Rezoning Request on the Vandiver Estate Denied

A request to rezone just over 9 acres of land for business use on the Vandiver estate has been denied by the Lavonia City Council.

Property owner Kay Legg had petitioned the Council to rezone the acreage from R1A residential to Local Business District to create an event center.

The entire 19.9-acre estate is currently on the market for $5.5 million.

The Council gave initial approval for the rezoning on the first reading of the request at their meeting last month, before the estate went up for sale.

However, at the City Council meeting Monday night, Mayor Courtney Umbehant said he received word that the property is now for sale, which, he said, raises some concerns about what the new owner would do with the property if the Council approved the rezoning now.

Pointing to the issues the City had with bait and switch actions of the owner of the Cafe Risque’ and citing the historic significance of the Hartwell Rd. area, Umbehant recommended they deny the rezoning until after the property is sold, at a time when they can meet the new owner and find out what they are planning for the estate.

Councilman Eddie Floyd agreed it would be prudent to wait.

Floyd also asked if there was a time limit on requesting the rezoning again.

The Mayor said the time limit is a year, but Floyd asked for that to be shortened to six months.

After more discussion, the Council voted to deny the rezoning request, with the ability to submit a rezoning request again after six months.