Commissioners deny request to rezone land
Catoosa County commissioners on Tuesday, Sept. 17, denied a rezoning request from a farm owner after neighbors voiced their opposition.
Meanwhile, the county’s Planning and Zoning Commission, which heard the rezoning request in late August, has recommended it not be granted.
Louis C. Pierce, whose family has owned a farm on Fowler Road near Hoover Road and Battlefield Parkway for decades, recently applied to rezone the property from residential (R-1) to commercial (C-1) in the hopes of selling the property for commercial use and purchasing another farm elsewhere.
“My husband’s family has been on this farm for more than 100 years,” said Donna Pierce, who spoke on her husband’s behalf. “We want people to understand where we’re coming from. … We’re already surrounded by subdivisions, and development is coming. We’re just trying to do the best we can.”
Pierce explained that she and her husband currently use the land as a working farm with some livestock, and enough produce from The Catoosa County Board of Commissioners will hold a regular meeting Tuesday, Oct. 1,at 9 a.m. gardening to feed their family, but that they want to make farming their life and future.
In order to do that though, she says they will have to rezone and sell their existing property in order to purchase a farm somewhere else to support their dream.
“The plan was to stay where we’re at forever, but now because of development, we can’t,” Pierce said. “We’ve already talked to Target and some chain restaurants. … We’ve got to sell this farm to buy a new one.”
Pierce’s request was met with a lot of objection, as more than 20 people from the Brooms Country Estates subdivision stood behind Susan Gibson who spoke for them.
“We have no personal vendetta against Mr. Pierce,” Gibson said. “We just have multiple concerns, as we’ve seen no plan of the development.”
Gibson pointed out a decrease in property values for homeowners, as well as issues with traffic, safety, crime rates, and air quality as the main concerns expressed by the residents of the area.
A petition was also turned in to the commission.
The Board of Commissioners, minus chairman Keith Greene and commissioner Jeff Long, followed the recommendation of the county’s Planning and Zoning Commission and unanimously denied the request with its threeman quorum with commissioner Dewayne Hill acting as chairman.
The Pierce family cannot submit another request for one year.
Commissioner Hill said he appreciated the audience’s input on the matter.
“I want to thank all of you for coming,” Hill said. “It’s not about us. It’s about all of you.”
In an unrelated matter, towards the end of the meeting when commissioners asked for public comments, local resident Bill Clark addressed spoke about recently tabled Hutcheson bailout.
“The commission should wash its hands with Hutcheson,” Clark said. “It’s sinking and there is nothing you, or I, or anybody else can do about it.”
Clark’s opinion was met by a unanimous
round of applause.
The appointment of Jeff Long as commission representative at the upcoming ACCG Legislative Leadership Conference.
The personnel policy amendment regarding part-time employees.
The renewal of property and general liability insurance.
The title release of a 2011 Dodge Charger to the Lookout Mountain Drug Task Force, so that the agency can trade the vehicle in on a different vehicle.
Intersection improvements at Debbie Lane and Lee Drive in the Rolling Hills subdivision.