Forsyth County commissioners debated the matter for about 15 minutes at their public meeting last week and decided not to schedule a public hearing requested by the development watchdog group, Smart Growth Forsyth County, over the zoning of a piece of property.

District 4 Commissioner Patrick Bell argued that the commission could not legally hold a public hearing because that would violate the Unified Development Code.  District 2 Commissioner, Chairman Brian Tam, argued that the commission should go ahead and schedule the public hearing and cancel it if, on further examination by staff,  it was determined holding the hearing was against the UDC.

District 5 Commissioner Jim Boff, after much debate, agreed with Bell.  In a 2-1 vote (Tam opposed), the commission denied Smart Growth's request for a public hearing.

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Fulton DA Fani Willis (center) with Nathan J. Wade (right), the special prosecutor she hired to manage the Trump case and had a romantic relationship with, at a news conference announcing charges against President-elect Donald Trump and others in Atlanta, Aug. 14, 2023. Georgia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, upheld an appeals court's decision to disqualify Willis from the election interference case against Trump and his allies. (Kenny Holston/New York Times)

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