Paulding board denies developer’s appeal; staff told board preliminary plat and permits had expired

The Paulding County board declined an appeal Wednesday from the applicant listed on the agenda as Bloom Par LLC (represented in the hearing by attorney Andrea Pearson), which sought a vested‑rights determination allowing development of Lost Creek North without applying changes in Ordinance 24‑05.

Pearson argued on behalf of Walton, Georgia LLC that Lost Creek was rezoned as a Planned Residential Development (PRD) in 2005 with a site development plan, final plats and other formal approvals and that substantial expenditures and recorded approvals vested the entire project. She asked the board to overturn a staff decision by Miss Littman finding Walton did not have vested rights for Lost Creek North.

Miss Littman, who made the administrative determination under county development regulations, told the board she had reviewed the zoning cases and related submissions and concluded the preliminary plat for Lost Creek North was denied on resubmission and no corrected resubmittal followed the March 11, 2024 revised preliminary plat; she said the land‑disturbance permits issued in 2021 expired because no work commenced and no subsequent approved construction plans were filed within the regulatory time windows. "They never started on it," she said, summarizing her rationale that the permits and preliminary approvals lapsed.

County staff clarified that while substantial development and final plats exist for Lost Creek South, most fee collections and recorded activity to date apply to the developed south phases; funds collected for transportation and school contributions are remitted to the respective agencies only at final plat. Staff reported $357,142.85 collected to date for Lost Creek South transportation fees and $87,075 collected in school‑related payments; the county said these collections do not establish entitlement for the undeveloped north parcel because no final plat or construction started there.

A resident, Sarah McLeod, told the board that the proposed additional housing would strain a single access road and worsen school overcrowding in North Paulding schools, saying, "Putting a few hundred more homes and more people is not going to benefit that." McLeod said her neighborhood would lose tree buffers and private backyard space to new housing.

After questioning and debate about whether vesting can persist when regulatory time limits and permits lapse, a commissioner moved to decline the appeal; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. The chair announced, "The applicant is denied." The meeting then moved to adjournment.

The board’s action affirms the county’s administrative determination that the developer’s specific preliminary plat and land‑disturbance permits for Lost Creek North had lapsed and that, absent resubmission under current development standards, the north parcel must comply with the updated PRD requirements enacted in Ordinance 24‑05. The transcript does not record a roll‑call tally; the decision was recorded as a voice vote.