Residents packed the public hearing on Nov. 13 as the Sullivan County Commission considered a request to rezone a parcel to B-3 commercial. The commission’s chair opened the record, noting the county commission would take final action that day, and invited public comment.

Neighbors told the commission they oppose the rezoning. “We do not want it zoned B-3,” said Agatha Treba, who said she collected about 150 signatures from nearby roads and described a church on the property with roughly 70 years of history. Treba called the owner’s lack of a development plan a risk: “B-3 opens the door to … commercial business,” she said, adding that the change could harm safety, faith institutions and the area’s residential character.

Other residents raised traffic and visibility concerns. Mary Litsky, who lives adjacent to the parcel, said driveway visibility is poor and that the building appears to have inconsistent addresses and unclear utilities. Terry Talbert, a multi-generation resident, warned that added commercial traffic could revive historic crash patterns at a nearby V-shaped intersection.

The property representative, identified in the hearing record as Mister Caslin, said he has cleaned and maintained the church property, described efforts to secure electricity and argued the parcel should be eligible for redevelopment and income opportunities. “I cleaned that place up,” he said, recounting months of work and repairs.

After public comment and limited commissioner discussion, the commission opened a vote on Amendment 4. The clerk reported the tally and a vacant seat; the chair announced that the measure failed to secure the necessary majority. “Having failed to receive a necessary majority for passage, Amendment number 4 fails,” the chair said, and the public hearing was closed.

The chair then returned the meeting to the regular calendar; several speakers had urged commissioners to review annexation and growth-boundary laws in separate public comment later in the meeting.

The county’s final action on the rezoning was recorded as failed on Nov. 13; the commission did not adopt alternative zoning during the same session.