The Banks County Board of Commissioners approved Bobby Caudell’s request to rezone 126 acres of rural property for subdivision development. Willis and Bettie Harden, who own land next to the proposed development, objected to the rezoning and petitioned for judicial review of the Board’s decision. Following an evidentiary hearing, the trial court affirmed the Board. We granted the Hardens’ application for discretionary appeal, and for reasons that follow, we reverse. The record shows that the Hardens reside and maintain a wholesale plant nursery on their property. In connection with the business, the Hardens grow various plants, which they sell to retail stores and garden centers. The sole irrigation source for many of their plants is a lake located on their land approximately 400 feet “downstream” from Caudell’s property.1 The Hardens’ plant business generated almost $1 million in sales during 2006.
In June 2006, Caudell submitted his Rezoning Application Form to the Banks County Zoning Administration, seeking to rezone his property from an “agricultural-rural residential” use to a single-family residential district appropriate for a subdivision. Caudell’s application included an aerial survey of the property, as well as the following statement of intent:I intend to have a subdivision with approximately 98 site-built homes with prices averaging from $160,000-$180,000. Projected completion in 3-5 years. We will have covenants on the subdivision, that will include paved driveways, attached garages, and sodded front yards. Streets will be curb and gutter as required by the county. Under the Banks County zoning ordinance, Caudell was also required to submit a site plan containing specific information about, among other things, the property boundaries, existing and proposed streets, water courses, and the proposed development’s “physical characteristics.”2 Although Caudell did not include a formal site plan, the zoning officer who reviewed Caudell’s application concluded that the aerial survey, which outlined the property lines and existing roads bordering the property, satisfied the site plan requirement. The zoning officer presented the application to the Planning Commission with the recommendation that it be approved.
