No truck stops in Farmington please
OK Oconee County residents - I think we have finally found an issue we can all agree on for once. That would be our united opposition to the proposed truck stop in unincorporated area near Farmington.
Come to the Planning Commission meeting Tuesday to let your concerns be known.
The following is a letter I just received from the Citizens for Oconee's Future, they say it more eloquently than I ever could:
Citizens for Oconee's Future
PO Box 13011
Watkinsville, GA 30677
Subject: Proposed rezone for truckstop Branch Road and Hwy. 441.
Following is the text of an e mail from Dr. Anthony Glenn describing the proposal to rezone 14 acres at Hwy 441 and Branch Road for a truck stop/convenience store. The attachments mentioned in Dr. Glenn's e mail are attached to this e mail. Some of you may have difficulty opening the attachments because of filters. If you need to see them and are unable to open them, please let me know and I will try to get them to you another way.
Once again another community is about to be run over by the growth machine that is being promoted by this Board of Commissioners. This is another adverse result of the growth policies of this Board. Those who would like to help the Farmington community should call, write or e mail the BOC on this issue.
Charles Baugh
President
It was great to talk to you this morning Charlie. I appreciate all the
input and your willingness to distribute information regarding this
rezone request to everyone on the Citizens For Oconee's Future email
list. I have a letter to the editor in today's Oconee Enterprise
outlining some of the main concerns that residents of Farmington and the
surrounding area have about this proposed convenience store/truck stop
development. There is also a lead cover article on the rezone request
as well as an editorial from the new editor.
I want to stress that this issue has broader impact than just on the
immediate area of Farmington. It is representative of the challenge
facing Oconee County with regard to maintaining the agricultural zoning
of southern Oconee as outlined by the county's Future Land Use Plan
(http://www.oconeecounty.com/Economic%20Development/PDFs/FutureLandUseMap.pdf).
I've attached two files that hopefully can be sent to your list. The
first is a picture of the proposed plan for the development at the
corner of Branch Road and US441 just north of Heritage Park. This file
should be of sufficient resolution to allow people to appreciate just
how significant in size this proposal is. The second file is a PDF of a
mailer that I sent to everyone with a post office box in Farmington.
This PDF is general in nature but does include a petition that can be
printed, signed, and mailed back to me if people wish to do so.
Lastly, I've pasted below my letter that appears in today's paper.
This is the version that I submitted and is slightly different from the
version edited and printed by the paper.
Again, many thanks for everything.
Cheers,
Tony
********************************************
Anthony E. Glenn, Ph.D.
Toxicology & Mycotoxin Research Unit
Russell Research Center
USDA, ARS
950 College Station Road
Athens, GA 30605
Ph: 706-546-3119
Fax: 706-546-3116
Email: aglenn@saa.ars.usda.gov
Web: http://ars.usda.gov/saa/athens/rbrrc/tmru
>>>>>>>>
A request for rezoning from A-1 to B-2 is posted at the corner of
Branch Road and US441 just north of Heritage Park. The proposed 14.22
acre development consists of a large retail complex (truck
stop/convenience store, 28 gas pumps for passenger vehicles, 6 pumps for
diesel trucks, three retail/office buildings, 190 parking spaces, and
approximately 7 acres of pavement).
Anyone familiar with the community
of Farmington and this area of the county must appreciate the rural
values, qualities, and character that define this agriculturally based
region. Yet, the above proposal will soon be considered by the Planning
Commission (January 17th) and the Oconee County Board of Commissioners
(February 9th). If approved, the commissioners will inappropriately
open the door for retail and commercial development in this rural area
of the county, which has no water or sewer infrastructure.
This proposed development is simply wrong for Oconee County. It is not
economically beneficial or sustainable given the current distribution of
convenient stores along US441 and the truck stops at I-20 in Madison.
The potential for noise, light, air, and water pollution is a
substantial threat to the quality of life for individuals living and
farming in this region. Public and traffic safety will be compromised
because of the inevitable increase in vehicle accidents and other public
disturbances. The charm and intent of Heritage Park will be cheapened
and threatened. Even the uncertainty surrounding the US441 widening
project makes such a development premature and worthy of denial.
The Future Land Use Plan for Oconee has reserved the southern third of
the county for agricultural zoning. The county government must be held
to this plan and not allowed to parcel out land for business development
in southern Oconee when other regions of the county have the necessary
infrastructure and are already appropriately zoned. We encourage
everyone to attend the commission meetings (7:00 p.m., County
Courthouse) to help convince the commissioners that truck stops or any
other extensive retail developments in southern Oconee are not in their
best interest or in the greater interest of this wonderful county.
