HALL COUNTY, Ga. — The Hall County Board of Commissioners denied an application by a resident to turn their horse farm into a wedding and birthday party venue, as well as a request to develop an equestrian center on the property.
According to commission documents, Mary Kirrane had applied to turn the Fairmount Farm, a horse farm located at 5253 Lawson Drive in unincorporated Hall County, into an “agri-entertainment venue” to host weddings and birthday parties. While the address does list Gainesville for its location, it does not fall within the city limits.
Kirrane applied to have her horse farm rezoned to also host roughly six weddings per year, each with an initial requested occupancy of 100 people and up to 80 cars parked on the property.
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Throughout the application process, multiple residents living nearby made their opposition known, citing concerns over noise, traffic, public safety and more.
Of all the public comments that were submitted and are on file with the county, none were in support of the rezoning or development plans.
In one letter of opposition, resident Robert W. Swoszowski said in part that “This proposed change would dramatically alter the character of our neighborhood and negatively impact the quality of life for current residents. I did not move to the countryside to live next door to a commercial event space.”
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During the zoning application process and negotiations with the county, Kirrane accepted additional conditions such as a lower occupancy limit of 75.
In county staff recommendations, event activity at the horse farm would have been barred between the months of October to March.
Kirrane’s application also said that she only planned to have six weddings held at the location per year and up to two equestrian birthday parties per year.
The submitted plan said in addition to the maximum of six weddings, no more than three would be held in any given month, further limiting activity on site.
Beyond weddings and birthday celebrations, Kirrane had pitched hosting trail walks with horses and several other activities.
Had the application been approved, activities would also have been limited to only occurring on Saturdays between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.
A related application for an equestrian center, in addition to the wedding and “agri-entertainment venue,” was also submitted by Kirrane.
A county spokeswoman confirmed to Channel 2 Action News that both applications for development and rezoning on the property were rejected during a commission vote.
Channel 2 Action News attempted to get comment from Fairmount Farm and Kirrane by phone and email but was unsuccessful.
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