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Commissioners will hold a public hearing on the amendment Monday at 5:30 p.m. at the Justice Center and then consider a vote at their regular meeting that follows at 6 p.m.
UPDATE:
By Shane Scoggins
Publisher
CARNESVILLE – A public hearing scheduled for Monday on proposed changes to residential regulations in the county’s Unified Development Code has been canceled.
Commissioners also no longer to consider the changes at its regular meeting Monday.
An agenda for Monday’s meeting was sent out Friday morning, notifying the public that the hearing had been canceled.
Commissioners had planned to hold a hearing a 5:30 p.m. to get public input on an amendment to the UDC that will restrict subdivisions, change lot size requirements for some zoning districts and either change or eliminate other districts.
“We were going to include the proposed UDC changes in the public hearing for additional exposure,” Jacques said Friday in an email. “However, we do not plan to hold a public hearing just for this matter given there are no other items to consider. We will not be voting on the changes Monday night at our formal BOC Meeting as commission members are still reviewing the proposed changes for concurrence and or suggested modifications.”
Jacques broke down the reasoning behind the changes at commissioners’ work session Tuesday. (See full story below).
By Shane Scoggins
Publisher
CARNESVILLE – The chairman of the Franklin County Board of Commissioners explained the thinking behind an amendment to the county’s Unified Development Code scheduled to be voted on Monday.
Chairman Jeff Jacques did a brief description of the proposed changes to the comprehensive zoning law during Tuesday’s commissioners’ work session and explained the reasoning behind the amendment.
The amendment, crafted by Jacques and Commissioner Elizabeth Busby, will restrict subdivisions, change lot size requirements for some zoning districts and either change or eliminate other districts.
Jacques said he and Busby’s work is part of an ongoing effort to make the “large, 400-page monstrosity” UDC a better fit for the county.
Jacques and Busby’s work focused on residential portions of the law, he said. Other changes may come in the future, Jacque said. Commissioner Josh Smith is reviewing commercial and industrial portions of the UDC, he said.
Busby and Jacques got input from a citizen-led UDC Reform Committee and members of the public to draft a possible amendment.
That draft was then sent to the other commissioners, the county’s staff, planning consultant Jerry Weitz and to County Attorney Dale “Bubba” Samuels.
Jacques reviewed major changes to the law:
• Lakefront residential.
Land in the lakefront residential zone may not be subdivided into more than five lots.
• Suburban residential.
The suburban district can have no more than two units per acre and requires public water and sewer.
Property rezoned as suburban residential must be within a half-mile of a city limit boundary.
Jacques said that part of the law is currently not clear and concise.
“By more defining where we’re going to allow subdivisions and what kind of subdivisions, it helps all of us. It helps every party, from the property owner, to the developer, to the planning commission to our board and our legal, having something that is clearly defined,” Jacques said.
• Multifamily residential.
The multifamily residential district currently in the UDC would be eliminated.
Jacques said the current UDC allows 12 units per acre in the multi-family district. The county allowed just eight units per acre under its former ordinance.
The county spent “hundreds of thousands of dollars” fighting a lawsuit from developer Corridor Development that wanted to build a complex with eight units per acre.
“If we didn’t want a development with eight units, why did we adopt a rezoning category that now allows 12 units,” Jacques said.
The multi-family district requires sewer service, Jacques said, and the county only has two locations for such development on its sewer system – the intersections of Highways 106 and 59 and the Highway 51 and 59.
“The sewer has been placed there expressly for commercial and industrial development,” Jacques said. “By continuing to allow a multi-family residential district with a higher threshold for density, it’s going to put us right back in a position where we can be sued. I will be dadgum if I’m going to sit here and allow us, just one person to go back and have another lawsuit because I don’t know if we would have as favorable an outcome.”
Local fire departments are not prepared to handle multi-story developments, the chairman said.
There is plenty of opportunities for these kinds of developments in Franklin County’s five cities, he said.
Busby said the amendment will push more-dense” developments” toward the cities “where I think we all agree they belong.”
She said the changes will keep the county out of a lawsuit “we probably couldn’t win.”
Jacques said he wants all of the commissioners onboard and in agreement on any thing the board does with the amendment.
Smith said he supports getting rid of the multi-family district. He asked if the requirement for subdivisions within a half-mile of city limits is “as the crow flies” or by road.
Jacques said it would be “directly from the city limits.” He added that the changes only restrict major subdivisions of more than five houses.
If growth patterns change, Jacques said the UDC can be amended in the future.
Commissioner Robert Franklin said he supports the changes.
Commissioner Kyle Foster said he is OK with most of the amendment.
“I’ve heard lots of concerns about how much property can be split up, so I just want to encourage people to keep giving us feedback on that so we can get it right,” Foster said.
Jacques said the county is currently exposed with an expansion of sewer on Highway 59, but he would like the board to adopt it “at the earliest opportunity.”
Commissioners will hold a public hearing on the amendment Monday at 5:30 p.m. at the Justice Center and then consider a vote at their regular meeting that follows at 6 p.m.