Hearing On Proposed Shopping Center At Oconee Connector Postponed

At the request of the property owner, Oconee County has postponed the public hearing scheduled for Monday on the proposal for a major shopping center at the corner of the Oconee Connector and Mars Hill Road.

Deferred Tax LLC of Lawrenceville, which owns the 47-acres being proposed for development, asked the county to postpone the Planning Commission meeting originally scheduled for Monday until Jan. 19, and the final vote of the Board of Commissioners until Feb. 2.

Deferred Tax LLC requested the delays following the publication of the Oconee County planning staff report on Monday, the release of the Development of Regional Impact Report of the Northeast Georgia Regional Commission on Wednesday, and the emergence of a group of citizens opposing the project.

The county planning staff recommended approval of the requested rezone for the project, but only under the condition that the main entrance off the Oconee Connector and other entrances off Mars Hill Road be radically modified.

The Northeast Georgia Regional Commission was more harsh, saying the developer’s proposal to pave and build over the tributary to Barber Creek that runs through the property “is wildly inconsistent” with the intent of the county’s Comprehensive Plan and that the project risks “degrading” SR 316.

As of 5 p.m. on Saturday, a group calling itself Mars Hill Responsible Development reported having just fewer than 350 signatures on a petition opposing the project.

Sembler Corporation of Florida, the developer of the proposed shopping center, has received federal and state permits for dredging and filling the tributary to Barber Creek that runs through the property, but it still needs a variance to encroach on those waters, and the state will accept public comment on that request through Dec. 23.

For more on this story, please go to Oconee County Observations.