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Commission approves rezoning, with conditions, for 100‑acre Jasper Property Ventures subdivision
Summary
Pickens County approved a rezoning request for roughly 100 acres on Mockingbird Lane for a planned subdivision after the developer secured preliminary agreements with GDOT and the fire marshal; the approval requires written GDOT sign-off, HOA documents if roads are private, and other conditions before development proceeds.
Pickens County commissioners voted to approve a rezoning request from agriculture to rural residential for a roughly 100‑acre tract owned by Jasper Property Ventures LLC on Mockingbird Lane, subject to five staff conditions intended to address road access, traffic safety and subdivision standards.
Developer Peter Vasquez told the commission the team met earlier with county staff and the Georgia Department of Transportation and had preliminary agreement on signage and safety improvements for the intersection with Highway 53. "We had been working with Mr. Donovan Tucker with the GDOT... They said absolutely no issues whatsoever," Vasquez said, adding the developer intends to acquire a strip of land to provide the required access and to bring Mockingbird Lane up to county standard.
Vasquez described a 29‑home plan in preliminary form; he said utilities are available and that the proposal includes two entrances — a primary county‑standard entrance off Mockingbird and a secondary emergency exit via an easement. Residents questioned where the emergency exit would connect and expressed concerns about narrow existing roads, truck traffic during construction, and timing for road upgrades.
Staff said the rezoning approval would be conditional. The five staff conditions read into the record require: appropriate ingress/egress with adequate right-of-way; a letter from the Georgia Department of Transportation confirming safety/traffic standards for the Mockingbird/Highway 53 intersection; a homeowners association agreement if roads are private; written acknowledgement that Chapter 38 subdivision standards apply; and a written acknowledgment of intent to comply with those standards. Staff emphasized the county will not approve development until GDOT and road‑improvement conditions are met.
After public comment and questions, a motion to approve the staff recommendation (which included the conditions) passed. The transcript records votes and public commitments that the property will not be rezoned to permit development until GDOT issues the necessary written approvals and the county's road requirements are satisfied.
