Hart BOC Holds Off on Hartwell Annexation Request

The Hart County Board of Commissioners says they will wait to vote on whether to accept an annexation request from the City of Hartwell until after the Hartwell Planning & Zoning Board renders a recommendation.

Hartwell is looking at developing approximately 270 acres between Fairview Avenue and Liberty Hill Road and has asked the County to approve it.

The plan is to develop the acreage into a mixed-use residential community consisting of single-family homes and townhomes.

At their meeting Tuesday evening, County Commission Chair Marshal Sayer said the Board doesn’t have adequate information to render a decision.

“At this time we do not have enough documentation with facts to make a decision,” he explained. “How many units? What kind of units? Apartments? Duplexes? Triplexes, Townhouses, Single-family? Councilman Dan Leard reached out to me about the annexation and I told him the concerns of the county and how we did not have enough information to make a decision. And he understood. He then he called me a day later and asked that we hold off on a decision until after the planning and zoning meeting on October 27 at 6p.”

Under state law, the County has 45 days to render a decision on the annexation request.

During discussions, County Attorney Walter Gordon told the Board he reviewed the annexation plan and said it appears to have the required information the County needs.

And he noted that in the late 1990’s a former Board of Commissioners voted to have a 15-day response time to annexation requests, which he said would overrule the State’s requirement because the local requirement is more restrictive.

That 15-days ends today.  Gordon recommended the County write a letter of concern to the City.

Also speaking was Dave McDonald an attorney for the developer who cited a FB post by Commissioner Joey Dorsey on the 18th that said the County will not approve the annexation.

McDonald alleged the Commissioners had already made up their minds to deny the annexation.

That was refuted by Dorsey and Sayer.

Also speaking was the Developer who said he’s been working with the City for over a year on the project, which would be a mixed use community.

However, he said at this point the City Council has not told him how many units he could build.