Chatham Commission Chairman: Countywide Zoning 'Best Way Forward'

“I just don’t understand why our opinions had no value.”

That was the sentiment of one Chatham County resident who spoke during the public comment period of Monday night’s meeting of the County Commissioners where the board approved blanket zoning for the previously unzoned portions of the county as either R-1 – estimated to be one residence per acre – or R-5 – estimated to be one residence per five acres.

The message of feeling unheard by the county leadership seemed to be echoed by those opposed to the new guidelines. The meeting Monday night was expected to draw a large crowd after a public hearing had overflow attendance earlier this year. To accommodate the larger crowd, Monday’s meeting was moved to Chatham Central High School but it was less than half full.

Commissioner Walter Petty – who was against the blanket zoning – attributed the lower attendance to some residents feeling defeated and that a decision had already been made in the minds of the majority of the commissioners.

The meeting was a culmination of about 18 months of work from county staff and leadership.

Residents were divided at the previous public hearing between those supporting zoning to protect the land from overdevelopment and those against zoning because they felt it was government overreach.

Another speaker on Monday night shared concerns that the decision would have a negative impact on Chatham County’s future.

“We have seen what poor planning has done to north Chatham,” she told commissioners. “And I’d hate to lose the rest of Chatham to that kind of planning. Yet, with your R-1 and R-5 zoning, that is exactly what you’re opening us up to.”

Another resident said he could not remember the county being so polarized over one issue.

“I’d like to see this county united again instead of split down the middle,” he said, “and this has probably been the most divisive thing I’ve seen in my adult life in this county to go on. And it needs to stop.

“We could all work this out. But not with a one-size-fits-all all-one plan.”

A resident supporting the zoning changes acknowledged that it would impact his property and said he was grateful for that.

“We live on 16 delightful acres,” he said. “We support the effort to establish countywide zoning. We are aware that it will apply to our land, and we support that change.”

Some residents who are new to the county said they chose the area because of the freedom that fewer regulations offered. Meanwhile, others said they chose a certain portion of the county purely because it was zoned and, therefore, they felt protected from development.

“I live in northeast Chatham, and I’m R-1,” she said. “And I would not have come to Chatham County without the protection of the zoning. And I totally support the efforts of the Board of Commissioners, the planning board and the county staff to get this county zoned.”

The planning board voted to support countywide zoning but did so in a close margin.

Some members said they felt the blanket zoning was not the right way to go forward. Those supporting the plan said they had looked to surrounding and counties growing as quickly as Chatham and saw that they were all fully zoned.

And with the Chatham Park development on its way, the board wrote in its recommendation that this was the best way to protect the county as a whole.

Commission chairman Jim Crawford supported the zoning and cast the deciding 3-2 vote.

“I am voting for the zoning because I believe it is the best way forward for the county,” the chairman said. “It’s that simple.”

Land that is a bonafide farm will be exempt from any zoning changes by law. Businesses currently in operation in the newly zoned areas will be grandfathered in and allowed to continue operating. Any new proposals will have to go through the public process to apply for rezoning.

Chatham Commission Chairman: Countywide Zoning ‘Best Way Forward’

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