Commission blocks new housing development off Lexington Road

At their meeting last Tuesday, the Athens-Clarke County Commission blocked a proposed housing project off Lexington Road by allowing the developer to withdraw their request under the strong threat of a rejection.

They also selected a site for the proposed eastside library, approved construction of the Firefly Trail to Winterville and denied a cost-of-living raise for employees of the Neighborhood Leaders program run by Family Connection-Communities in Schools of Athens.

Table of Contents

Housing blocked
Eastside library site chosen
Firefly Trail segment approved

Housing blocked

When local landscape architect Ken Beall asked the ACC Commission to approve a rezone on behalf of Kittle Construction Services, everything seemed cleared for approval. He had already secured unanimous approval from the ACC Planning Commission for a new neighborhood at 215 Shadybrook Drive consisting of 60 cottages costing at least $500,000 each. The ACC Hearings Board approved the plan unanimously and ACC Planning Staff also supported the plan. 

Some residents of Shadybrook Drive even attended the planning commission meeting to speak in favor of the project. There weren’t any negative comments from the public at any meeting of mayor and commission or at any planning commission meeting.

Yet, when it came time for the ACC Commission to vote on the project, Commissioner Tiffany Taylor motioned to deny the request without giving a reason.

Beall was shocked.

“There has never in my history been something like what happened on Tuesday evening,” Beall told APN. “Never.”

The ACC Commission is normally very hesitant to deny re-zoning requests because of the consequences that follow when they do. Developers who are flatly rejected like this are not allowed to make another request for that particular plot for an entire year. 

Typically, developers will withdraw their request when it becomes clear they don’t have the votes, so they can avoid this restriction.

But Beall was caught flat-footed. He says that ACC staff were the ones who asked him to apply for a rezoning, which would allow saving some of the old trees on the property.

“The density that we requested is less than is allowed under existing zoning,” Beall said. The problem is that “under [existing zoning], it’s mandatory that you clear the site…There’s no ability to save any trees. We were asked to apply for [a rezone] to be given the latitude not to mass grade the property. That was the primary reason [for the rezoning request].”

He says that Taylor never spoke with him about his proposal. 

“We could have easily addressed any concern, probably within the hour, if given the chance,” Beall said.

After hearing the motion to deny the request, Commissioner Jesse Houle tried to get Taylor to delay the vote instead so that any concerns could be worked out.

“I guess I’m a little puzzled by this,“ Houle said. “I’m wondering if the commissioner representing this district might be interested in a hold for a [legislative] cycle to see if…conditions could be placed on it…or if not, give the applicant the opportunity to offer withdrawal.”

Taylor wasn’t interested.

“[In] working with the residents, this is not what they would like in their backyard,” Taylor said. “They didn’t want it.”

“It’s a peaceful community,” Commissioner Patrick Davenport said in support of Taylor’s motion. “[The residents] don’t want their quality of life to be affected by what possibly could be built.”

Despite not getting agreement on it, Houle motioned to delay the vote anyway, saying “we need housing.”

“You’re absolutely right, we do need housing,” Taylor interjected. “We have residents that live in Athens-Clarke County who cannot [afford] these things that we approve for them to live in…Just approving things is not going to stop us from having a housing crisis.”

Link disagreed, arguing that constructing expensive homes may help reduce the urgency of the housing crisis if it keeps wealthy families from bidding on less expensive properties.

“We’re talking about $500,000 to 600,000 homes, which certainly is out of reach for the vast majority of this community,” Link said. “But for every family that might move into one of those… they’re [less] likely to go looking in our existing neighborhoods, tearing down and flipping homes… I’d love to see a project like this take some of the pressure off our existing in-town neighborhoods that are just getting overrun.”

Link also said she supported the rezone because she wanted to conserve as much of the wooded area of the property as possible.

Just before the vote, Commissioner Ovita Thornton urged Taylor to allow the developer to withdraw their request rather than have it be denied.

Houle’s motion to delay the vote for a month failed 4-6, with Thornton, Hamby, Davenport, Taylor, Wright and Fisher voting no. On Thornton’s advice, Taylor then asked Beall if he would withdraw his request rather than have it be denied, which he agreed to.

Now, Beall will have to start over at the site although he will not have to wait an entire year. He says he will apply for another rezone in October.

UPDATE 12/3/24: Beall resubmitted the application for 215 Shadybrook Drive and it was approved by the commission unanimously.

Eastside library site chosen

The commission selected 1030 Barnett Shoals as the final site for the proposed eastside public library in a unanimous vote at this meeting. This is an undeveloped plot already owned by the ACC government which lies between Carriage Lane and the apartments on Shoal Creek with easy access to the North Oconee River Greenway.

“This site will end up being a wonderful place,” said Commissioner Carol Myers, who chaired the site selection committee. “It abuts to Clarke Gardens and also the entrance to the Greenway…There’s a lot of families that live along that corridor, a lot of students, but a lot of families, as well.”

Some eastside residents would have preferred another site for the library, such as 280 Gaines School Road, which is the current location of the Clarke County School District’s Early Learning Center, or at the old K-Mart at 2301 College Station Road.

According to Myers, these sites ended up not being “logistically or financially appropriate.”

The eastside library is currently scheduled for completion by the end of 2026.

Firefly Trail segment approved

The commission has finally approved the construction of the Firefly Trail to Winterville, which is the last segment of the multi-use path to be constructed in Athens-Clarke County. The trail will eventually stretch 39 miles in length to Union Point, Georgia.

The Firefly Trail connection to Winterville will cost $3.7 million, to be paid for out of TSPLOST 2023.

The trail segment was approved in an unusual 7-3 vote, with Commissioners Patrick Davenport, Allison Wright and Ovita Thornton voting in opposition. Commissioners did not give any reason why they may have objected to this particular contractor, Backbone Infrastructure, LLC. Strangely, Wright originally voted in favor of the contract award before changing her vote.

Typically, these kinds of construction awards are unanimously approved with little or no discussion. What’s different in this case is that the planned route for the trail goes through a small section of the backyards of a few Winterville homeowners. These homeowners have not yet agreed to sell part of their properties for the trail. 

If they ultimately refuse to sell, the local government would force them to sell using eminent domain, which was authorized by commissioners in 2022.

CORRECTION and UPDATE (9/11/24): This article originally stated that these Winterville homeowners have refused to sell parts of their properties for the trail. Tim Bemisderfer, one of these homeowners, told APN that the negotiations are not yet finished. Before he would agree to sell willingly, he says he wants a “fair shake” on the property assessment and for any damage to his property. He also wants an 8-foot privacy fence and money to replant trees and other vegetation.

Davenport, Wright and Thornton are strongly opposed to using the threat of eminent domain to complete projects like the Firefly Trail. In 2022, Wright even compared the possibility that these property owners may lose a sliver of their backyards to the complete destruction of the neighborhood of Linnentown in the 1960s.

“It’s not an easy thing, but you can stand strong,” Wright said, speaking to these Winterville homeowners in 2022. “There were people in Linnentown who stood stronger than others.”

Davenport claimed to support the Firefly Trail in his remarks on Tuesday.

“Not that I’m against the Firefly Trail, because I’m not,” Davenport said. “Y’all know the history. I don’t want to go back over it again.”

In voting no, these three commissioners are indicating that they would rather the Firefly Trail not be built than to be built along the current route, which has been planned for years.

Help APN continue covering local news for the Athens area!
Please consider becoming a member or giving a one-time donation via PayPal.