What was first planned to be an elaborate RV Park plan in an 110 acre lot off Town Creek Church Road that seemed to be headed for a Special Land Use Application (SLUA) hearing earlier this summer is still yet to be approved by the Board of Commissioners.
Although now, it looks as though the project can skip board approval altogether.
“He has submitted a draft plan of what he wants to do, which includes the RV camping and my understanding is on the backside, there’s four or five lots for houses that he intends to use to subdivide for his family,” said Commissioner Chairman Chris Dockery. “The plan that he submitted falls within our land use regulations and doesn’t even require a variance. So in other words, he apparently went back and reviewed the Land Use regulations...so he’s not asking for anything or to do anything that’s not permitted in the Land Use regulations.”
He, the lot’s developer, Tom Petrillo of Florida, says the plan is similar to what was originally proposed in the late summer, with a few changes to the aspects that drew the most negative feedback.
“There were three points of the project that with talking to members of the community, there was opposition around,” Petrillo said. “On the original drawing, you saw tents and you saw an amphitheater and you saw a microbrewery and a distillery….All three of those have been removed because of the feedback we received from the community.”
Dockery said that if the developer would’ve went forward with the original plan, he would’ve pushed for the plan to go through the SLUA process, which includes a board hearing.
“When he presented this elaborate plan for everything, of course there was a lot of stuff going on there, so because of the magnitude of what he started doing,” Dockery said. “...We were looking at it as if maybe this should be a Special Land Use Application (SLUA). When he was made aware that this would potentially require a Special Land Use Application and go before the Board of Commissioners and require public hearings, he said ‘no, I don’t want to do all of that.’”
Petrillo says the plan is to do everything within the regulations already in place.
“The facts are that I’m living well within their zoning guidelines and I don’t have a need for variances to do that,” he said. “Also, we’re listening to the community in terms of some things that they didn’t feel were appropriate.”
This means, despite the numerous red signs that line Town Creek Church Road reading “STOP THE RV PARK,” there will likely be no opportunity for public input on this particular project. Dockery said that the opportunity for input came when the land use code was passed years ago.
“Just like if you’re going to build a convenience store, if you’re within the parameters of the land use code, there’s nothing to debate,” he said. “...So if everything that he is proposing to do falls within the parameters of the land use code, there is no public input process. Because the public input process was with the adoption of the land use code.”
TAKING A TIMEOUT
Dockery said he understands people are in opposition to the project and feels this situation is an example of why the county should reassess the land use codes.
“I’m sure there’s a lot of people upset about it,” he said. “It’s just like a couple years ago, Zac Brown bought 146 acres behind my house and he was going to put rental cabins and an event center was his plan. I can’t say I was thrilled about it, but if it’s within the land use code, it’s within the land use code. Fortunately that didn’t come to fruition….To me it would be dishonest and crooked of the government to try to stop a development that’s permitted under the land use code. That’s how you get a lawsuit. So if the land use code is not accurately reflecting the community’s values and views, then it’s time to look at the land use code. So that’s the reason we called timeout and our intent is to go back and look at the land use code and we welcome the public’s input as we look at the land use code.”
The board voted to enact a moratorium at its meeting in September, putting a pause on potential commercial development until the board has had an opportunity to take a second look at the current land use codes and entertain possible changes to the codes.
“We pushed a moratorium on commercial development in those character areas, but as it relates to this development, this development was already put in motion, so legally it does not apply,” he said. “You can’t go back because you don’t like what’s going on, you can’t go back and change the rules to be retroactive. That’s not fair to anybody.”
While these changes may not have an affect on this potential project, whatever changes, if any, are made to the character map will likely shape the future development of Lumpkin County. Dockery says getting the public’s input will be crucial to those decisions.
As for Petrillo’s development, he says there’s no established time table for when the project could be started. At the moment, Dockery says no permits have been pulled to begin construction. Petrillo says they’re not nearly ready for that at the moment.
“My timeline is not set in stone as it relates to the buildout,” he said. “…I can honestly say, I don’t know when I’m going to break ground.”
With no permits pulled or official plans in place, Dockery worries people are misrepresenting the project before it begins.
“I certainly believe there’s a lot of misinformation being spread,” Dockery said.
Petrillo expects to be finished with his plans and ready to go public with exact details of the project in the next month.
“I do think that the next step is to do a full-disclosure that offers a question and answer where people can really have a forum to talk about it, because it’s something that’s a part of their community,” he said. “We’re looking to enhance the community, not take away from it.”