A Reminder from BH Alliance.

Thursday's Council Meeting contains several important rezonings that might be of interest to you. The full agenda and Staff reports are available on the Milton website.

In Crabapple - Previously deferred case for office, commercial and high density housing.
RZ07-005 / VC07-002 - 855 Mayfield Road To rezone from AG-1 to MIX use to develop a total of 15,000 sq.ft of medical office; 3,500 sq.ft of commercial; and 9 residential units all on 4.09 acres. Rezoning request included variances as follows: Request to reduce the 75-foot buffer and 10-foot improvement setback to a 15-foot landscape strip adjacent to AG-1 by Milton Medical Holdings, LLC c/o Jay Davis. (This item was deferred on August 16, 2007).

Background

This case originally came before the Planning Commission on 6/26/07, the applicant requested a 30 day deferral to modify site plan per Staff's recommendations. On 7/24/07, Planning Commission heard the case and recommended denial. The Mayor and City Council heard the case on 8/16/07 at that point the case was deferred for four months. This four month period was to allow the Crabapple Crossroads Plan to be evaluated by the Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee and consultant BRPH to determine if an interim plan is necessary for Crabapple. The outside consultant and the Committee have determined that no interim changes will be made to the Crabapple Plan and the instead, any changes need to be considered as a part of the overall Comprehensive Land Use Plan Update process. This result is that this case returns to Mayor and City Council tomorrow night, Thursday, January 24th with no new information.

Staff recommendation- Denial.
Planning Commission Denial.

Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee (CPAC)- No expansion of the non-residential Mixed Use capacity in the Crabapple Crossroads Overlay until the New Comprehensive Plan for the City of Milton is complete with specific recommendations for the desired total size of the appropriate Neighborhood Activity or Community Activity Level Node for the Crabapple Crossroads Overlay Area. The CLUP update process may or may not result in increased density levels. This case should be evaluated on the merits of the existing 2025 Comprehensive Land Use Plan. Based on the 2025 CLUP, Staff and the Planning Commission recommended denial.
To date nothing has changed to support anything other than a denial of the Milton Medical Holdings request. The facts indicate the following:

The rezoning request violated the Crabapple Crossroads Community Plan and Policy for Crabapple as approved by Fulton County Board of Commissioners, June 4, 2003 and adopted by City of Milton on December 21, 2006.
The request is inconsistent with the existing 2025 Comprehensive Land Use plan.
The proposed development is too intense for the recommended use.Exceeds the 100,000 square foot office and retail commercial square foot maximums defined by the Neighborhood Activity Node for the Crabapple Crossroads.
Staff notes in the analysis, "The subject site appears to have reasonable use as currently zoned with the existing farm house and associated buildings with the AG-1 district."
The Mayor and City Council voted UNANIMOUSLY on July 12, 20006 to deny a similar rezoning case for the Crabapple Crossroads in part because it also asked to violate the 100,000 square foot maximum for retail/commercial space and it was too intense relative to the Crabapple Crossroads Plan.
The 100,000 square foot maximum is Policy - it is the definitive policy of Milton as evidenced by the adoption of the Fulton County 2025 CLUP and as defined by other policy decisions made to date by the City of Milton. Effectively, this policy is therefore the law of the land use policy and not just a guideline, and should be upheld. Staff notes during the August 16, 2007 City Council meeting, "The 100,000 caps for both office and commercial space is absolutely a policy expressing the Comprehensive Plan."

What Can You Do?

Contact the Mayor, City Council Staff and Public Works via email, letters and phone calls with your opinions about any of the issues facing Milton.
Attend the public meetings
Tell a friend, a neighbor and your Homeowner's Association (HOA) and get them involved.
Join the Birmingham Hopewell Alliance (BHA) as an individual and as an HOA and renew your 2007 membership.
Your opinions matter. Please copy or blind copy to the Birmingham Hopewell Alliance, info@BHAlliance.org so we can track responses and community desires as well.