Neal Road Residents Lose Battle Against Construction Company Rezoning Request

People living on and near Neal Road in Franklin County did not get the outcome they had hoped for this week when the Board of Commissioners voted to approve Troy Construction LLC’s request to rezone property there.

Troy Construction out of Commerce wants to use the 15 acres on Neal Road near I-85 to store construction equipment and they requested the zoning for the property be changed from Ag Intensive to Light Industrial.

But while the Planning and Zoning Board approved their request initially, the vote to approve or deny was put on hold after citizens living on the road complained.

Dozens of those residents packed Monday’s Board of Commission meeting and for over a half-hour, one by one they came before the Board to voice their opposition.

Most cited the amount of truck traffic it would cause and others worried about the safety of their children playing outside.

Several said they had moved to this area from more metro areas to get away from noise and traffic and allowing Troy to use that property for equipment storage would bring it all back.

After hearing from citizens, the Board asked Planning and Zoning Director Scott Delozier to comment.

DeLozier said since Neal Road sits partly in Banks County, he consulted with Banks County Commissioners who had no objection to Troy locating their storage facility there.

Delozier said he then consulted with the Georgia DOT and the County road superintendent at the recommendation of the Planning and Zoning Board.

He said both looked at the property and recommended Troy Construction enlarge the entrance to the property.  He then recommended the Commission approve their rezoning request.

After hearing from Delozier, Commissioner Ryan Swails motioned to approve Troy’s application to rezone the property on Neal Road from Ag Intensive to Light Industrial, and that motion passed by a vote of 3-1 with Commissioner Robert Franklin voting against.