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Upson County grants multiple moratorium exceptions, including 13-acre exception for Kevin Brown
Summary
The Upson County Board of Commissioners approved exceptions to the county’s subdivision moratorium for several landowners on Jan. 27, including a motion allowing Kevin Brown to take a 13-acre tract to planning and zoning for a potential sale; approvals send proposed splits back into the standard planning review process.
On Jan. 27 the Upson County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to allow several property owners to proceed through planning and zoning despite a standing subdivision moratorium established by county resolution. The board treated the actions as exceptions that allow plats to enter the normal review process rather than as final approvals of subdivisions.
Kevin Brown told the board he has an existing contract to sell 13 acres adjacent to his home and asked for a hardship exception so he could complete the sale without rezoning the entire parent tract. "I have an existing contract on 13 acres that's right right close to my house... I was wanting to ask if I could file a hardship and fast track it," Brown said. Commissioners clarified that approving the exception would permit Brown to submit his plat to planning and zoning for review, not automatically finalize any subdivision.
Commissioner Ellington explained concerns in the pending draft ordinance about "serial splits"—limits on repeated small divisions of large tracts—and urged applicants to be aware that future ordinance changes could restrict multiple successive splits. "In the new ordinance... there will not be allowed multiple splits... so they... are gonna say 3 splits, and that's it," he said.
Beyond Brown’s 13-acre request, the board approved similar exceptions for multiple parcels that evening (listed below), including property on Andrews Chapel Road, Crest Highway, Davidson Road, Dripping Rock Road, North Old Talbotheen Road, and Abercrombie Road. Each approval was recorded as sending the item back to planning and zoning for technical review; in several cases the board asked staff to confirm minimum road-frontage or minimum-lot-size requirements during that review.
Actions taken (summary): - Motion approved to allow Kevin Brown to take a 13-acre split to planning and zoning (motion moved by Commissioner Ellington; seconded by Commissioner Watson; unanimous vote). - Separate motions approved sending specific parcel splits to planning and zoning for technical review: 2765 Andrews Chapel Road; 2857 Crest Highway (Parcel 023085); 200 Davidson Road (30-acre parcel); 524 Dripping Rock Road; 1677 North Old Talbotheen Road; and 147 Abercrombie Road. All votes were unanimous.
What it means: These exceptions permit property owners to pursue plats and required technical reviews despite a county moratorium; final subdivision approvals (if any) will depend on planning and zoning determinations and whether proposed splits meet county frontage and minimum-size rules. The board noted that denial of rezoning in some circumstances can create a one-year waiting period for reapplication, so applicants must choose whether to withdraw or proceed.
