Commissioners Reject Subdivision On Rocky Branch Road

The Oconee County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously on Tuesday night to turn down a rezone request for a 77-lot subdivision on Rocky Branch Road across from Old Waverly subdivision.

Commissioners gave no reason for the denial, but they took the action after the attorney presenting the case for the rezone would not agree to construct the homes on foundations with crawl spaces or basements.

In response to a question from Commissioner Mark Thomas, Gary Geddes, representing SR Homes, the Atlanta firm that would build the homes, said the intent is to use slab foundations rather than crawl space or basement foundations for at least some of the homes in the subdivision.

The Board of Commissioners at its June 5 meeting amended the county’s Unified Development Code to require that “All new single-family detached homes shall be constructed with either crawlspace or basement foundations.”

Josh Scoggins, with law firm Miles, Hanford and Tallant in Cumming, in Forsyth County, informed the Board before its vote that he is prepared to challenge a negative decision on constitutional grounds. Such a notice is common in zoning cases.

For more on the story, with a video of the Commission meeting, go to Oconee County Observations.

Pictured: Attorney Scoggins before Commission.