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PAGE 8A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. MAY 13. 2021
FRIDAY
MAY
LOCAL MUSICIANS
FREE ADMISION
DONATIONS ACCEPTED
FOOD BY OFF ROAD BBQ
BEER & WINE AVAILABLE
BRING YOUR OWN CHAIRS
METAL ROOFING
Calling all
Community Cat Supporters!
Please email us at
bepawswecarel 9@gmail.com
if interested
^ Also looking for a donations of a Tru-catch trap or drop trap
for some of our smarter than the average feral cats'.
Monetary Donations to support the
TRAP-NEUTER-RETURN can be made to our website:
https://www.be-pawswecareinc.com/or can be mailed to
Be-Paws We Care, Inc., 361 Oaklands Dr, Talking Rock GA 30175
Please specify for the PCCP Program in comments
THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!
New charter for City of Jasper
The governor’s signature Thursday made the new charter
for the City of Jasper official. The update has been a project
for some time for the town, which last updated their charter
in 1979.
City Manager Brandon Douglas said the new charter clar
ifies the rolls and responsibilities in city governance and
brings all language into compliance with state code. Douglas
said as you might imagine, something that hasn’t been up
dated in 40 years needed a good bit of the language brought
into line with the state standards.
“This endeavor led by the elected body in concert with our
city attorney was needed to ensure that any discrepancies
from other iterations were cleared up and to bring about com
pliance and consistency with how we operate as an organi
zation,” Douglas explained in an e-mail.
Douglas said the average citizen will not notice any dif
ference in the operations of city hall on a day-to-day basis
under the new charter. A copy of the charter will be posted at
jasper-ga.us.
Above at the signing, (1-r) City Manager Brandon Dou
glas, council members Jim Looney, Sonny Proctor, State Rep.
Rick Jasperse, Governor Brian Kemp, Mayor Steve
Lawrence, council members Anne Sneve, John Foust, Kirk
Raffield.
Commercial Building For Sale
Planning commission defers vote on rezoning
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff Writer
areinhardt@piekensprogress.com
kind of SR zoning,” Kilgore
said. “While the intent
clearly states that it’s to be
split into that 88 acre and
33.5 acre, it could be split off
into 1 acre tracts down the
road.”
Kilgore said while there
are some parcels in the area
zoned as SR, “they do not
agree with the comprehen
sive plan.”
When property zoning
was implemented in the
county in 2005, property
owners were able to choose
their own zoning. This is why
in some areas zonings do not
line up with the comprehen
sive plan developed later.
RLF Talking Rock LLC
owns several large tracts of
property in Pickens County,
including a 278-acre tract
that was recently denied re
zoning from Agricultural to
Rural Residential where the
applicant wished to build a
subdivision. See related story
on Page 10A.
After Kilgore said he
would recommend denying
the request, the applicant in
attendance asked if the vote
could be delayed until a fu
ture meeting.
“I didn’t realize we were
going to be recommended for
denial, so I would just like to
relay this to my counterparts
before we move forward,”
Matthews said.
No members of the public
were in attendance to speak
for or against the request.
In other news, the com
mission also recommended
approval of rezoning of two
parcels owned by Todd and
Kristi Stewart at 8440 High-
At their Monday, May 10
meeting, the Pickens County
Planning Commission post
poned a decision on 16.7-
acres on Big Ridge Road per
request of the applicant after
the planning and develop
ment director said he would
recommend denial.
Applicant Charles
Matthews, on Behalf of RLF
Talking Rock LLC, requested
a portion of the parcel 0lb-
021 be rezoned from Agricul
tural to Suburban
Residential. The applicant
wished to rezone the property
and combine with an adja
cent 553-acre piece of prop
erty, also owned by RLF
Talking Rock LLC, already
zoned Suburban Residential,
and later split off an 88-acre
tract and a 33.5-acre tract.
