A change in the Coweta County zoning ordinance relating to guest houses on tracts 10 acres or larger was adopted on a 4-1 vote at the March 17 meeting of the Coweta County Commission.
Commissioner Al Smith in his opposition to the amendment questioned the appropriateness of some of the provisions of the ordinance change.
The amendment was aimed at providing a way for older homeowners to remain on their property as they face fixed incomes, rising expenses, physical infirmities or the death of a spouse, said Zoning Administrator Angela White.
The idea was to permit the construction of a guest house of 500-1,000 sq. ft. on tracts 10 acres or larger in the RR Rural Conservation District and Cedar Creek District.
The amendment stipulated that the guest house must be used exclusively for family members and their non-paying guests.
White said the amendment included the provision for the subject property to be subdivided at a later date.
Smith during the discussion took the position that people move to the country, including on larger tracts, to live their life and not have government intervening in so many of their affairs.
“It’s not our business,” Smith said of Coweta County government. “It’s their business.”
The subsequent 4-1 vote seemed to contradict conventional wisdom, at least in terms of what is considered by many to be emblematic of the “larger government is best” perspective espoused by Democrats and the “smaller government is best” perspective espoused by Republicans.
Yet when the vote was tallied it was the four Republican commissioners who voted for the amendment and the Democrat who voted opposed.
It was during the discussion that Smith also surfaced the idea that guest houses should be able to include mobile, manufactured or modular homes along with the requirement for stick-built houses. Smith questioned the logic in the requirement given that the main home on the property could be a mobile or manufactured home.
“I think having to have a stick-built guest house while the main residence could be a manufactured house is inconsistent and not the right approach,” Smith said.
He asked that mobile, manufactured or modular houses be included in the motion but the other commissioners did not agree.
There was some discussion among commissioners, at the suggestion of Commissioner Bob Blackburn, about having the amendment apply to tracts of at least 20 acres. His suggestion received no traction and was later dismissed.
There was also discussion about permitting similar-sized guest houses on tracts smaller than 10 acres, though White said that could cause a problem since the current minimum size in the districts being discussed was 5 acres.
