A recent change to Coffee County zoning resolutions to limit the minimum size of lots in major subdivisions to 5 acres in the A-1 agricultural district could impact the financial investments of an area couple and their $400,000 nest egg.   

Estill Springs resident Robyn Smotherman, co-owner of Short Creek Homes, approached the Coffee County Planning Commission with concerns about the recent changes to the A-1 zoning resolution during the May 27 Planning Commission meeting.

Smotherman said that she and her husband Chad Smotherman purchased the property in April, within days of the county passing the 180-day moratorium on hearing major subdivision requests.

“We’ve had soil scientist to make sure all perk sites were there,” she said. “We’ve spent a little over $410,000 right now, and we had no clue when we purchased this property that what we were planning to do was not going to be able to happen.”

“Had we known on the day we closed on the property,” Smotherman said, “we would have gone to the commission or the day after. We are just asking for a variance or more information. We were trying to get all of our ducks in a row and then start pulling building permits. And now we’re stuck.”  

The Smothermans closed in April on two properties that are adjoining each other on the corner of Ragsdale and Sainville Roads near Hillsboro. They intended to renovate a modular home that’s currently on the property, tear down the dilapidated older house and then build three new single family homes on the six-plus acres and two more on the adjacent section. Each home is planned to sit on slightly smaller lots than the other six homes in the neighborhood. 

The project, however, would likely fall above the five-lot threshold, making it a major subdivision, and it would likely fall under recent changes to the county zoning restrictions. 

The location is southeast of other homes sitting on lots from 1 to 3 acres and is located directly northwest of Steve and Margaret Cunningham’s 258.32-acre farm.

Planning Commission Chairman Steve Cunningham allowed Smotherman to speak, even though a discussion of A-1 variance was deleted from the meeting’s agenda and likely not germane to the matter at hand.

“This discussion (about restricting subdivisions) started in March,” Cunningham said. “As you heard we are going to look at further variances in subdividing (those types) of properties, but we’re not ready yet.”

“If I were you guys, I suggest you be patient and wait,” Cunningham said.  

Prior to the passing of the zoning resolutions, County Mayor Dennis Hunt brought Cunningham to the floor during the May 13 meeting, when the commission narrowly passed the change.

“There’s much confusion about what’s going on about land use in Coffee County,” Cunningham said before the full commission. “Rumors, misconceptions and false narratives have been spread … (yet) the changes we’re exploring are not going to take away citizens’ rights, they are not going to take away land values and they are not going to stop growth in Coffee County.”

Cunningham said that the goal of the Planning Commission is to channel growth into the areas intended for growth to happen.

Local Surveyor Nickolas Northcutt cautioned at that meeting that zoning by variance would develop into a “kiss the ring” scenario. The Board of Zoning Appeals approves variance requests, not the Planning Commission. Those members include Anastasia Gonzales as the Planning Commission Representative, Commissioner Tim Morris, Lowell Duke,  Sammy Morton, Helen DeBellis and the recently appointed Kendall Layne to replace Kevin Sipe.