Residents Fight Proposed Commercial Rezoning In Neighborhood

HOLLY SPRINGS, GA -- A group of residents in the Hickory Road and Toonigh area plan to show up Thursday, Nov. 9 to the Holly Springs Planning and Zoning Commission meeting to fight a request to annex and rezone a home inside a neighborhood for commercial use.

Commission members will meet at 6:30 p.m. at the city's Municipal Complex at 3235 Holly Springs Parkway. These citizen have banded together to oppose applicant Brandon Smith's petition to annex a home at 2361 Toonigh Road from agricultural in Cherokee County to general commercial in the city.

Documents submitted to the city show Smith plans to use the house, which is bordered on all three sides by residences and Hickory Road Baptist Church, for office/storage for a three-employee company.

Diagonally from the property is a small parcel zoned neighborhood-commercial that was recently requested and recommended for approval by the Planning Commission to be changed to downsized to a residential zoning by its owner, which led to the subject property being surrounded by residential and agricultural property except the church, these residents said.

The Cherokee County Future Planning Map designates this property as Suburban Living, "so local residents consider this rezoning application a prime example of spot zoning," the citizens said in their press release.

They also said Smith previously submitted the same request to rezone the land to Cherokee County, a detail they said he failed to list in his application to the city of Holly Springs. A search of Cherokee County's records show Smith in September submitted the application for consideration by the county. The case was set to be take up by the Cherokee County Municipal Planning Commission at its Nov. 7 meeting, but he requested a withdrawal.

Residents also question why Smith is seeking a general commercial rezoning when he plans to use the split-level residential structure for office. In a community input meeting held Oct. 6, Smith was also questioned if the presence of large delivery trucks would disrupt the residential character of the neighborhood and if he scouted the area for office space already zoned for the use he is seeking from Holly Springs.

When reached by phone, Smith declined to comment to Patch about his request.

Once the Holly Springs Planning and Zoning Commission makes its recommendation, the case will move to the Holly Springs City Council for consideration.

Image via Becky Babcock