Approving various developments and planning for development were the key items discussed at the Feb. 19 Greene County Board of Commissioners meeting.
From approving a preliminary plat for a 312-acre residential development off U.S. 278 to ensuring that development doesn’t go unchecked along important county roads, Greene County commissioners spent last Tuesday night preparing for the continued growth that is expected in Greene County.
The chief item of business handled was the designation of certain county roads as “Arterial Streets.” In this item, the board acted to protect the flow of traffic and safety on these heavily-traveled roads by prohibiting direct residential access and limiting commercial and industrial access to controlled uses. The list of roads includes: Penfield Road, Veazey Road, Linger Longer Road, Farmington Road, Walker Church Road, Carey Station Road, Lake Oconee Trail, Swords Road, Liberty Church Road, Wrightsville Church Road, Meadow Crest Road and Bethany Church Road.
“The county recognizes how important these roads are to Greene County residents as efficient corridors for getting around in Greene County,” said chairman Dene Channell. “More importantly, we designated these road as ‘arterial streets’ because the safety of all vehicles passing through, whether they be cars, fire trucks, police or even ambulances, matters a great deal.”
For roads that serve a few citizens and might be unpaved, the county also adopted a Voluntary Paving Ordinance that individuals would need to comply with in the event that they would like to pave their road with private financing. The ordinance is not meant to discourage individuals from volunteering to pave their own roads but is meant to ensure that the road meets certain standards and cannot become a liability to county taxpayers if a privately-paved road’s backer were to abandon the project.
Another attempt at ensuring the safe and free flow of anticipated increases in traffic was undertaken as the board approved a traffic signal at Georgia 44 and Merchants Street. When the movie theater opens, this signal will help direct traffic during peak usage of this intersection.
Traffic will be sure to increase there and in other parts of the county as more of the anticipated residential development is built around the lake area. At Tuesday’s meeting, the board approved a preliminary plat for a 12-lot, 50-acre subdivision across from Double Branches subdivision on Howard Lewis Road. The subdivision is proposed by North Rim Investments.
In larger developments, preliminary plats were granted to both a 3.29-acre Linger Longer Development for National Village III at King’s Way and a much larger 312-acre residential community called Waterstone Landing off U.S. 278 west of Lake Oconee. The plat was submitted by Paragon Development Group.
Other zoning items included granting a conditional use permit for an Oconee Regional Humane Society animal shelter on 10 acres on Hutchinson Grove Road and approving a height variance request for Pulte Homes’ Clubhouse Amenity Center at Del Webb Lake Oconee. The last item, a variance request for William Batchelor, was denied. The applicant was not present.
In other items of business, the board approved their January meeting minutes and passed a resolution establishing a franchise fee for cable and video service providers providing service in the unincorporated areas of Greene County pursuant to a state franchise.
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