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Cusseta‑Chattahoochee commissioners approve five conditional use permits after hearings, note process concerns
Summary
After public hearings Feb. 24 and a called meeting Feb. 27, the Cusseta‑Chattahoochee County Commission approved five conditional use permits for small‑lot or mobile‑home placements; Planning & Zoning recommended approval in each case, and commissioners emphasized permits, plats and health‑department clearance remain required.
A majority of the Cusseta‑Chattahoochee County Commission voted Feb. 27 to approve five conditional use permits that had been the subject of public hearings Feb. 24.
The permits allow: a stick‑built home on 201 Massey Road (.74 acres); a mobile home on 711 GA Highway 26 (18.11 acres); replacement of a deteriorating stick‑built house with a mobile home at 109 Nelson Street (.75 acres); replacement of an older mobile home at 136 Patty Drive (.46 acres); and subdivision of 1.35 acres from a 52‑acre tract at 454 Old Louvale Road so a long‑term tenant may own that parcel. Planning & Zoning recommended approval for each case and commissioners emphasized all approvals remain conditional on required plats, building permits and health‑department inspections.
"If we give an exception, that opens us up that we didn't do the same for someone else," Chairman Charles Coffey said during a Feb. 24 work session, explaining the board's caution about doing immediate votes without full public process. After the hearings the board held a called meeting on Feb. 27 and approved the CUPs by unanimous vote, with motions recorded on the meeting minutes.
Planning & Zoning chair Brent Ingersoll told the commission that several of the cases were brought forward because the parcels did not meet a stated one‑acre septic threshold used in prior practice, which is why the applicants required CUPs. Applicants supplied different details: Mia and Derico Countryman said a perk test for 201 Massey Road came back passing; Julie and Jerome Wooten said power, water and septic are in place at 711 GA Highway 26 and that they intend to place a mobile home; Sierra Smith said her home at 109 Nelson Street is currently uninhabitable and described mold and structural problems that prompted her request to replace the dwelling.
Planning & Zoning and county staff noted administrative conditions. Teresa Smith of Planning & Zoning said her board recommended approval for several permits but flagged that some of the filings required correct public‑notice timing; County staff told the Wootens a sign must be posted according to the county's 15–45 day notice window, and the hearing transcript records a discrepancy about whether the posting met that timeframe.
Commissioner Timothy Biddle, who said he owns property adjoining one application, recorded no objection to that permit but urged procedural caution. "If we get sued, where do you think the money is coming?" Commissioner Biddle said, stressing the county must follow notice and permitting procedures.
The commission recorded the Feb. 27 votes as unanimous. Approvals are subject to the usual follow‑ups: completed plats, building permits, septic and health‑department clearance and, where applicable, removal of existing structures as a condition of the permit.
The county's minutes show the board closed each hearing by motion and that no public speakers signed in opposing the listed CUPs during the Feb. 24 hearings. The commission listed the approvals in its official minutes and noted required compliance with county ordinances and state law as conditions of each permit.
The commission's next regular meeting is recorded in the minutes as March 4, 2025.
