Jones County commissioners deny rezoning request, approve subdivision variance for Grama Highway property

Jones County commissioners on Oct. 7 rejected a request to rezone 3.77 acres at 3562 Grama Highway from C-2 (commercial) to R-R (rural residential) but approved a separate variance that will allow creation of four additional lots on a private road at the same property.

The rezoning request was introduced by Tevin Green, who said he was seeking space for “an additional dwelling” and described plans for a modular home roughly 25 by 80 feet with about 1,976 square feet. Neighbor Kurt Green, who lives at 3574 Grama Highway, told the board he opposed converting the parcel to residential, saying the county recently denied a similar rezoning and that the corridor is planned for commercial development as water and sewer investments come to the area.

Commissioner Vaughn moved to deny the rezoning request for the parcel, saying the land has been designated and used as commercial “since the late eighties” and arguing converting it to residential would harm the county tax base. The motion was seconded and carried after a voice vote; the board announced the motion had passed.

Later in the meeting the applicant asked for a variance to subdivide 43 acres served by a private road and to create four lots to be split among siblings. Tevin Green described existing access, said eight homes already use the private road, and said there was no opposition in the room to the subdivision. A motion to approve the variance passed on a voice vote.

The planning commission recommended approval of the rezoning request earlier but provided no recommendation on the variance because it was a variance item. The record shows neighborhood opposition to rezoning based on prior denials and the county’s adopted land-use corridor along Grama/Great Highway; those concerns were a central reason commissioners cited when voting to deny the rezoning.

What happens next: The denial preserves the parcel’s commercial designation for now; the variance approval allows the landowner to proceed with subdividing under the private‑road arrangement discussed at the meeting. Any building permits, septic or water connections and recorded plats will still be subject to county permitting and state requirements.

Sources: Meeting testimony from Tevin Green (applicant) and Kurt Green (neighbor) and remarks by Commissioner Vaughn recorded during the Oct. 7 Jones County Board of Commissioners meeting.