Members of the Whitfield County Board of Commissioners will meet Monday at 6 p.m. in the meeting room of the county courthouse. The meeting will be livestreamed on the county’s Facebook and YouTube pages.
The commissioners are set to vote on an amendment to the Dalton-Varnell-Whitfield County unified zoning ordinance that would limit commercial poultry and swine operations in the cities of Dalton and Varnell. Members of the Dalton-Varnell-Whitfield County Planning Commission unanimously recommended adopting the amendment at their December meeting.
The proposed amendment says commercial poultry and swine farming shall be allowed within the city limits of Dalton and Varnell if the city councils there grant a special use permit. It requires a minimum of 10 acres for such an operation.
The proposed amendment also says “increased building setbacks, buffers and other restrictions may result from the special use review. Existing conforming commercial poultry farming buildings may be replaced without the special use review as long as the replacement buildings follow all applicable building, fire and municipal codes as required.”
The proposed amendment would not ban commercial poultry and swine operations in Dalton and Varnell but would add another layer of scrutiny and review.
The county commissioners are also expected to vote on whether to amend the zoning ordinance to create an urban planned unit development (UPUD) zoning. Planned unit development allows for a mix of land uses within a single subdivision or development. The zoning ordinance currently allows PUDs of at least 15 acres. The proposed amendment has no minimum size but has a maximum size of eight acres.
Before a PUD can be created the plan would have to be reviewed by planning staff, the planning commission would have to vote on whether to recommend it and the county commissioners or city council would have to approve it.
The county commissioners are also scheduled to vote on:
• A request by Eileen M. Kelly and Jean M. Finney to rezone from low-density, single-family residential and rural residential to general agricultural 77.55 acres at 3529 Hurricane Road in Rocky Face. They wish to restore electrical service to two cottages on the property.
• A request by Shazman Ali to rezone from low-density, single-family residential to rural residential 10.67 acres on Antioch Road in Dalton. Ali wishes to build single-family homes and duplexes on the property.
• A request by Jerry and Barbara Hawkins to rezone from rural residential to general commercial 10 acres at 173 Boone Way in Dalton.
• A request by Jamie White to rezone from general commercial to general commercial and rural residential 0.41 acres at Brylow Drive in Dalton. White wishes to create a tract of land to build a duplex.
• A request by Gabriel Paniagua Villafuerte to rezone from low-density, single-family residential to general agricultural 6.59 acres at 256 Lakewood Drive N.E. in Dalton to add an additional dwelling to the property.
• A request by Megan Elliott to rezone from low-density, single-family residential to general agricultural 50.84 acres at 2011 Old Whaley Road in Dalton to use the property as a farm.
• A request by Jose Enriquez Gomez to rezone from rural residential to general commercial 0.33 acres at 2071 Freeport Road in Dalton to use for car sales.
• A request by Vernon Gordon to rezone from suburban agricultural to rural residential 17.34 acres at 1271 Dawnville Road in Dalton to have an additional dwelling on the property.
• A request by Chris Tallent Jr. to rezone from high-density, single-family residential to general commercial 1.18 acres at 2215 Cleveland Highway in Dalton for a landscaping supply business.
• A request by Brigido Meza Flores for a special use permit in a general agricultural district for 22.31 acres at 148 Livingston Way in Dalton for a pavilion to host family events such as birthday parties and wedding receptions.