Dougherty County public hearing draws supporters and neighbors opposed to proposed women’s sober-living home at 1021 Cordele Road; vote postponed

The Dougherty County Board of Commissioners held a public hearing Jan. 27 on a request to rezone a 4.095-acre portion of a 59.05-acre parcel at 1021 Cordele Road so a nonprofit-run sober-living home for women can operate there. Lanier Engineering is the applicant and Emery Keith Griffith Sr. is the property owner; the group Motif asked to operate the home. The board did not vote on the rezoning and the acting chair said the vote will take place at the board’s next regular meeting.

The planning department presentation, delivered by Deputy Planning Director Angel Gray, said the parcel would be rezoned from AG (agricultural) to CR (community residential — multiple-dwelling). Gray told commissioners the county’s traffic review uses single-family-residence trip rates, estimating about one to five trips per day for the proposed use and noting that the closest average daily traffic count on Cordele Road (Georgia Highway 300) was 6,810 in 2023. Gray said the parcel is largely outside mapped floodplain but has flood-hazard area on the north edge, and that the planning commission recommended approval with conditions that would require the property to be subdivided and a buffer and screening installed before permitting.

Why it matters: supporters said the house would provide supervised, structured housing and increase the success rate for women leaving inpatient treatment; neighbors said the house would change a long-established single-family neighborhood and raised safety, transparency and process concerns. The planning commission failed to reach a majority on the rezoning because some commissioners said they lacked information.

Planning staff and proponents

Gray said three houses in the overall 59.05-acre parcel have been rehabilitated under other programs, one was under construction, and that staff believes the proposed use would not adversely affect surrounding agricultural and residential uses. Gray provided distances from nearby addresses (for example, 1001 Cordele Road at 1,957 feet; a nearest residence at roughly 527 feet was noted) and said the applicant planned minimal, low-intensity outdoor lighting, on-site parking sufficient for the parcel, and use of the existing driveway off Cordele Road.

Applicant and nonprofit leaders described the proposal as a small, residential sober-living home rather than a commercial facility. Maureen “Mo” Taylor, identified in testimony as a Motif co-founder, said the home is intended for women who have completed treatment and need a transitional residential setting to rebuild work and family connections: “It is a residential house. It’s not a business. It’s not a facility. It’s a place where women who have already done treatment want to continue growing in their sobriety,” Taylor said.

Neighborhood concerns and public opposition

Opponents, who submitted a packet of letters and spoke during the hearing, described the property as part of a long-established single-family neighborhood and objected to the process and certain operational details. Resident Sue Henson, who said she lives at 923 Cordele Road, told commissioners she and many neighbors oppose the rezoning and urged the board to deny it: “I strongly urge each of you to vote no to the rezoning,” Henson said.

Opposition themes included a belief that neighbors were not adequately consulted, unease about language and images in Motif’s public materials (residents said a Motif social post announced a deed transfer in December), and concern about potential fencing, gates, lighting and cameras. Jim Henson and other neighbors worried that a secure perimeter could resemble a detention facility; others said they feared a reduction in privacy and resale value if the rezoning were approved.

Operational, regulatory and technical points

Speakers and staff clarified multiple regulatory points: Gray and others said CR zoning permits community residential uses but capacity and occupancy are limited by building and zoning rules. Planning staff and several speakers referenced a typical client goal of roughly seven clients for this kind of house (the applicants described a plan for seven residents), but Gray also explained occupancy is constrained by building-code measurements (for example, the building-code rules about habitable square footage per person) and by the county’s permitting review. Gray additionally noted the county’s community-residence spacing rule: planners measure a radius (approximately 1,000 feet) to prevent clustering of similar facilities.

Commissioners pressed on traffic, buffering and the nature of services. Commissioner questions included whether a deceleration lane would be required on Cordele Road (Gray said the proposed residential use would not typically require one), what a required buffer would look like (vegetative buffer, fence or screen are options), and whether the residence would provide medical services (Gray said medical treatment would likely require a different zoning designation).

Support from local recovery providers

Representatives of existing recovery programs and sober-living operators spoke in favor. Bob Lynch, director of the Anchorage sober-living program, said his organization has operated in the county for years and offered to assist with food costs while Motif establishes the house if needed. Several women who said they had completed treatment said sober living had been essential to their recovery and urged the board to approve the application so the county has more post-treatment housing options.

Owner’s clarification

Owner Emery Keith Griffith Sr. addressed the board late in the hearing and said the deed for the property had been transferred to the Motif organization but included a stipulation that the property would revert to him if the intended use is not permitted: “I just wanted to clarify that … I’ve already given it. But there’s a stipulation in there that if it’s not allowed to become what it becomes, it comes back to me,” Griffith said.

Next steps

Acting chair and staff told the public the board will take the vote at the next regular meeting; commissioners and staff also discussed placing conditions on approval (for example, limiting the number of residents or requiring a follow-up review if occupancy increases). Planning staff said subdivision and buffering would be conditions before permits are issued, and Gray noted any final occupancy will be verified by building-plan review and square-footage calculations.

Closing context

The hearing featured extended, sometimes emotional testimony from both residents and recovery advocates. Commissioners asked staff to confirm technical details before voting; the official rezoning and special-approval vote was postponed to the next board meeting so the full board — including the chair who was absent — can consider the matter and any proposed conditions.