Commissioners Approve Rezoning for 40 Memory Lane With Strict Conditions

The Heard County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously April 28 to reclassify 2.5 acres at 40 Memory Lane from rural development to commercial to allow a real estate brokerage and appraisal office.

Commissioner Larry Hammond moved to adopt the Planning Commission’s recommended conditions and added one more measure to allow the owner to pour a concrete slab within 15 feet of the existing building to correct a water issue; Commissioner Joe Adams seconded the motion and it carried unanimously. The Planning Commission’s limitations — that the structure be used as an office only, that no additional buildings or additions be built, that exterior lights be shielded and limited to the parking area, and that signs be limited to one roof sign, one window sign and one wall sign — are part of the approval.

Applicant Wendy Stedman, who identified herself as a certified residential appraiser and a real estate agent, told the board she recently remodeled the existing building and asked whether she could rebuild if it burned; County Attorney Jerry Ann Conner confirmed rebuilding would be permitted under the approved conditions. Stedman’s daughter, Lindsay Connley, asked to use part of the building to sell holistic medicines and plants; that use was not part of the Planning Commission application and was not included in the approval.

Nearby residents raised objections during the public hearing. Peter Underwood, who lives on Memory Lane, and Anna Haddan urged the board to adhere to the Planning Commission’s conditions; the board’s final motion followed those recommendations with the added slab condition.

The decision was recorded by motion (mover: Hammond; seconder: Adams) and approved unanimously. No ordinance number or effective date was provided in the minutes. The board also noted that Memory Lane is a county-maintained road.