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Kelly Bridge Rezoning denied by BOC By A.J. PuckettLinda Moore Kelly had submitted a request to rezone 2.55 acres from RA, Residential Agricultural to C-RB, Commercial-Rural Business. Tuesday of last week this rezoning proposal was brought before the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission recommended denial of the rezoning, as did the County Planning Staff. The Kelly's wanted to rezone the land in order to open a wedding chapel and photography studio. They were planning to place the old Heritage Baptist Church building on the property and use it for the business. There were questions raised by the Kelly's attorney about the recommendation by the Planning Commission. Vernon Smith, who is a planning commission member, made the motion to deny the rezoning. The Kelly's attorney questioned whether or not Smith was trying to protect his own business, the Lakeview Center, by eliminating possible competition. The Board of Commissioners turned to the County Attorney, Joey Homans, and questioned what impact this would have on any decision they made and he said that the request made by the Kelly's attorney was to ignore the recommendation made by the planning commission. The Board eventually voted after hearing argument both for and against from members of the community and after much discussion. The final vote was unanimous to deny. The Board decided this way because or the possibility of increase traffic in the area, the possibility of water and septic problems near the Etowah River and because there would be a lot of commercial business on this property if the rezoning passed. There is currently a large hay barn on the property, which is used part of a storage business. This building is also part of the reason why the Planning Staff recommended denial, the buildings were over the amount of square footage allowed in a C-RB zoning, which is 5,000 sq. ft. "It seems like they are trying to squeeze a lot of commercial into a small area," commented Commissioner Gary Pichon during the Board's discussion. The Kelly's attorney said that he was not sure what the Kelly's had planned to do if the rezoning didn't pass, but he assumed that they would follow through with the agreement with Heritage Baptist Church. |
