DAWSONVILLE, Ga. – Renee Duren – a recently announced candidate for Dawson County Commission Chairwoman – potentially saved county taxpayers thousands of dollars in lost grants and funding opportunities Thursday when she warned commissioners that Dawson county had already violated state rules and regulations once and was about to do so again.

Duren’s announcement came during a the Board of Commissioners’ public hearing on the rezoning request by Ridgeline Land Development to construct 140 townhomes near the intersection of Dawsonville Hwy and Lumpkin Campground Road. She said the Planning Commission violated the rules and regulations of the state of Georgia under Rule 110-12-3 by voting to recommend approval of the project to the Board of Commissioners.

She also cautioned commissioners that if they went ahead with a vote during the regular meeting as planned, it would be a second violation.

Local governments are required to follow applicable procedures identified under Development of Regional Impact (DRI) when a project meets or exceeds the applicable threshold of 125 units. Governments are required to submit applications to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) for review and may not take an official vote on the project until the review is complete

According the DCA website, the application was submitted Nov. 15 and is still under review.

“Failure of local governments to wait until the DRI process is completed before taking final action will result in a mandatory meeting with the regional commission for the first occurrence,” Duren said. “The second occurrence can result in suspension of Qualified Local Government status for up to one year. Loss of that status will disqualify our county for certain grants and funding opportunities.”

Duren closed her presentation by admonishing the Board to “please consider taking the necessary steps to comply with the rules and regulations of the state of Georgia.”

Commissioners agreed to postpone the vote.

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