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Commissioners approve Stacy Lane rezoning with large buffer variances and road-improvement condition
Summary
The Dawson County Board approved rezoning of 8.58 acres on Stacy Lane to CHI and granted buffer variances (reductions to 10 ft and 15 ft) for a three-building light-industrial project, attaching a requirement that the developer overlay the section of Stacy Lane to the county's specifications or escrow funds by the first building certificate of occupancy; the measure passed with a recorded vote of 3-1.
The Dawson County Board of Commissioners voted June 18 to approve ZA2613, a rezoning and variance request for roughly 8.58 acres on Stacy Lane that will allow three light-industrial buildings totaling about 49,000 square feet.
Richard, the county planning director, told the board the Planning Commission had recommended denial because the variance requests were significant and the proposal lacked specified tenants. He said the project sits under the county’s Georgia 400 mixed-use future land-use designation and that the rezoning to CHI would not allow heavy industrial uses (for example, smoke-stack operations).
Applicant Brian Orum, the project's principal, said the buildings are intended to be low-impact, light-industrial or commercial uses and that the developer had worked with neighbors. “We made an effort to really reach out to him,” Orum said of one adjacent homeowner who provided a letter of support. Engineer Matthew Zieg described the variance need as a spatial constraint to make the project’s economics work.
Opponents at the hearing emphasized the purpose of buffers for erosion control, stormwater protection and separation from residences. Jane Graves, speaking in opposition, said the proposed reductions from 50 feet to 15 feet and 10 feet were excessive and risked lowering county standards. “Buffers are not a taking. They are a making of man-made developments that respect the topography, natural environment and sense of place in Dawson County,” Graves said.
During deliberations commissioners discussed stormwater controls (the property lies in the MS4 stormwater area), topography, and the potential to require road improvements. The applicant offered to resurface Stacy Lane or escrow an amount tied to Public Works’ estimate; the board’s motion linked the approval to a requirement that the developer fully overlay the section from Lee Castleberry Road to the project's driveway (or escrow the cost) and that the escrow or work be tied to the developer’s first building Certificate of Occupancy.
Commissioner Gains moved to approve ZA2613 with the requested variances (reducing the east buffer to 10 feet and the north buffer to 15 feet) and with the overlay/escrow stipulation; the board approved the buffer amendment and the main motion with a recorded vote of 3-1.
The approval allows the developer to proceed toward civil-plan review, stormwater permitting, and the land-disturbance permit stage; Public Works will determine the overlay estimate and work with the developer on the escrow or improvement schedule.
