Some contention brewed at the Columbia County Planning Commission’s meeting, Thursday evening, amid the Jones Creek homeowners association’s attempt to fast track an upgrade to the subdivision’s pool house.
The Jones Creek HOA applied for a variance requests to change the setbacks on its pool house property at 785 Jones Creek: for the pool house building, four feet from the west property line, and 15 from the other property lines, and, for the pool itself, 20 feet from the property line.
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Home Owners Association plans for Jones Creek
The parcel sits north of a cul-de-sac on Tindall Drive in the Jones Creek subdivision. The variance seeks to make space to accommodate the HOA’s plans to demolish and rebuild the 30-year-old pool house, adding upgrades such as a larger pump room for the pool and an upstairs meeting area, and to make the building ADA compliant. Jones Creek HOA president Tripp Nanney noted before the Planning Commission that the subdivision has spent more than $30,000 toward gradual improvements before deciding to build a new pool house.
“Timing is of the essence. Postponing this only hurts our project,” said Nanney to the commissioners, considering the planning staff’s recommendation to postpone the request amid complaints from nearby homeowners. “We’re trying to start construction immediately, when the pool season shuts down right after Labor Day. If everything goes perfect… we can get done prior to next pool season.”
Variance request opposition
The first opposition to the variance request during the meeting came from Larry Carter, whose Tindall Drive property abuts the pool house parcel to its west. Carter objected that the HOA had not tried to sufficiently mitigate the effect the reconstruction would have on his property, particularly adding to the plans the installation of an eight-to-10-foot privacy fence along the property line.
“I don’t trust what they say. They have not been forthcoming in the past,” said Carter, also claiming that the HOA insisted he cut trees on his property because they would be too close to the building, and said Nanney attempted to have trees removed from Carter’s property without his permission—which Nanney said was “just not true.”
Jones Creek did add the installation of an eight-foot fence to the variance request days before the meeting.
“You grant a variance, and they say they’ll put up a fence, what’s to keep them from later on saying, ‘Well, we’re out of money we can’t put a fence up’?” Carter said. “I’m concerned about and let’s future building.”
Judy Brown, another Jones Creek resident along Tindall Drive, also spoke against the variance, echoing concerns mentioned by planning staff and the staff report that the applicants had not conferred with neighbors about the details of the project.
“We’ve heard talk for years about renovating or building new pool house. Nothing has been brought up before the homeowners saying ‘hey, what do you think?’” said Brown.
Nanney responded that space on the property prohibits options for redevelopment, and that tree roots on Carter’s property could potentially hinder plumbing, as the sewage line runs near the property line.
Commissioner James Van Meter suggested postponing the item so that the Planning Commission could take more time to review the request, and put forth a motion to do so. The commissioners voted in favor of postponing, unanimously.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
