Henry County board approves family-run event venue with larger buffer after neighbors raise noise and traffic concerns

Mary Parkinson and Marcus Dumas, owners of a 24.83-acre family farm at 645 Newmorn Drive, won conditional-use approval from the Henry County Zoning Advisory Board on Nov. 13 to build an event venue consisting of a barn and greenhouse.

The board approved CU2506 with staff-recommended conditions and a board amendment increasing the undisturbed landscape buffer to 50 feet and requiring enhanced plantings. The applicants said the barn and greenhouse will be sited away from neighboring lots, sound-insulated with rockwool, and intended for small community events, field trips and occasional weddings; they estimated build-out over 18 months with completion expected in 2027.

Staff presented the revised site plan showing the event structure moved farther from a southern property line (approximately 200 feet on the updated plan) and recommended approval with conditions. Parkinson and Dumas told the board the buildings would be more than 500 feet from nearby neighbors and “not visible from the road,” and said they designed the buildings and insulation to limit noise.

Nearby residents provided mixed testimony. Lucas Worthy, who said he would likely be the closest neighbor, called the applicants “thoughtful, responsible neighbors” and said the project would protect green space while bringing family-friendly activities to the county. By contrast, Jean Kessinger told the board she has experience with nearby event centers that she said generated prolonged noise, disorderly guests and enforcement difficulties. “Event centers do not belong in residential areas,” Kessinger said, urging caution and pointing to traffic and late-night noise problems experienced near other venues.

Board members pressed staff and the applicants about buffers and ownership of surrounding lots; staff said requiring adjacent lots to remain in the applicants’ ownership was likely not legally defensible but that the board could and did require a larger, undisturbed buffer and enhanced landscaping. The motion to approve (moved by a board member and seconded) passed with no recorded roll-call tally.

The approval includes the staff conditions shown at the hearing and the board-added 50-foot undisturbed buffer with enhanced plantings; other permit-level technical requirements (stormwater, access improvements if needed, and building permits) must be satisfied in plan review and permitting before construction begins.