MONROE COUNTY, Ga. — A 1,700 acre industrial park could be built just off I-75 along Johnstonville Road in Monroe County.
Some county commissioners say they didn't know about the project until a fellow commissioner asked them to extend water lines.
Angea Pokorski moved to a quiet neighborhood in Monroe County to get away from all the traffic and industry. What she moved away from might be moving into the area.
"We'll have a lot of truck traffic, a lot of traffic constantly. There will be a lot of wear and tear on the roads, the county roads," Pokorski said.
This is because private developers plans to put in a 1,700-acre industrial park along I-75 along Johnstonville Road.
It would stretch all the way to the Georgia State Public Safety Training Center.
Some county commissioners say they didn't know about it until last commission meeting.
There was an agenda item that was brought up in a request to run water lines up through a good chunk.
Commissioner Larry Evans who is part of the Monroe County Development Authority added it to the agenda. George Emami says he and other commissioners were unaware of the plans or about the land potentially being annexed.
"They are considering allowing the annex to happen and allowing the zoning to be changed to predominantly industrial zoning," Emami said.
This means where this park may be will be within city limits if annexed.
"It would become the city limits so the county commissioners would have no say so. We would have no say so because we don't live in the city limits," Pokorski said.
Emami says developers have not filed an application to annex the land. Either way, he says county officials and community members were kept in the dark about plans.
Commissioner George Emami says the county would have 30 days to contest the land being annexed if private developers filed an application.
"The bottom line is that you need to do it during light of day and not undercover of darkness. People needs to know what's going on," Emami said.
Now, Pokorski and people who live around Johnstonville Road plan to speak up at Tuesday's meeting.
"There are many residential areas here and the industrial park is just not going to be a good thing on this little road," Pokorski said.
We were unable to reach the developers and the land planning firm.
However, Forsyth Mayor Eric Wilson says there has been discussions over the past five years between the city and the property owners about possibly annexing the land. He told WMAZ the discussions have been about using city utilities like water and sewer. Wilson says all plans mentioned are not concrete.
As for Commissioner Larry Evans, he says there's not much to comment on since this is in the beginning stages of the plan.
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