DAHLONEGA, Ga. – Following a marathon four-hour public hearing in front of a standing-room-only audience, the Lumpkin County Board of Commissioners tabled a vote on a special land use application (SLUA) for Iron Mountain Park Tuesday.

The hearing was intended to address only the ATV, motocross and amphitheater venues. But property owner Craig Stansberry opened the meeting with an elaborate display, outlining those venues plus his future plans that include 1,000 treehouse-style short term rental cabins, hotel, equestrian facility and a massive headquarters office for the 4,300-acre property that spans two counties.

About half a dozen area residents spoke in favor of the project, but there was overwhelming opposition. Those who did not want the project cited many reasons, including watershed issues, increased traffic, insufficient law enforcement, reduction in property values and environmental impact. But the most common objection was the project would destroy the quality of life.

One man summed up the issue when he said, “I like what we’ve got here. I don’t want to lose it.”

Attorney Kasey Sturm addresses commissioners

Kasey Sturm, an Atlanta attorney who represents an area homeowner, said if the project is approved, it would likely be overturned in court because it does not comply with the agricultural district for which it is being proposed.

“We believe the proposed uses for this project are of a scale and magnitude that go beyond what is authorized in that agriculture designation,” she said.

Sturm pointed out the property is full of natural resources. “There are water resources, designated trout streams, non-designated trout streams. Under state and local law those must be protected. There are two watershed lakes that are in place, designed to control water that is coming down now. They are not designed to be water retention for the proposed development. One of the biggest things we see with large scale developments like this is adverse water quality and water quantity impact. Those water quantity impacts can be devastating to downstream property owners.”

Commission Chairman Chris Dockery reminded those in attendance the SLUA process was only intended to address three uses – ATV trails, motocross and the amphitheater.

“This isn’t like a carte blanche process to approve anything Mr. Stansberry wants to do,” he said. “Each one of those things would have to be submitted and go through a review process just like any other development. There has been no site plan submitted for anything.”

Despite criticism from one or two speakers, it should be noted that commissioners repeatedly encouraged citizens to express their opinion, listened carefully for nearly four hours, interrupted infrequently and, in the end, wanted time to consider the public’s comments.

Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. FYN attracts 300,000+ page views per month, 3.5 million impressions per month and approximately 15,000 viewers per week on FYNTV.com and up to 60,000 Facebook page reach. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com