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Applicant withdraws rezoning request after commissioners note C-2 already allows flex space
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Summary
The Upson County Planning Commission heard REZ2026-02-01 for roughly 2.0–2.4 acres on Highway 19 North; staff recommended denial citing future land-use and Gateway Corridor standards, and the applicant withdrew the rezoning and will pursue a site plan under existing C-2 rules.
The Upson County Planning Commission on April’s agenda took up REZ2026-02-01, a rezoning request for property on Highway 19 North at Atwood Road that the agenda listed under the owner name Josh Long. Staff advised the commission that the parcel sits in a character area not designated for industrial use and that current C-2 zoning already permits the flex-space use the applicant described.
Jeremy Gilbert, the commission’s newly introduced planning director, told commissioners the parcel is in the Gateway Corridor Overlay and staff’s reading of the comprehensive and character-area maps supported keeping the property at C-2 rather than rezoning it to M-1. Gilbert said that if the commission nonetheless approved M-1, staff would recommend a conditional M-1 limiting the site to flex-space uses to avoid broader industrial activities.
A resident who identified himself at the hearing as Josh Stone described plans for a small, five-bay flex-space building to provide storage and work space for contractors such as HVAC technicians and plumbers. "My intentions are contractors for HVAC guys... get them somewhere to work out of," the resident said. Commissioners asked whether he intended retail sales or onsite fabrication; he said he did not plan retail and described uses as storage and contractor bays.
Commissioners emphasized aesthetic and buffering requirements from the Gateway Corridor standards and noted that C-2 flex space permits units of up to 5,000 square feet, with site-plan review to address facades, landscaping and setbacks. After the discussion, the applicant indicated he would leave the zoning “as it is” and prepare a site plan under the existing C-2 classification rather than pursue the M-1 rezoning. The commission recorded no formal vote to change zoning; it held and then closed a public hearing for the item by voice vote.
Outcome and next steps: the rezoning application was withdrawn and no rezoning action occurred. The applicant was advised to return with a site plan that complies with Gateway Corridor standards and the planning staff will review that plan through the normal site-plan process.
