Attn: Habersham County Planning & Re-Zoning Committee To Whom It May Concern, My name is Clay Dale; I live in Jefferson, GA and am the owner of Dale Recycling & Used Auto Parts in Hudson, NC which opened in November 2011. Before that I owned Daleco Inc., a grading and land clearing business in Jefferson, GA from 1997 to 2011. Through that business I dealt with environmental and erosion control practices daily. Due to my experience I have an appreciation for the protection of our environment. The proposed use for the property on Mt. Zion Road would be for scrap metal recycling. All non-ferrous metals would be kept under shelter or in metal containers. Ferrous metals would be on concrete at all times and would be hauled off the yard on a daily basis on operating business days. This type of business would generate six to 10 full time jobs and up to three part time jobs. The benefits to the community would be obvious and immediate as it will create a convenient place for the local people to haul scrap metal and get paid for it. We will also work with the local fire departments and law enforcement to use our facility for training purposes (ex: using junk cars for extraction exercises in fireman training). I think we could be an asset to the community & to Habersham County. Thank you for your consideration on this matter. Sincerely, Clay Dale HABERSHAM COUNTY Planning Department 6257 State Hwy 115, Ste 1, Clarkesville, GA 30523 706-839-0140 Fax: 706-754-1761 www.habershamga.com HABERSHAM COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION Staff Report APPLICATION NUMBER: CU-13-01 Add a use to the previous allowed use approved by the Board in 1993 while considering Z-93-28. REQUESTED ACTION: PETITIONER: Clay Dale 3730 Jackson Tr Jefferson, GA. 30549 EXISTING USE: PROPERTY OWNER: Joe Wilbanks 1030 Wind Dance Ct Demorest, GA. 30535 Vacant PROPOSED USE: Scrap Metal Recycling LOCATION: 1124 Mt Zion Rd Alto, GA PARCEL SIZE: 9.7 +/- acres MAP#: 28 PARCEL#: 088 LAND USE DISTRICT: Current Zoning District 2029 Future Land Use Designation Parcel HI 365 CORRIDOR North LI 365 CORRIDOR South HI LI DEVELOPING RESIDENTIAL East HI MI LI DEVELOPING RESIDENTIAL West HI LI DEVELOPING RESIDENTIAL MEETING DATES: Planning Commission: JUNE 4, 2013 Board of Commissioners: JUNE 17, 2013 PLANNING ANALYSIS: 1. There are extraordinary and exceptional conditions pertaining to the particular piece of property in question because of its size, shape or topography that are not applicable to other land or structures in the same district; None. 2. A literal interpretation of the provisions of these regulations would create an unnecessary hardship and would deprive the applicant of rights commonly enjoyed by other property owners within the district in which the property is located; Applicant seeking relieve from a previous condition placed on the property by the Board of Commissioners. 3. Granting the variance requested will not confer upon the property of the applicant any special privileges that are denied to other properties of the district in which the applicant’s property is located; Property has been used for commercial operations in the past and applicant wishes to continue that pattern. Surrounding properties are residential or vacant. 4. Relief, if granted, will be in harmony with the purpose and intent of this Resolution and will not be injurious to the neighborhood or general welfare in such a manner as will interfere with or discourage the appropriate development and use of adjacent land and buildings or unreasonably affect their value; The property is HI which is a heavy industrial/commercial mapping. This use is not specifically listed as a permitted use but a similar use is listed as a conditional use in HI. The impact this approval would have on future development of this area is hard to determine. It could have a negative impact on residential development but no impact on most commercial development. 5. The special circumstances are not the result of the actions of the applicant; The new owner had no part in previous actions taken by the Board which limits the use of the property. 6. The variance requested is the minimum variance that will make possible the legal use of the land, building, or structure; Yes. The applicant seeks the minimum change to the existing restrictions. 