Canon poultry-house rezoning clears Franklin County, with development timeline still unresolved

Franklin County commissioners approved a rezoning that clears the way for proposed poultry houses on 140.31 acres at 700 Grady School Road in Canon. In a 3-0 June 1 vote on case RZ-2026-009, the board changed the District 3 tract, map and parcel 064/056, from Agricultural to Agricultural Intensive. The approval came with one stated condition: the property’s driveway must be at least 100 feet long. Chair Long and Commissioner Pulliam recused themselves from the vote.

The decision matters because Agricultural Intensive zoning is the land-use classification sought for a potentially large poultry operation on a rural Canon parcel. It settles the zoning request, not the broader question of whether or when poultry houses will be built. The recorded condition addresses access to the site, while the project’s final design, construction schedule and any further approvals are not established in the county proceedings.

The proposal first appeared on the Planning and Zoning Commission’s May 21 agenda as a request to rezone the Grady School Road tract for poultry houses. At the June 1 public hearing, commissioners considered the case after the planning commission had recommended approval 4-0. The applicant said the houses would be placed on the rear 96 acres and would have 300-foot setbacks. Later that day, the Board of Commissioners approved the rezoning with the driveway condition. A June 18 planning commission agenda repeated that outcome but recorded no new project action.

The applicant presented the project as a rear-of-property development, telling the June 1 hearing that the poultry houses would occupy 96 acres at the back of the tract with 300-foot setbacks. The Planning and Zoning Commission supported the rezoning in its 4-0 recommendation. The county commission ultimately adopted the Agricultural Intensive classification by a narrower three-member vote after two members recused themselves, and attached the 100-foot driveway requirement to its approval.

What is complete is the county’s zoning action: RZ-2026-009 is approved for Agricultural Intensive use, subject to the minimum driveway length. The poultry houses remain proposed in the cited proceedings. The applicant’s statements about location and setbacks were hearing discussion, not a separately documented completed plan. Neither the June 18 agenda nor the June 1 county minutes records a later permit, construction start, amendment, completion or operating milestone, so it remains unknown whether work has begun.

The next public indication of movement would be a later county filing or decision tied to parcel 064/056, particularly one showing how the driveway condition is addressed or whether the poultry-house plan advances. Until such a record appears, the proceedings do not answer whether additional county approvals are needed, when construction might occur, or whether the applicant’s described placement and setbacks will be carried out.