The Greene County Board of Commissioners saw a large audience attend its Jan. 12 meeting as citizens anticipated an answer on a significant development proposal near their homes.
The board ultimately sided with public opinion and denied a preliminary plat request for Harbor Pointe Townhomes. Macallan Capital LLC’s proposed development would have covered 15.17 acres, featuring 79 townhome units adjacent to the Harbor Club community.
The BOC previously tabled the development request during its December meeting after more than an hour of public comment.
Several Greene County residents spoke to the board at the most recent meeting, expressing concerns about the development, which they say would cause unsafe road conditions and high-density traffic.
According to the preliminary plat, Harbor Pointe was mapped on Loch Lomond Drive, half a mile away from Armour Road. Doug Peters, a resident adjacent to Harbor Club and Armour Road, said the small path is more of a “roller coaster track.”
“It was never, ever intended to be an ingress and egress from a huge development like Harbor Club,” Peters said.
Peters explained that his driveway is on a “sharp curve,” and trucks often use the space as a turnaround. He therefore believes that increased traffic from the development could result in more dangerous road conditions.
“For cars to back up and try to turn around there with other cars coming around the curve, you’re going to have deaths and injuries there,” Peters said. “So, the more people that you step on the other side of that gate to come through, it’s not really what’s best for Harbor Club; [denying the development] is what should be done in concern for the safety of Greene County citizens.”
Harbor Club resident Tom Alexander, a retired lawyer, said he spent 41 years “defending property owners, farms, and all impersonal entry defense.” He addressed the commissioners about potential legal concerns that could arise with approving the development, adding that Lake Oconee is already experiencing “tremendous growth.”
“This is the opportunity to draw a line; we’re already going to have more traffic than it can hold without these 79 condos and 150 extra cars,” Alexander said. “You cannot turn this county over to absentee corporations.”
Alexander said Morgan County was a good example of such issues, as “they’ve got corporations buying homes and having all these short-term rentals.”
“You’ve got all these different things, and it is going to be harder and harder to sit on planning and zoning,” Alexander said. “You’ve got to stand up for the citizens of this state, and you cannot run in fear that somebody is going to sue you. I promise you, the threat of a lawsuit over an accident or death is a whole lot more certain.”
Toward the end of the discussion, Jay Roden of Macallan Capital LLC spoke to the commissioners on why he thought they should approve the preliminary plat. He stated the company “satisfied all legal requirements” for the project, and that the land has been zoned for future development for several years.
“What our attorneys are telling us is there’s no legal basis for denying this preliminary plat, and we’ve complied with every legal requirement,” Roden said. “The zoning here has been in place for decades, and it’s in the public record with the same property rights that every other homeowner has. Every homeowner who bought in Harbor Club had notice of these entitlements.”
Tuesday evening’s meeting consisted of an hour and a half of public comment before the commissioners announced their final decision. Chairman Gary Usry made a motion to approve the preliminary plat, which died for lack of a second.
Usry then made the motion to deny the Harbor Pointe development, which passed unanimously. The meeting erupted in applause as the motion passed.