Two large residential rezoning cases before the Henry County Board of Commissioners were pushed back after public hearings at the board’s October 15 regular meeting resulted in votes to table both items.

  One request was for rezoning from RA (residential-agricultural) to RS (residential suburban) of 50.4 acres at the northeast corner of East Lake Road and Springdale Road. The applicants proposal calls for up to 184 units such as duplexes and townhomes to be developed.

  After a motion by Commissioner Vivian Thomas to approve the request with conditions died for lack of a second, the commissioners were about to move on when county attorney Patrick Jaugstetter advised them to take some kind of action, saying that there needed to be a successful motion one way or another. Thomas then moved to withdraw the request so it can be brought back later after more discussion on the specifics of the project.

  Another request was to rezone 89.01 acres from RA to R-3 (single-family residential) for a conservation subdivision with 144 single-family homes. The site in question is at 1496 Millers Mill Road, just west of Hwy. 155. County staff indicated that it was in line with the Future Land Use Map’s designation of medium-density residential development, but there were concerns voiced by members of the audience as well as commissioners.

  Thomas moved to table the matter so that the parties can continue to work on improving the plan. Commissioner Johnny Wilson cast the lone dissenting vote, saying he felt there are a number of safety concerns with the project. He expressed those same concerns on the previous project, particularly with what he felt was limited accessibility of the site for emergency vehicles. Wilson spent more than three decades in fire service prior to his tenure on the board.

  One rezoning request was approved unanimously, and that was a change from RA to C-3 (highway commercial) for a 3.6-acre tract at 137 Jackson Lake Road, just east of its intersection with Hwy. 81. The applicant has proposed a self-service storage and outside storage facility at the site.

  The request was recommended for denial by the county’s Zoning Advisory Board in November of 2018, but county staff indicated that the Future Land Use Map was amended since then to increase the planned commercial node in that area, changing the land use designation of the property in question to commercial. The motion to approve the rezoning included the stipulation that the site only be used for a storage facility, along with various easement and buffer requirements.

  In other business, board chair June Wood took time during the meeting’s regular commissioner comment period to talk about what she called “misinformation” regarding a proposed inland port in the area. Its potential location in Henry County has been cited by fellow commissioners as a reason to cease the pursuit of a new interchange on I-75, saying it would help increase truck and tractor-trailer congestion.

  Wood said that she thought the issue had been misconstrued beginning about seven months ago when she sent out a newsletter referring to a conceptual idea to address safety concerns and truck traffic over the next 20 to 30 years. She stressed that it was a concept and not a plan.

    Citing a September 30 letter from Stacy B. Watson, director of economic and industrial development with the Georgia Ports Authority, Wood pointed out that three sites in northern and central Georgia have plans for inland ports, none of which are near Henry County.

  “There are no other plans for additional inland ports in Henry County or any other area in the state,” Watson’s letter stated. “The locations are clearly identified.”

   Wood expressed her regret that the information shared last March had been misrepresented and “created unnecessary emotions and concerns,” while reaffirming her commitment to finding traffic solutions locally.

   “I will continue to advocate for solutions to our traffic problems, including completing the new proposed I-75 Bethlehem interchange,” she said. “We must do everything conceivable to keep our citizens safe while improving the flow of traffic in our most congested areas, such as Highway 155.

  “Again, there is no inland port coming to Henry County.”