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Upson County approves rezoning for family specialty-food maker on Barnesville Highway
Summary
The Upson County Board of Commissioners voted July 14 to rezone 8.781 acres on Barnesville Highway from AR to M‑1, conditional on use for a specialty food manufacturer and warehouse, platting, and Gateway Corridor Overlay compliance; applicant Phil Haynes, who runs a small jam and salsa business, told commissioners he plans to locate the family operation there.
The Upson County Board of Commissioners voted July 14 to rezone about 8.781 acres on the south side of Barnesville Highway (across from Ben Hill Road) from AR (agricultural/residential) to M‑1, limited to specialty food manufacturing and associated warehouse use.
Phil Haynes, who identified himself as the applicant and said he operates a small jam-and-salsa business, told the board he started making jam in 2000 and grew the company over 26 years. "I started making jam in our walkout basement," Haynes said, describing plans to relocate his family operation to a cleared site on the parcel and to keep truck traffic minimal (he estimated fewer than one full truckload shipment per day on average). He said his family owns the surrounding acreage and plans to live on the property.
The county zoning director presented the staff and planning‑commission review, noting the parcel is in the Gateway Corridor Overlay District. The planning commission had recommended approval at its June 8 meeting, and staff recommended three conditions: that the M‑1 zoning be conditional and limited to specialty food manufacturing and warehouse uses; that a plat be recorded subdividing the 8.781‑acre parcel from the parent tract; and that all Gateway Corridor Overlay requirements be met and approved by the zoning administrator.
Gary Hoffman, who the chair introduced as a supporter, urged the board to approve the request and said Haynes' products have long been distributed locally.
Commissioner Jones moved to approve the rezoning with the conditions recommended by staff and the planning commission; Commissioner Watson seconded. The board voted in the affirmative and the motion carried. The approval restricts the property to the specified uses unless the owner returns to the board for a modification.
What happens next: the applicant must record the subdividing plat and comply with gateway overlay standards during plan review; the zoning administrator will enforce the conditions. The board did not expand the M‑1 permitted uses beyond those conditions.
The nod to the family business and the mandatory conditions were cited by supporters and staff as the key reasons the board granted limited industrial zoning while preserving planning controls for future changes.
