Ellijay City Councilmembers approved rezoning 7 acres on Legion Road for future subdivision use, as well as annexing property on the north end of the county into the city limits, when meeting Monday, Feb. 20.
The two Legion Road parcels, which had been zoned general commercial, were rezoned to PUD-C (Planned Unit Development). The zoning classification is for subdivisions with small commercial components for residents, said Andrew Mathis, code enforcement officer.
Mathis said property owner Hills & Dales Properties LLC (represented by Bill Rowe) has about 233 acres connected to the parcel and requested to have the 7 acres rezoned to PUD-C so all the property can be used as “one homogenous subdivision.”
An official subdivision design has not been submitted yet, Mathis noted. Newport Drive provides a connection between the property and Coosawattee River Resort, he added.
According to Mathis’ planning and zoning report, eight letters about the rezoning request were sent to surrounding property owners, but none were received back. Numerous phone calls were received requesting information about the zoning change, and many of the calls expressed objections, primarily due to traffic or how it may affect surrounding properties.
No input was offered in a public hearing for the rezoning, which preceded the council meeting.
Annexation was approved for three parcels totaling almost 34 acres near the intersection of Highway 515 and Old Northcutt Road. An event center and horseback riding business are currently located on the property.
During a public hearing for the annexation request, Jay Hamilton, attorney for Carlotta Equestrian Estate LLC, said a special event venue and storage facilities are planned for the site.
“The main (purpose) for the GC (zoning) is for alcohol permitting that would be for the special event purposes,” said Hamilton.
All three of the annexed parcels, two of which are vacant lots, have different zoning, with one each zoned C1 (commercial), R1 (residential) and A1-COND (agricultural, conditional use). The annexed properties will all be rezoned GC (General Commercial), Mathis said.
In order to annex an event center already on one of the lots, the two vacant lots also had to be annexed to connect to property already in the city limits, noted Mathis.
In other news …
﹣ Councilmembers approved a one-year moratorium on cryptomining and similar activities within the Ellijay city limits. The same type of moratorium was recently approved by Gilmer County Commissioners.
Factors including the large amount of electricity required to generate and track cryptocurrency and constant noise created by fans needed to cool the computer servers are among the reasons for such moratoriums.