Following his summary of
the proposal, Pickens Plan
ning & Development Direc
tor Justin Kilgore told the
commission he would recom
mend denial because the
Suburban Residential zoning
in that area of far west Pick
ens is not in line with the
county’s comprehensive
plan. Kilgore said the most
dense zoning recommended
for that area is Rural Resi
dential. Suburban Residential
lots can be as small as 1 acre,
while Rural Residential can
be as small as 1.5 acres. An
SR designation also requires
county/municipal water,
which is not available in that
area.
“That area of the county is
severely lacking in water in
frastructure to support any
Farmers Market Report
Graphic / Pickens Planning & Development
The planning commission will delay vote on the 16.7-acre portion of the parcel marked
with an “X. ” The applicant wishes to rezone to Suburban Residential and combine with
over 550-acres they also own and later split.
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way 53 West. The applicants
wish to rezone both parcels to
Small Agriculture and com
bine them and build a home.
Recommendation of ap
proval was made with the
condition parcels would be
combined so they could meet
the 10-acre minimum for a
SA property.
In a similar request, the
commission recommended
approval of rezoning of two
parcels, one 3-acre tract
owned by Charles and Kathy
Chastain and one 4.88-acre
tracts owned by Henry and
Brigitte Cook. Applicants
seek to rezone the parcels off
the Highway 136 Connector
to Agricultural and combine
those two lots with an addi
tional adjacent lot zoned
Agricultural for the purpose
of selling. Recommendation
of approval was made with
the condition parcels would
be combined so they could
meet the 10-acre minimum
for a SA property.
The Pickens Board of
Commissioners will make
final approval or denial of
these request at their regular
May meeting.
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Wow, what a great market
day. Sixty vendors with tents
and umbrellas graced the
market with their colorful,
tasteful, and creative offer
ings. The Master Gardeners
held their first ever Home
town Homegrown Plant Sale,
and the American Legion
held their meeting in the
Chamber building. Perhaps,
everyone in Pickens came by,
or at least drove by and saw
the excitement?
With walkers and runners
in the park plus, walkers and
strollers in the market there
was plenty of movement and
merriment happening. Smil
ing faces of customers
matched the wagging tails of
our furry, friendly pets that
visit.
New vendors smiled
hopefully, as veteran vendors
smiled knowingly. Lots of
plant vendors made the
Spring scene colorful for our
garden enthusiasts. The
crafter’s choices were mak
ing customers stop in their
tracks to make inquiries of
the creations. From a tatting
master to a caning master.
Calligraphy to cookies, it was
all here.
Many smiling moms
picked out a free begonia to
grace their tables, containers,
or porches and to remind
them that they are valued for
their endless contributions to
the family. Someone had
their machete sharpened as
many were stocking up on
veggies for dinner. Perhaps
the machete was for slicing
and dicing the salad?
One meat vendor has jelly
while the other had hy
drangeas. With such an as
sortment of goodies,decor,
desserts, plants, and crafts,
there is surely something for
everyone and we certainly
hope our customers return
next week and bring a friend.
The Farmers Market is
sponsored by the Pickens
County Master Gardeners. It
is located at Lee Newton
Park in the Park N Ride lot
across from the Veteran’s
Memorial. The market hours
are 7:30 a.m. until noon
every Saturday. There will be
a Wednesday market from 11
a.m. until 2 p.m. starting June
23rd.
The MGs will have their
plant tent sale and garden
program in June on the 19th,
the third Saturday. From
there the plant tent sale and
program will be the second
Saturday of each month until
fall. June’s MG plant pro
gram, “Program and Plants
2021 - Cultivating Commu
nity at the Farmers Market”
will be Create Herb Infused
Vinegar. Participants will se
lect MG grown herbs and
vinegars to add flavor to
salad dressing, marinades,
and everyday meals.
A 5,220 Square Foot Office Building
Located at 501 N. Main Street
Jasper, Pickens County, Georgia 30143
(706) 253-3647
gamtnforestry@gmail.com