Planning commission recommends rezoning Grama Highway property to allow second dwelling

The Jones County Planning and Zoning Commission voted to recommend approval of a rezoning request by Clyde Green to change a 3.77-acre parcel at 3562 Grama Highway from C-2 general commercial to rural/residential to allow a second dwelling on the property.

Clyde Green, who identified himself as the property owner, said the house on the parcel has been there for decades and that he wants to add a second dwelling so his son can live on the site. “I've owned that property at 3560 Grama Highway since 1992,” Clyde Green said. He said the existing house has been on the site since at least 1977 and that his plan is to subdivide the lot so one son can have about 1.77 acres and another son could build later on.

Tevin Green, identified at the hearing, said the proposed modular home would be about 2,280 square feet with four bedrooms and two bathrooms and would sit on roughly one acre of the parcel. “That square footage is 2,280. It's a 4 bedroom, 2 bath, and it's gonna be on that 1 acre,” Tevin Green said.

Neighbors voiced concerns about water and septic capacity. Kurt Green, who identified himself as the owner of the adjacent property at 3574 Grama Highway, said he was told by the health department that “it takes 1.1 acre of land per house for well septic tank” and said he had been told his home is served by a four-gallon-per-minute well. Kurt Green also said family members reported seeing septic water running downhill toward a neighboring driveway.

Planning staff clarified that well and septic permitting and technical determinations are handled by the county health department and not by the planning commission. “The health department issues are not dealt with by us. Those would be dealt with literally by the health department,” a staff member said.

Commission members discussed the scope of the request and noted that, under the current C-2 zoning, a range of commercial uses — including gas stations and automotive repair shops — could be placed on the parcel with a permit. One member moved to recommend approval of the rezoning to rural/residential; the motion was seconded by Commission member Morris Stevens and passed by voice vote. The commission’s recommendation will be forwarded to the county commissioners for final action at their Oct. 7 meeting.

The record at the planning meeting includes neighbors’ questions about water supply, septic location and the potential effect of additional dwellings on property values; the commission’s recommendation does not resolve those technical issues, which require separate health- and building-permit reviews.