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Commissioners deny 61.24-acre Reed Road rezoning, approve several smaller residential rezonings
Summary
The Whitfield County Board of Commissioners denied a 61.24-acre rezoning request on Reed Road but approved three smaller residential rezonings and postponed another request; residents raised concerns about multiple rezoning applications from out-of-town developers.
The Whitfield County Board of Commissioners voted 3-1 on March 9 to deny SDH Atlanta LLC’s request to rezone a 61.24-acre tract on Reed Road and Rauschenburg Road from General Agriculture (GA) to Low Density Single Family Residential (R-2). Commissioner John Thomas moved to deny the request and Commissioner Robby Staten seconded; Commissioner Barry W. Robbins was the lone dissenting vote, indicating he supported the rezoning.
The board approved three other rezoning requests by unanimous 4-0 votes. Commissioners voted to rezone a 1.0-acre parcel at 2029 Old Morris Road (applicant Robert Kendall) from General Agriculture to Rural Residential (R-5); a 0.60-acre parcel at 114 Marbut Drive (applicant Jose Armando Ortiz) from Heavy Manufacturing (M-2) to Rural Residential (R-5); and a 4.59-acre parcel at 529 Gazaway Drive (applicant Ronnie Gazaway) from General Agriculture to R-5.
A separate rezoning request by Shazman Ali for an 8.751-acre parcel on Tunnel Hill Varnell Road was postponed after staff noted there is currently no Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) driveway cut for the property; the applicant will contact GDOT to obtain approval or denial of the driveway access before the item returns.
Residents raised worries about the frequency and scale of rezoning requests. During public comment, Kelly Eaker, Greg Bates and Judy Kemp told commissioners they were concerned about multiple rezonings and the impacts large, out-of-town developers may have on existing neighborhoods. The board did not take additional procedural action beyond the votes recorded.
What happens next: The denied 61.24-acre rezoning remains in its current zoning classification; applicants may appeal or revise and reapply. Postponed items will return to the board after the applicant provides the requested GDOT driveway determination.