7. The variance is not a request to permit a use of land, building or structure which are not permitted by right in the district involved. The use requested is not allowed by right in HI. When approaching this type of application, the planning department is limited in their recommendation by Article IV, Section 406 which states, “ Unless otherwise stated, any use not specifically permitted in a land use intensity district as provided in this resolution shall be prohibited in that district.” We make our recommendation on the true or best interpretation of the resolution as published. While there are some similar businesses mentioned in Article VIII, they are not similar enough to be inclusive of the recycling operation requested in this application. Staff recommendation of denial to the Planning Commission carries with it the knowledge that the planning commission is not constrained by the prohibition of Section 406. . . Approve as Submitted X Denial Approval with Conditions Table HABERSHAM COUNTY Planning Department 6257 State Hwy 115, Ste 1, Clarkesville, GA 30523 706-754-1740 Fax: 706-754-1761 www.habershamga.com MINUTES HABERSHAM COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION Public Hearing Tuesday, June 4, 2013 6:00 PM The Habersham County Planning Commission held a public hearing on Tuesday, June 4, 2013 within the Habersham County Courthouse located at 555 Monroe Street in Clarkesville, Georgia. Planning Commission Members Present: Chairman Eddie Slay, Christopher Dini, David Ken Kirby, Gerald Dunham, Dee Higgins, and Victor Anderson. Also present: Tom Braswell, Planning Director. Jason Smith was not in attendance due to military service. Chairman Slay called the meeting to order at 6:02 PM. Invocation offered by Victor Anderson. Minutes of May meeting were not available due to a lack of quorum to call the meeting in to order. The agenda was approved without amendments. NEW BUSINESS: CU-13-01: Applicant is seeking approval for adding a use to the property located at 1224 Mt Zion Road. The planning director presented the staff analysis of this application. He explained the reason for the application and how a previous action by the Board in 1993 had limited this HI property to one specific use. He answered several questions from various members of the planning commission. Several members discussed modifying the application to remove the restrictions on the HI which were placed on the property as recorded in Z-93-28. The Planning Director explained that this was an option but the application would have to be modified and advertised for at least fifteen days before they could consider the action. The chairman called for public comment. The property owner, Joe Wilbanks, spoke in favor of the application and asked questions related to modifying the application. After some discussion of the delay which would occur for advertising and the assurance that he could file another application for that action at any time, he asked that the application before them be approved. The applicant, Clay Dale, spoke in favor of the application and answered specific questions from the planning commission regarding hours of operation, noise, lighting, and traffic. Having no further questions and with no further public comments, the chairman asked for the members’ recommendation. Victor Anderson moved to recommend approval of the application. The motion was seconded by Dee Higgins. Vote was unanimous to recommend approval to the Board. Building Permit Fees: The Board of Commissioners had requested that the planning commission review the current permit fees and make a recommendation of any adjustments deemed necessary. This item was on the May agenda but the meeting was not held due to lack of a quorum. The Building Department director, Tom Braswell, made a short presentation explaining how permit fees were calculated and the purpose of permit fees. A lengthy discussion followed with the members comparing fees of several different counties to the county’s current fee schedule. Chairman Slay spoke on this issue drawing from his experience in building and development permitting across the state. Other members commented and asked questions of the chairman. Having discussed the matter in length, the chairman called for a recommendation. Gerald Dunham moved to leave the residential fees as currently adopted. Chris Dini seconded. Vote was unanimous to recommend no changes to the Board. Dee Higgins moved to leave the commercial fees as currently adopted. Gerald Dunham seconded. Vote was unanimous to recommend no changes to the Board. Ken Kirby made a motion to recommend to the Board that the current exemption from permitting for accessory buildings be modified. He would like to see the 200 square foot exemption be increased to a yet to be determined size up to but not to exceed 1000 square feet. This would be for accessory structures with no new utilities. Gerald Dunham seconded the motion. Vote was unanimous to recommend this action to the Board. The Planning director pointed out that a text amendment would be required to change the square footage and that application could be ready for their July meeting if the Board concurred. OLD BUSINESS: None REPORTS TO COMMISSION: None ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS: None PUBLIC COMMENT: None ADJOURNMENT With no further business for discussion and no reports to the commission, the Chairman called for a motion to adjourn. Ken Kirby made a motion to adjourn which was seconded by Victor Anderson. The meeting was adjourned at 7:33 PM. As approved by the Habersham County Planning Commission Executive Secretary Date