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Pickens County staff recommend approval for 29‑lot Mockingbird Lane subdivision with GDOT and road‑access conditions
Summary
Planning staff recommended rezoning about 100+ acres to permit a roughly 29‑lot subdivision on Mockingbird Lane, contingent on GDOT confirmation of intersection safety at Highway 53, county-standard road upgrades and written subdivision acknowledgements; commissioners raised sight‑distance and fire‑access concerns; developers agreed to build roadwork to county standards.
Planning staff recommended the Board of Commissioners accept a rezoning request from Jamfger Property Ventures LLC to convert more than 100 acres from agricultural use to rural residential to enable a roughly 29‑lot subdivision near Mockingbird Lane and Highway 53.
Staff said the recommendation includes multiple conditions designed to protect public safety and county standards: provide adequate ingress and egress with required widths and right‑of‑way; obtain a GDOT letter confirming intersection safety and sight‑distance at Mockingbird Lane and Highway 53; install any required turn lanes or sight‑distance improvements; provide a homeowners association agreement if roads inside the development remain private; and submit written acknowledgement to follow the subdivision standards and approval process in chapter 38 of the Pickens County Code of Ordinances. Planning staff told the board the Planning Commission recommended approval with conditions.
Commissioners and members of the public focused on transportation and emergency‑access issues. One commissioner said sight‑distance at Highway 53 is a known constraint and asked whether the subdivision could safely connect to that highway. A county staff member said the developer has agreed to widen a strip parallel to Mockingbird, bring it to county standards, and turn it over to the county for maintenance; staff emphasized the subdivision cannot proceed with construction until access is secured and GDOT and county standards are met.
Developers also told the county they would construct proposed roadwork and bring intersections up to required safety standards before moving forward with the subdivision application; the subdivision process, staff said, remains separate from the rezoning approval and must clear environmental health, water, and other regulatory reviews.
The board did not take a final vote at the work session; staff said these conditions will be included in the rezoning packet presented at the public hearing and formal vote to follow. The Planning Commission's recommendation and the developer's written commitments will be part of the record at the board hearing.
