Sanitation company withdraws application for waste sorting facility in Loganville area

Update

Officials with Gwinnett County Planning and Development confirmed Tuesday, June 11, 2019, that the application to develop a Waste Sorting Facility on Ozora Road has been withdrawn by Darron Britt and Buddy Ray Johnson, owners of Walton County-based Southern Sanitation. Gwinnett County Communications Director Joe Sorenson confirmed that the County had received a letter from attorneys Mahaffey Pickens Tucker, LLC on June 11, 2019, simply notifying the Planning and Development office that the application was being withdrawn on behalf of their client. Sorenson confirmed that a new application could be filed without any time restriction.

“Because the case was not advertised, the applicant can resubmit a new application at any time,” Sorenson said. “A new application would go through the same process that the withdrawn application has been through.”

Initial story

Meeting Thursday, May 23, to plan strategy

A growing group of concerned citizens is making their objections known about a waste sorting facility that Darron Britt and Buddy Ray Johnson, owners of Walton County-based Southern Sanitation, are proposing to develop on 51 acres at 875 Ozora Road in unincorporated Loganville in Gwinnett County.

The group, Stop the Waste Sorting Facility on Ozora Road, began organizing once the documents dropped at Gwinnett County Planning Zoning on May 3, 2019 that requested a zoning change from residential to M2 – a highly industrial zone, that would make way for this development.

“This proposed change would be devastating to our roads, air quality, property values and so much more,” organizers wrote in a petition that garnered more than 2600 signatures in just a week. “Let your voice be heard! Please consider signing the petition to STOP THE WASTE SORTING FACILITY ON OZORA ROAD.”

But that was just the beginning. The group has scheduled a meeting at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 23, at Graystone Church, 1551 Ozora Rd, Loganville, and there will be a large presence to voice objections at the July 2 Planning Commission meeting and the July 23 Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners meeting. It also has a Facebook Page, and a GoFundme Account that hit $4660 in a week. The funds are to help cover the costs of yard signs, flyers and other material needed to get the word out about the objections from surrounding communities. Members of the group are also urging people to use their financial strength to help oppose the plan. They are urging surrounding businesses to place signs up outside the location signaling their opposition and they are pledging to support those businesses. They also are suggesting boycotts against businesses that are not signaling opposition to the plan.

Proposals for this project were filed this month with Gwinnett County and the state. Such a proposal is significant enough to warrant consideration through the Georgia Department of Community Affairs’ Developments of Regional Impact program.

The site is about a mile south of Tribble Mill Park and just a few miles north of the Walton County line near the Vulcan Materials quarry. Most of the immediate surrounding property is occupied by residential neighborhoods.

At this time, Britt and Johnson are keeping a low profile and have not spoken to any press on the issue, but we are hoping for a callback and will update with any information they would like to add.