County approves widening of Old Northcutt Road
Featured News, Featured Stories November 2, 2021
ELLIJAY, Ga. – Approved for a wedding and events venue in the past, Old Northcutt Road is still seeing more construction in the area and a need for widening to support the traffic on the road.
In a special called meeting, the Gilmer County Board of Commissioners addressed the issue as Planning and Zoning Director Karen Henson said the county approached representatives of Carlota, LLC. to discuss widening the road “because of the project that they are putting in.”
Estimates from Jim Smith, Director of Public Works, indicate that the road widening could cost about $18,000. This only includes a little over 500 feet of road, but the county is looking to have this done by the time colder weather prevents completion of the project.
This “sum certain,” as County Attorney David Clark called it, is the agreed payment and now the approved amount for Chairman Charlie Paris to sign. However, if estimates come back higher than this, the county will have to revisit the project in a later meeting.
Some discussion came as to whether the county would be performing the work or if a contractor would be called in to widen the road. Currently, the county is in the middle of paving, and Smith said that the county could supervise the work of a contractor. Both Post Commissioners Hubert Parker and Karleen Ferguson agreed saying that the county road department is on a schedule and did not want to give priority to this road over others on the list that have waited.
However, neighbors and citizens have been requesting help with Old Northcutt Road for a while and are hoping to receive relief for the issue. Negotiating with the LLC, the county is now looking to have them pay for the project, with the county as a “middle-man” to supervise since it is a public road.
With the contract assuming that both prep work and paving would be handled by the contractor that the LLC chooses, the county will not have to pull any department resources or equipment to the location. Carlota, LLC. is putting in the wedding and events venue on the opposite side of Highway 515 as White Path Distillery, another wedding and events venue established on Old Northcutt Road that extends across 515.
The county is looking closer and zoning requests in the future as Smith expressed his desire to have Public Works voice opinions to both the Planning and Zoning Director and Board about the road conditions and infrastructure on conditional use permits.
Flint Mountain Holding Development before the Commissioners this week
News July 6, 2020
ELLIJAY, Ga. – Many citizens are still discussing the topics around the Flint Mountain Holdings, LLC. development project on Highway 282 this week as some voice concerns on social media or with their elected commissioners.
This week sees a small part of the development before the commissioners, our current understanding is the commercial re-zoning on this month’s agenda revolves around lake usage, such as boat storage or equipment. It is not a part of the 305 lot total development.
The “Whole Development Site Plan” for High River was filed with Gilmer County Planning and Zoning.
While recent months have seen the Commissioners not accept comments in meetings on Planning and Zoning, citizens can still phone their Chairman and message their Commissioners with concerns or questions. The public comments in the meetings have been skipped in recent months as legal counsel suggested the commissioners should not be holding a second planning and zoning hearing in the commissioner meetings. Indeed, some zoning issues have become equivalent to this in the past.
Despite this, citizens are taking to social media saying that they have just recently learned of the development and are wanting to voice their opinions as citizens of the county to their officials. Others are already voicing opinions on both sides, comments on FYN’s article “Flint Mountain Holdings files for 305 lot subdivision” have seen some citizens indicating they are fine with the additional large subdivision saying, “Development is a fact of life! Just hope this development will follow all guidelines & not harm our beautiful Coosawattee river!”
Others on social media are calling the development a large step away from Gilmer’s style and appeal as a smaller mountain town.
Indeed one popular post shared by several people states,
“Other projects under way in Gilmer County include Watersong Phases 1, 2 and 3 – located on Gates Chapel Road on the western side of Gilmer County, with 43 lots; and The Hammock with 88 lots sized 1 acre or larger located off Roundtop Road in the southern portion of the county.
Located in the north central portion of Georgia, Gilmer County is known for its mountains and annual Apple Festival. More than 55,000 acres of the county lie in national forest. The county’s population grew from 13,368 in 1990 to 30,674 as of 2017, and its population is projected to exceed 32,000 by the year 2040, according to the U.S. Census.”
