Horse farm owner headed to court

Twiss has been embroiled in conflict with both Barrow County and her neighbors since filing a request in 2008 to rezone her 25 acres on Hancock Bridge Road from residential to agricultural.

Twiss purchased the property in 2004 with the intent of moving her business, Across the Way Stables, to the property. Twiss said she checked with the planning department at the time and was told that her horse boarding business would be allowed under R-1 zoning.

It was not until after Twiss had cleared several acres of the property, constructed a ten stall horse barn and built a riding arena that she was notified of several zoning and permitting violations. Twiss said she was told by the planning department the best way to resolve the issue was to request the property be rezoned to agricultural.

In Aug. 2008, the Barrow County Planning Commission voted 3-0 to approve Twiss’ rezoning request. Her neighbors, Kenny and Karen Post, strongly opposed the request claiming the zoning change would negatively impact neighboring properties.

By the time the zoning request was heard by the Board of Commissioners, the Posts had retained an attorney and Twiss knew her request would be denied.

According to Twiss, former district 1 commissioner Jerry Lampp told her the board had discussed the request prior to the commission meeting and planned to vote against it.

Twiss said there was no legitimate reason for denial and subsequently filed an appeal in Superior Court.

After months of negotiations and delays, Twiss’ case was finally scheduled for arbitration on Jan. 13, 2010. The mediation was unsuccessful.

Twiss believes the only reason the county and their attorney attended the arbitration was because Judge David Motes ordered them to do so.

“They were not the least bit interested in arbitration,” Twiss said.

Attorney Paul Frickey of Jarrard and Davis, legal counsel for Barrow County, said the county has always been willing to consider a reasonable settlement and, in this case, has invited it.

“Unfortunately, the settlement conferences just did not come up with anything that was a satisfactory settlement for both sides,” he said.

Twiss feels the county is refusing to negotiate because of their contention that her land is in a residential area, not a rural one.

According to the study prepared by the county planning department in 2008, Twiss’ property lies in an area designated as rural reserve on the county’s future land use map. Those study documents stated that rural reserve areas should “encourage rural character.” As such, Twiss’ plans for the property would have been consistent with the land use map.

Frickey said the planning department erred when Twiss initially submitted her rezoning request. Due to a mistake in reading the map, planning department officials believed Twiss’ property was located within a rural reserve area.

“What [the map] actually showed is suburban neighborhood,” Frickey said.

Frickey said the mistake was understandable. Twiss’ property also lies within a flood plain and a river buffer zone. Due to the colors used on the map, when the flood plain and river buffer zone areas were superimposed on the map, the coloring made the area look as if it was rural reserve.

Frickey maintains the land use map is not the real issue.

“The legal question before the court is whether the R-1 classification is a constitutional classification,” he said. “[The land use maps] are all just a guide. They are not binding on the county.”

Twiss believes the future land use map supports her case and feels the court will decide in her favor.

ONGOING HARASSMENT

While the ongoing legal battle has been both expensive and stressful for Twiss, she is more concerned about the ongoing harassment by her neighbors.
“Their level of harassment has escalated,” she said.

According to Twiss, she and her husband Phillips have been photographed, followed and otherwise harassed since the Posts moved into the neighborhood in March of 2008.

As a result, Twiss has filed numerous reports with the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office.

In September of 2008, Twiss called the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office after being photographed and followed by the Posts while working outside.

On three separate occasions, dead animals were placed on her driveway directly outside her gate. Each time, the animal appeared to have been shot.

According to the Sheriff’s Office report, the Posts denied Twiss’ allegations and said she “made a false complaint because she is a sore loser.”

The report further stated that the Post consider the problem resolved since they “won.”

Twiss said the Posts have filed numerous complaints with the Environmental Protection Agency, animal rights activist groups and other agencies as part of their efforts to intimidate her.

Though Twiss is relieved that those complaints have been dismissed as frivolous, she remains concerned about other incidents.

Last month, Twiss called the Sheriff’s Office again after finding a noose hanging inside her barn. An intruder also moved hay bales from one end of her storage building to another.

The incidents have made Twiss fearful, she said.

“I am very much concerned for my safety,” she said.