Oconee commissioners approve Townley Family rezoning with 10‑year final‑plat limit

The Oconee County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 7 approved rezone request P24‑0217 from the Townley Family Partnership, clearing roughly 299.94 acres along Hog Mountain Road, Hodges Mill Road and Rocky Branch Road to an Agriculture‑Residential (AR) designation from Agricultural (AG). Commissioners attached seven conditions, including a 10‑year prohibition on any final plat approvals for the rezoned portion and a 15‑foot open‑space/buffer requirement with landscaping and a berm.

The rezone request covers multiple parcels and, according to the applicant’s consultant, would allow a maximum of 120 lots under AR zoning; 88 of those lots are on land currently zoned AG and are the portion subject to the rezone. Jeff Carter of Carter Engineering Consultants, representing Townley Family Partnership, told commissioners the site fits the county’s suburban neighborhood character: public water is available, schools and a planned park are nearby, and the proposed lots would have a two‑acre minimum.

The county staff report recommended conditional approval; the planning commission recommended denial. Staff’s draft conditions included a 15‑foot open‑space strip along exterior boundaries and rights of way, a 10‑foot‑wide, 4‑foot‑tall berm with evergreen plantings, and an 8‑foot concrete multiuse path along roads that would connect Rocky Branch Road and Hodges Mill Road. The applicant proposed three alternative buffer planting options and asked that the multiuse path requirement be waived if a connecting road is not built. Commissioners approved the rezone with the applicant’s proposed modifications to the buffer language and the other conditions as presented at the meeting.

Several residents urged denial during public comment, citing traffic and infrastructure concerns on U.S. 53 (Highway 53) and nearby roads, rising property taxes tied to higher‑priced nearby sales, and preservation of farmland. Susanna Heimel said the Townley request would add 120 homes to the county and, combined with a nearby project at Dooley, could total 463 homes in the corridor. Carolyn Elster and Pam Hendricks described longstanding safety concerns making left turns on Highway 53 and urged commissioners to consider infrastructure limits and the county’s history with master‑planned developments.

Commission discussion emphasized that the 10‑year prohibition on final plats — a condition the applicant accepted — is intended to allow lots currently recorded to “draw down” over time and to limit near‑term development intensity. County staff said the moratorium rationale was based on a drawdown estimate of permitted lots and typical permit rates, and the applicant confirmed acceptance of the condition during the hearing. After a motion to approve with the revised conditions, the board voted in favor; no recorded roll‑call tally was provided in the transcript.

The approval changes the zoning on the subject parcels to AR with the seven attached conditions and directs planning staff to implement the final‑plat timing and buffer details during subsequent preliminary and final plat review.