Indeed, when questioned about current and previously approved multi-lot developments in the last 12 months, Karen Henson, Planning and Zoning Director for Gilmer County said in an email::
There are 9 multi-lot developments that currently have plans filed in Gilmer County;
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Cherry Lake Phase 30 – 16 lots – 1 acre or less – R-2(Residential High Density) – paved roads – off Joanne Sisson Road – Northern section of Gilmer
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Frosty Mountain – 17 lots – 3+ acre tracts – A-1(Agricultural) – off Old Bucktown Road – gravel roads – Eastern section of Gilmer
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Walker Reserve – 10 lots – 5+ acre tracts – A-1(Agricultural) – off 52 West – gravel road – near Murray County Line
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Red Oak Estates (fka The Falls) – 22 lots – 1+ acres – R-2(Residential High Density) – paved roads – off Roberts Ridge Road – Western section of Gilmer
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Highland Pointe – 19 lots – 1+ acre tracts – R-2(Residential High Density) – paved road – off Eller Road & Stone Road – East section of Gilmer
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The Hammock – 88 lots – 1 acre or less – R-2(Residential High Density) – paved roads – off Roundtop Road – Southern section of Gilmer
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Oakhill Farms – 6 lots – 1.5+ acre tracts – (Residential High Density) – paved road – off Mulkey Road – Eastern section of Gilmer
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Watersong Phases 1,2&3 – 43 lots – 1.5+ acre tracts – A-1(Agricultural) – Greenspace Development – gravel roads – off Gates Chapel Road – Western section of Gilmer
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High River – Phases 1-4 – 123 lots – 3+ acre tracts – R-2(Residential High Density) – gravel roads – off Crossroads Church Road – Western section of Gilmer – More phases to come – total of 305 lots at completion
All 9 of the above have been approved by the Gilmer County Planning Commission within the last 12 months according to Henson. This is only the unincorporated parts of the county as the cities have their own zoning ordinances.
Further, Henson did confirm with FYN that the development will be requiring the previously reported DRI study, mentioned in our previous article, as the total project will collectively surpass the 125 lot minimum.
Flint Mountain Holdings re-zoning for commercial use will be before the Board of Commissioners this week during their work session on Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. and Thursday during their regular meeting at 6:00 p.m.
Work Session:
Regular Meeting:
Flint Mountain Holdings files for 305 lot subdivision
News July 1, 2020
UPDATE: One big subdivision
According to Gilmer County Planning and Zoning Director Karen Henson, plans indicate that the project will not be divided but will be one large subdivision.
That said, the current phase of the project calls for 123 lots.
Henson did affirm that anything over 125 lots, regardless of lot size, would require a DRI. According to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs website, DRIs (Developments of Regional Impact) “are large-scale developments that are likely to have regional effects beyond the local government jurisdiction in which they are located. The Georgia Planning Act of 1989 authorized the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) to establish procedures for review of these large-scale projects. These procedures are designed to improve communication between affected governments and to provide a means of revealing and assessing potential impacts of large-scale developments before conflicts relating to them arise. At the same time, local government autonomy is preserved since the host government maintains the authority to make the final decision on whether a proposed development will or will not go forward.”
Original Post – July 1, 2020
ELLIJAY, Ga. – According to the Gilmer County Office of Planning and Zonning, a four phase project is underway in Gilmer county neighboring the Coosawattee River to open 305 lots off of Highway 282.
The project is called High River, and is being undertaken by Flint Mountain Holdings, LLC., a company based in Blue Ridge according to documents filed with Planning and Zoning. The company is already amidst approvals for Phase 4 of the plans and is selling lots within the project.
The “Whole Development Site Plan” for High River was filed with Gilmer County Planning and Zoning.
Though all under the project name “High River,” phases of the project each have their own names in the documents including “The Plantation,” “Eagle Watch,” and “Mountaintown Crossing.” It is unclear at this time if the project will be one large community or several different subdivisions. However, the Flood Study provided for phase 2 of the project does reference itself as the flood study for phase 2 subdivision, the study was performed as the project comes close to the Coosawattee River and an “unnamed tributary.” Also on the study is the notation “Phase 2 Eagle Watch.”
If this sounds familiar to some, that is because a similar project in the same area was filed in 2011 by Flint Timber L.P. Opposed publicly by some, that project ultimately removed its application “due to the unfavorable economic conditions” according to FYN’s article “Flint Timber pulls application for Mountaintown Creek Mega-development” at the time.
Today’s project comes under Flint Mountain Holdings, LLC. and its authorized agent, signed in the applications, Bill Holt. The project already has filed a draft for declaration of covenants, conditions, restrictions, and easements with the High River project.
According to Gilmer County Planning and Zoning Director Karen Henson, the project is currently looking at 123 lots of 3, or more, acre tracts. Yet, she did say more phases are to come and the total project should reach 305 lots by completion. According to reports the project could reach over 1,200 acres.
FYN is currently seeking more information on the project, stay with us as we offer new details and make sure to click on the documents below for more information:
Phase 1:
Final Application and Review Part 1
Preliminary Application & Review
Underground Utility Verification
Phase 2:
Preliminary & Final Application – Review & Utility
Phase 3:
Underground Utility Verification
Phase 4: