeting. Chairman Norman Allen Commissioner Frank Spraggins Commissioner James Ellington Commissioner Lorenzo Wilder Commissioner Ralph Ellington