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Commission postpones rezoning request after one owner objects to potential gas-station use
Summary
A rezoning request for a 7.7-acre parcel on Water Level Highway was postponed to July 20 after one of five co-owners told commissioners she did not consent and raised environmental concerns about a freshwater spring cited on the property.
Commissioners postponed a vote on a resolution to rezone 7.7 acres at Water Level Highway (tax map 059, parcel 043.0) from F (forestry/agriculture/residential) to C2 (general commercial) after an apparent ownership conflict and environmental concerns emerged during the public hearing.
Commissioner Rogers introduced the rezoning request and said the planning commission had recommended approval by a unanimous vote. During the public hearing a co-owner — identified in the record only as a resident and property co-owner — said the family had waited 12 years to sell the land but opposed converting it to commercial use if a gas station would be placed on a freshwater spring that runs through the parcel. The co-owner told the commission, "I vote no on that," and said the sales contract mentioned a gas station on page 10.
The buyer’s agent, Stea Hamilton, told the board the contract included a contingency allowing rezoning for a possible gas station but said the buyers were "planning on doing [a] storage facility," not a gas station.
County planning staff and the county attorney, Miss Fryberg, told commissioners that the rezoning application requires signatures from all owners. Staff said this was an unusual case in which an owner now says she does not consent and recommended additional time to determine whether an owner would withdraw her signature or other legal steps were needed. Planning staff noted that state permitting (stormwater management and other environmental approvals) would be required before a gas station could be permitted on a site with a water feature.
A substitute motion to postpone the rezoning to the next voting session (July 20) to allow staff to confirm owner intent and obtain any additional information passed by roll call: 13 in favor, 1 opposed (Commissioner Cry voted no).
The postponement means the board will hold a new public-notice period and revisit the item at the July 20 meeting unless owners withdraw or update the application beforehand.
