Franklin BOC to Hold Called Session on Subdivision Growth

Franklin County Commissioners will meet for a special called meeting next Monday evening as they continue to struggle with how best to regulate residential growth.

The issue before them is how best to control the impact of future residential growth so it doesn’t become a burden on the school system, taxpayers, and county services.

Pointing to Hart and Banks counties, which instituted moratoriums on residential subdivisions, Commissioner Eddie Wester, at their regular meeting Monday, again raised his concerns regarding unregulated growth of major subdivisions.

“I am truly concerned about we’re fixin’ to see,” he told the Board. “I think Banks County has put in a moratorium and Hart County has put in a moratorium. I’m concerned because we’re wide open right now. I’d rather see us get ahead of this instead of staying behind it…I’m worried about the school system. Either way you look at it, if we have an influx of students to our school system, there’s going to be a property tax hike to their millage rates. That’s going to be the only way they can handle it if they get hit with that many children at one time. They’re not going to have a choice. Whether it’s coming in here and deciding whether to go to a two-acre minimum or a three-acre minimum, I would like for us to look at it really hard because I really feel like we’re fixin’ to get ourselves in trouble.”

At last month’s work session, the Board of Commissioners directed County Manager Derek Turner and County Planning and Zoning Director Scott DeLozier to research instituting impact fees for new subdivisions to cover the cost of the extra county services that would be needed as the population grows, such as fire and EMS, as well as other safety services.

They are due to give that report to the Board at this month’s work session.  Discussion then turned to whether to mandate lot sizes.

Commission Chair Jason Macomson asked whether increasing lot sizes for new home construction should be applied to anyone building a new house in the county or just to developers building new subdivisions.

Commissioner Ryan Swails recommended applying the lot size mandate only to new large subdivisions.

“My thinking was major subdivision, which is six acres or more…I feel like if someone has acreage and they want to give a piece of it to their kid or something like that or if there’s a single stand-alone one-acre parcel, two-acre parcel, they should be able to do that,” he said.

County Planning & Zoning Director Scott DeLozier said those properties would be and already are grandfathered in and would not be affected.

Swails later said he would be in favor of doubling the current standards for lot sizes based on the infrastructure in place.

Commissioner Wester agreed and said he’s only concerned about new subdivisions.

DeLozier then asked for direction from the board on when they would want to have a lot size designation and impact fees in place. The Board agreed lot sizes in new subdivisions should be based on where the subdivision is and how the area is zoned.

Macomson asked the Board for consensus on whether to institute a 2-acre lot size for subdivisions in certain zoned areas, noting it could be changed if needed, and suggested they meet again for a called session next Monday evening.

No vote was taken on the lot size but Macomson noted that will be looked at again in April.

The called meeting will take place Monday, March 14 at 6p at the Justice Center in Carnesville for the sole purpose of discussing subdivisions.

The meeting is open to the public.