Come to the Planning Commission meeting Tuesday to let your concerns be known.
The following is a letter I just received from the Citizens for Oconee's Future, they say it more eloquently than I ever could:
Citizens for Oconee's Future
PO Box 13011
Watkinsville, GA 30677
Subject: Proposed rezone for truckstop Branch Road and Hwy. 441.
Following is the text of an e mail from Dr. Anthony Glenn describing the proposal to rezone 14 acres at Hwy 441 and Branch Road for a truck stop/convenience store. The attachments mentioned in Dr. Glenn's e mail are attached to this e mail. Some of you may have difficulty opening the attachments because of filters. If you need to see them and are unable to open them, please let me know and I will try to get them to you another way.
Once again another community is about to be run over by the growth machine that is being promoted by this Board of Commissioners. This is another adverse result of the growth policies of this Board. Those who would like to help the Farmington community should call, write or e mail the BOC on this issue.
Charles Baugh
President
It was great to talk to you this morning Charlie. I appreciate all the
input and your willingness to distribute information regarding this
rezone request to everyone on the Citizens For Oconee's Future email
list. I have a letter to the editor in today's Oconee Enterprise
outlining some of the main concerns that residents of Farmington and the
surrounding area have about this proposed convenience store/truck stop
development. There is also a lead cover article on the rezone request
as well as an editorial from the new editor.
I want to stress that this issue has broader impact than just on the
immediate area of Farmington. It is representative of the challenge
facing Oconee County with regard to maintaining the agricultural zoning
of southern Oconee as outlined by the county's Future Land Use Plan
(http://www.oconeecounty.com/Economic%20Development/PDFs/FutureLandUseMap.pdf).
I've attached two files that hopefully can be sent to your list. The
first is a picture of the proposed plan for the development at the
corner of Branch Road and US441 just north of Heritage Park. This file
should be of sufficient resolution to allow people to appreciate just
how significant in size this proposal is. The second file is a PDF of a
mailer that I sent to everyone with a post office box in Farmington.
This PDF is general in nature but does include a petition that can be
printed, signed, and mailed back to me if people wish to do so.
Lastly, I've pasted below my letter that appears in today's paper.
This is the version that I submitted and is slightly different from the
version edited and printed by the paper.
Again, many thanks for everything.
Cheers,
Tony
********************************************
Anthony E. Glenn, Ph.D.
Toxicology & Mycotoxin Research Unit
Russell Research Center
USDA, ARS
950 College Station Road
Athens, GA 30605
Ph: 706-546-3119
Fax: 706-546-3116
Email: aglenn@saa.ars.usda.gov
Web: http://ars.usda.gov/saa/athens/rbrrc/tmru
>>>>>>>>
A request for rezoning from A-1 to B-2 is posted at the corner of
Branch Road and US441 just north of Heritage Park. The proposed 14.22
acre development consists of a large retail complex (truck
stop/convenience store, 28 gas pumps for passenger vehicles, 6 pumps for
diesel trucks, three retail/office buildings, 190 parking spaces, and
approximately 7 acres of pavement).
Anyone familiar with the community
of Farmington and this area of the county must appreciate the rural
values, qualities, and character that define this agriculturally based
region. Yet, the above proposal will soon be considered by the Planning
Commission (January 17th) and the Oconee County Board of Commissioners
(February 9th). If approved, the commissioners will inappropriately
open the door for retail and commercial development in this rural area
of the county, which has no water or sewer infrastructure.
This proposed development is simply wrong for Oconee County. It is not
economically beneficial or sustainable given the current distribution of
convenient stores along US441 and the truck stops at I-20 in Madison.
The potential for noise, light, air, and water pollution is a
substantial threat to the quality of life for individuals living and
farming in this region. Public and traffic safety will be compromised
because of the inevitable increase in vehicle accidents and other public
disturbances. The charm and intent of Heritage Park will be cheapened
and threatened. Even the uncertainty surrounding the US441 widening
project makes such a development premature and worthy of denial.
The Future Land Use Plan for Oconee has reserved the southern third of
the county for agricultural zoning. The county government must be held
to this plan and not allowed to parcel out land for business development
in southern Oconee when other regions of the county have the necessary
infrastructure and are already appropriately zoned. We encourage
everyone to attend the commission meetings (7:00 p.m., County
Courthouse) to help convince the commissioners that truck stops or any
other extensive retail developments in southern Oconee are not in their
best interest or in the greater interest of this wonderful county.
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