Joint planning session records approvals for multiple rezoning requests, including RV park and 230-foot cell tower

A joint session of the Dalton Whitfield Varnell Planning Commission and the Whitfield County Board of Commissioners on April 27, 2026, reviewed six zoning applications and recorded motions to approve or change several requests, including an RV park, a proposed RV campground, a telecommunication tower and multiple residential rezonings.

Staff presented each item and took public comment before commissioners recorded motions. Tyler White of the Northwest Georgia Regional Commission explained the hearing order and cautioned that, earlier in the meeting, he had told attendees that formal final decisions on rezonings typically occur at subsequent mayor/council and commissioners’ meetings. "This meeting will follow a set agenda," White said, and he reviewed the order of presentation, public comment and rebuttal.

Key outcomes recorded by the joint session included: a recommendation to change the Moore Drive parcel from R2 to Suburban Agriculture (SA) rather than R5 to allow a single manufactured home while limiting future density; approval of a C2 rezoning for an RV park near I-75; approval to rezone a Hollywood Drive parcel from C2 to R3 (with staff noting the parcel had flooded twice last year even though it is not in the FEMA floodplain); approval of a request by Jeff Pickkins to develop five lots on Prospect Road (transcript records the motion and approval despite prior staff concerns); approval of a special‑use permit for a 226-foot lattice tower (230 feet including the lightning rod) with Verizon as the initial anchor tenant; and approval to rezone a city-owned parcel on Dogwood Drive from M2 to R3.

On the Moore Drive request, White told the joint session the staff recommendation was to deny R5 and instead approve SA because "the requested rezoning would not change the visual character of the area" and SA would limit the number of dwellings. Applicant Noah Cox said he intended to place a manufactured home on the five-acre tract and confirmed he also planned to build a shop. "As long as I do my house and a shop, I'm good with it," Cox said.

The RV park proposal on Chattanooga Road drew questions about access and utilities. Petitioner Eddie Fox said he planned about 30 to 40 overnight RV spaces, shower and laundry facilities, pads for RVs and an underground detention pond; he said city sewer was available. The joint session recorded a motion to approve that rezoning.

On Hollywood Drive, staff noted sewer is roughly 400 feet from the .34-acre parcel and warned the property had flooded twice in the previous year; the petitioner and staff discussed drainage and the need to update flood maps. "It is not in the FEMA floodplane, but it should be and we are working to resolve that," a staff member said during the presentation.

The special-use permit for a telecommunications tower at Mitchell Bridge Road was presented by Mike Bick of LCC Telecom Services, who described a 100-by-100-foot lease parcel, a 12-foot gravel access road and ground equipment enclosures. Bick said Verizon would be the anchor tenant and that an existing tower about 0.7 miles away is heavily loaded.

Commissioners also discussed preliminary plat submissions, traffic studies, erosion control and road designs for a subdivision proposal; several commissioners described traffic and access concerns but the joint session recorded motions approving the preliminary plats as presented.

Votes and motions were recorded in the joint session minutes. The transcript does not provide roll-call tallies by name for every vote; the meeting record uses verbal "I" responses and the chair declared motions carried. The transcript likewise shows some commissioners expressing concern about flooding and traffic even where motions passed.

Next steps: the items discussed will follow the local process for final action as required — the hearing record notes some rezonings proceed to mayor/council or subsequent commissioner meetings for final approvals where applicable.