BOC to consider Sunrise proposal tonight

Now, the Madison County commissioners will once again consider the matter at their 6:30 p.m., meeting tonight in the county government complex. The board has denied identical plans twice in the past 13 months.

The Madison County Planning Commission listened to the familiar debates for and against the proposal Tuesday. And when all the talking was over, the commission voted without any discussion to give the thumbs up to the development.

The zoning board voted 6-1 — with Tod Hebenton providing the lone “no” vote — to recommend that the BOC approve a request by John Byram to rezone 135.30 acres from A-2 to R-3 for a Planned Unit Development (PUD).

The rezoning would open the door for 158 single-family homes and 60 townhouses. The development would be an age-restricted community, with no residents under the age of 55. Byram also plans to transform the golf course into an “executive” format, with a predominately par three setup, though a few par fours would be included. Sunrise Golf Course would remain open to the public.

Byram has said that Sunrise is failing financially and that his proposed development is the only way to keep the course open.

The owner of the county’s lone course didn’t speak Tuesday night, but his representative, Jon Williams of Williams and Associates in Athens, said the development will not put much strain on county services and that it will provide a “positive economic impact to the community.”
“This is something new for the community that is not the status quo and doesn’t promote sprawl,” said Williams.


Williams noted that county planners recommended approval of the development last year.

“Mr. Byram is going to have to shut the golf course down without this,” said Williams. “That will be the loss of a recreation facility and a loss of jobs.”

Opponents of the plan voiced concerns about traffic safety on the heavily traveled Colbert-Danielsville Road, about water supplies in the area, about the proposed septic system for the development, about the strain on fire and EMS services, about the proposed tight clustering of homes. They noted that the development would be roughly the equivalent of approving a new city in Madison County, comparable to the size of Colbert.

Madison County commissioners have heard the arguments on more than one occasion. The board voted unanimously against the proposal in December 2007, then shot down the plans again last February, 3-2.

John Pethel, Wesley Jordan and Bruce Scogin voted against the plan last February, while Stanley Thomas and Mike Youngblood voted for it. Of those commissioners now remaining on the board, two voted for the plan last February, while two voted against it. New commissioner Dewitt “Pete” Bond II has since replaced Jordan, who voted against the Sunrise proposal last year.

“They got a new board so they’re just going to chance it again,” said Charles Hart, who spoke against the development.