Dougherty County microbrewery rezoning request tabled

ALBANY — As the public hearing into Morgan III Properties’ Walker-Ducker Road rezoning request passed the third hour Monday morning, tempers started to flair a bit.

First, property owner Grant Rudolph had to be reminded by Dougherty County Commission Chairman Chris Cohilas to address only the commission after Rudolph turned toward the audience and said, “Dr. Morgan, you’re forcing a business in the wrong place.”

Dr. Tripp Morgan, whose proposal to build a farmhouse microbrewery on 29.1 acres of land at 5626 Walker-Ducker Road — property surrounded by many of southwest Dougherty County’s plantations — was the impetus for Rudolph’s remarks, got his own barb in — and a similar reprimand from Cohilas — a few moments later.

“I, frankly, did not expect the reaction (to the proposal) that I’ve gotten,” Morgan said. “I didn’t know this would upset every billionaire in Dougherty County.”

Before Cohilas could even react to Morgan’s remark, Pine Knoll Plantation co-owner Libby Hall responded. “I take exception to that remark,” Hall said, and Cohilas quickly restored order with a rap of his gavel, reminding all speakers to address only the commission.

Sixteen individuals, most property owners or plantation representatives, signed up to speak at the public hearing that, before it ended, veered from a zoning discussion into topics that included quail habitat, business failure, the violation of constitutional rights and the “domino effect” of allowing commercial zoning in an area that is overwhelmingly agricultural.

After Albany-Dougherty Planning Manager Mary Teter explained the details of Morgan’s request and Dougherty commissioners asked general questions about the proposal and its impact on the surrounding land, the parade of speakers started.

Morgan, a physician whose business ventures include a surgery center, a crossfit training facility and other developments in the area, told the board his roots in Dougherty County extend back to Albany founder Nelson Tift. He said after purchasing the Walker-Ducker Road property, which at one time was the site of a lumber operation, he and business partners — including Derek Imes, who had been involved in the start-up of a successful microbrewery in Athens — chose a development that’s “in the best interest of the community.”

Imes called the proposed microbrewery an “enormous opportunity.”

“There’s a rail line that runs by the property, an endless supply of water, more than 20 acres on which we could grow crops used in the brewing process, plus we’d be the only brewery of this kind in the area,” the businessman said. “We think we could create a product that would sell well throughout the Southeast. That makes for a very attractive business opportunity.”

When both Imes and Morgan balked at giving definitive answers to Commissioner John Hayes’ questions as to the economic impact of the brewery and the plan they had in place if the brewery failed, County Attorney Spencer Lee offered advice to the board.

“The issue before you is land use,” the county attorney said. “What you are to consider has nothing to do with the success or failure of a business. This is a land-use issue, and that’s where we should focus our energy.”

Albert Etheridge, a manager who works with Morgan, threw a curve ball into the proceedings by asking that the commission table the matter.

“We realize this doesn’t just affect us, and we want to be good neighbors,” Etheridge said. “We want to be respectful of our neighbors, so we’d like to ask that you table this matter until the board has more time to research the matter.”

Cohilas said after the meeting he didn’t immediately act on Etheridge’s request because he wanted to hear what everyone had to say.

“I honestly think we needed to hear everyone on this matter,” the commission chairman said. “I believe it is imperative of government to give every citizen an opportunity to say what is in their hearts and minds on a matter. I learned a lot from the discussion, and I hope the dialogue improved the opportunity of these neighbors coming to some kind of understanding.

“I hope we bridged some gaps today.”

After Lee County Chamber of Commerce Director Winston Oxford told the commission, “I’m here to speak to Tripp Morgan’s integrity; anything he says he’ll do, he’ll do.”

Hall said the commercial rezoning threatened “an economic engine that has fueled the Dougherty County economy for more than 80 years.”

“I’m not here to oppose a brewery, I’m here to oppose the fast-track change of zoning laws that have protected what’s grown in the community over the years,” she said. “Recreational hunting brought in $125 million in revenue in Dougherty County in 2014, supported more than 900 local jobs and accounted for $38 million in employee income. If you (allow commercial zoning on agricultural land), you could start the corruption and unravelling of a business that brings $125 million a year to this community.”

Hall suggested that Morgan keep the AG zoning on the land and grow crops on the 29 acres that could support a brewery located downtown.

“It’s like Mr. Imes said about his Athens brewery; they located it downtown in a historic building,” Hall said. “I think they would find themselves welcomed with open arms if they located the brewery downtown. That’s a commercial district, and there would be no need for rezoning. Plus, they’d have a regular supply of customers and the kind of foot traffic needed for that kind of business.

“Our zoning laws offer us protection and have for years. There’s a reason you guys have zoning in the first place.”

Dawson attorney T. Gamble, who represented the interests of Pine Knoll and White Hill plantation owners at the meeting, warned the commission that they’d be opening the door for a “domino effect” of commercial development if they approved the rezoning request.

“At the heart of the matter, they went before the Planning Commission on April 2 and asked for approval for C3 rezoning to build small warehouses for storage of materials that could be moved by rail,” Gamble said. “A month later, after that request was tabled, they came back with a plan for a microbrewery. That was the first time that concept was even brought up.

“That should have raised up the antenna of every commissioner here.”

Morgan later said the microbrewery was not addressed during the initial planning hearing because Imes had a nondisclosure agreement in place that would not allow plans to be disclosed. Morgan said when it became clear that the group’s intentions would have to be disclosed, Imes sought and got permission to disclose the plan.

Plantation managers Glenn Paschal (Nilo), Scott Price (Noname) and Tom Shenker (Abigail) said their concerns were about water usage, wastewater disposal and protection of the area’s quail population.

Rudolph, who said he’d moved to Dougherty and retired here because of the quail hunting, said, “Quail are fragile birds. If you drop a commercial venture into (plantation land), you could upset a delicate balance.”

Morgan and Imes said after the meeting they did not want to discuss particular issues brought up during the hearing.

“Frankly, I thought (plantation owners) would favor this proposal,” Morgan said. “In fact, I had hoped that they would be some of my biggest customers. They bring in businessmen from all over the country for hunting trips, and this would be a perfect place for them to bring those guests.

“They say they’re worried about daily farming operations, but we plan to farm that land. We’ll grow and spray pecans. We’ll burn off our land, too. It’s just amazing that the owners of these plantations — from Victoria’s Secret, Ted Turner’s businesses — do billions of dollars of commercial business. And it didn’t come up that Still Pond Distillery (in nearby Calhoun County) is located on property adjacent to one of the plantations.”

City/county Planning Director Paul Forgey, who had recommended that the Planning Commission approve the rezoning request, said “value-added” opportunities on working farms were a positive and part of a growing trend nationwide. Forgey added, “As for the ‘dominoes’ question: You will look at each (rezoning) request individually in the context of what’s located around it. Just because you allow a C3 zoning on one property, doesn’t mean such a zoning is proper for another.”

Teter said the commission must act on the rezoning request within 70 days of the public hearing.