Bryan County approves rural event venue at 300 Jones Arosa Place with 20-event limit

The Bryan County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 12 approved a conditional-use permit for a rural event venue at 300 Jones Arosa Place, allowing event operations with conditions that include a 20-events-per-year limit and overnight lodging capped at 12 people.

Planning staff presented the application, saying the 21-acre property in an A5 agricultural zoning district met the county's requirements for a rural event venue, including a minimum lot size and setbacks. Planning and Zoning recommended approval with conditions: a commercial driveway permit from the Georgia Department of Transportation before submitting any building permits, completion of required site improvements and certificates of occupancy before hosting events, parking and fencing requirements, limits on overnight lodging to 12 people, and temporary-structure permits for tents.

The applicant told commissioners the site is designed to accommodate a range of event sizes and that, for very large events, they would arrange additional safety measures. “If there is an event that large, I think I stated 300 or more, that we would have off-duty police officers manning that, and it would have over a year in preparation to get ready for that size event,” the applicant said.

Residents raised concerns about traffic, public-safety access, and stormwater. “400 people? Seriously? That's a lot of people,” Tamela Strotnik said, noting the driveway configuration near a curve and the local fire station. Resident Meredith Gibson told commissioners she had gathered 1,628 petition signatures opposing a different commercial rezoning nearby and urged commissioners to consider neighbors' concerns when reviewing zoning changes.

Commissioners discussed the condition limiting events. The ordinance initially allows up to 50 events per year; commissioners debated lower caps and ultimately adopted a motion to approve the conditional-use permit with a limit of 20 events per year. The motion, made and seconded on the record, passed by voice vote.

The permit also requires paved ADA parking and accessible bathrooms for the bridal suite, a gravel parking area, a buffering fence along adjacent property lines, and adherence to life-safety and occupancy rules. The applicant told the board they expect most years to have far fewer events than the maximum and that the family will continue to reside on the property.

With the vote, the county approved the use but left enforcement of technical elements—driveway permitting, parking plans, temporary-structure permits and certificates of occupancy—to staff review before any event occurs.

Speakers listed in the transcript who addressed this item include planning staff, applicant Rhonda Jones, commissioners and several residents who spoke during the public hearing. The board record shows the motion carried by voice vote; a roll-call tally was not read into the public transcript.