The new owners at 1490 Whit Davis Road (the home set far back from the road adjacent to Whit Davis Elementary) have put forth an application to rezone the property. Currently, it is zoned RS-25. It is a 10 acre property. When it went on the market, I had concerns about what a new owner might want to do with it, but was assured by a family member of the seller that the new family buying it weren't looking for any changes and planned to keep it as a one-home residential space.
They are now requesting a rezone to AR (agricultural-residential)..."in order to accommodate small events and/or weddings on the site as a Rural Event Facility" as quoted from the pre-application conference request form. On first thought, that didn't really concern me. It seemed like a few extra cars leaving the property on occasion wouldn't really be a problem. Having thought it through further, I think we should consider the other potential issues that may arise. We've all seen the huge number of complaints about the events that go on at the Athens Fairgrounds. The close-by neighbors say their homes shake. I can literally hear those events in my bedroom at Great Oak Drive and the fairgrounds are several miles away. I can't imagine how horrible it is for the people much closer than we are. Their complaints seem to have fallen on deaf ears for several years now and it is just something they have to tolerate. I'm not sure we all want to "tolerate" that kind of situation less than 100 yards from our homes.
If you have any concerns or comments, please be sure to contact the ACC Planning Commission and our district's commissioner, Patrick Davenport. The rezone is listed on the final agenda for the May 7, 2026 Planning Commission meeting.
Addition from Bonnie Cramond: Patrick Davenport is aware of our concerns and said that he doesn’t think the request for rezoning will be approved. However, it wouldn’t hurt for those of you who are concerned to write to Patrick at patrick.davenport@accgov.com and/or attend the meeting on May 7, 2026, 6:00 - 9:00 PM, 120 West Dougherty Street. You can find information about the request for rezoning at: https://accgov.com/Calendar.aspx?EID=30154&month=5&year=2026&day=7&calType=0
