The Coweta County Commission will hold a public hearing April 17 on a proposal aimed at expanding the number of events held per year on the Powers Crossroads Festival property in west Coweta County.
The public hearing will include the request to rezone the 60.35-acre property at Ga. Highway 34 and Thomas Powers Road from Rural Conservation (RC) and Old Commercial (C) to RC-SUP (Rural Conservation-Special Use Permit) and C-SUP (Commercial-Special Use Permit). If successful, the site will become the home for four major events per year and several minor events each month.
Proposed plans for the site include four major events per year such as music concerts, food festivals, arts and crafts festivals, charity dinners and events, rally events, monster truck events, historic reenactments and local or regional fairs. These events are expected to draw 5,000-10,000 people per day with a timeline of 1-5 days per event. Hours of operation would be 8 a.m. until 11:30 p.m. each day.
Plans also include proposed minor events such as antique car shows, family reunions, school reunions, weddings and receptions, corporate parties/picnics, camping opportunities, tree climbing groups, team building programs, horse/dog shows, church picnics, orienteering/survival skill workshops, summer camps, yard sales/flea markets and holiday activities.
Proposed to be held several times per month, the events would draw 1,000-5,000 people per day for one or two days per event. The hours of operation would be 8 a.m. until 11:30 p.m.
County planning staff said the applicant has denoted the 2,000 parking spaces to the west of Thomas Powers Road where parking has been established over the years for the Labor Day weekend event. The applicant has also proposed utilizing the southeast corner of the field for a small stage with grass seating and sales of food, beverage and alcohol.
A portion of the festival property is located in Heard County. Heard County Commission Chairman June Jackson in a letter to the Coweta County Commission noted the sale of alcohol would have a negative affect in the portion of the property located in Heard County.
The county’s planning department is recommending approval of the rezoning request with 17 conditions.
The annual Powers Crossroads Festival has operated on the property since 1971.
