Bubber Wilkes

The members of the Oconee County Board of Commissioners will be in the uncomfortable position on Tuesday evening of having to decide if a fellow commissioner should be allowed to rezone his agricultural property for commercial development.

The three voting commissioners have good reasons to turn down the request by Commissioner William “Bubber” Wilkes.

The county Planning Department has recommended against the rezone because it is inconsistent with the zoning and land uses surrounding the property and with the county’s Future Land Use Map.

And the Planning Commission gave a mixed vote of endorsement after Wilkes made a tearful plea to be allowed to develop his property.

The Wilkes rezone request is one of two on the agenda on Tuesday night. The commissioners also are being asked to set aside a historical preservation overlay district that has been in existence since 1968 to protect the county’s iconic Elder Mill Bridge.

For more on this story, visit Oconee County Observations.

In other news, commissioners Mark Saxon and John Daniell are interested in running for commission chairman. Current Chairman Melvin Davis, who is seeking to increase his power, has not said if he'll run for a fifth term next year.