Wednesday, Jan. 21st City Council Meeting

Courtesy bhalliance.org

Rezoning and Zoning Modifications of interest

The BHA Board of Directors would like to make you aware of some upcoming rezoning and zoning modifications that might be of interest to you and the community. Today, Wednesday, Jan. 21st at 6:00 P.M., the Mayor and City Council will hear two cases:

I. Crabapple Zoning Modification:Case # ZM08-06/VC08-06, located at 765 & 785 Mid-Broadwell Road requested by Sally Rich-Kolb to modify Condition 2.a. of Z05-072 to revise the site plan; and 2) To delete condition 4.b. to remove the requirement that the owner dedicate to Fulton County (City of Milton) the necessary right-of-way to provide a connector road from Broadwell Road to Mid-Broadwell Road prior to attaining an LDP, or as may be approved by the Director of Public Works; and 3)To request a concurrent variance to reduce parking from 58 to 39 spaces (Article 18.2.1). (This item was deferred on October 20, 2008.)

The applicant would like to remove the approved road connection, reduce parking spaces from 59 - 38 and remove three specimen trees. Milton Staff recommends denial of the request to remove the road connection, but recommends approval of the reduction in parking spaces.

At the last meeting when this item was discussed, members of the business community in Crabapple spoke about concerns with the reduced parking spaces being considered indicating the lack of overall parking in the Crabapple area.

Alternatives should be considered to save the specimen trees.

II. Highway 9 - Zoning Modification - convert a site plan from septic to sewerCase #ZM08-09 -13941 13943, located at 13945 Highway 9 North by Milton Organizers, LLC to modify Condition 2.a. of RZ07-010, to redesign site plan to eliminate septic and connect to sanitary sewer.

The First Milton Bank is requesting a change to their previously approved septic site plan to a sewer connection using the adjacent property. An issue with this request is that Fulton County has not yet signed a revised Inter Governmental Agreement (IGA) with the City of Milton. The agreement-once signed, could grant the authority for Fulton County to provide sewer to this parcel. At the January 12th work session Alliance members noted, the Milton City Attorney clearly stated the current IGA does not include this parcel and that Fulton County has not yet signed the revised IGA brought forth by Milton. As a result, Fulton County may not have the legal authority to provide sewer to this parcel yet.

The City needs to address the revised IGA.

On Monday, Feb. 2nd at 6 P.M. the City Council will rehear a case voted on during the December 15th meeting. As reported by the Milton Herald and AJC, on January 5th Mayor Lockwood requested to rehear case number RZ08-10, 622 N. Main Street.

A 3-2 vote on December 15th approved the applicant, Larry Singleton, to rezone from C-2 (Commercial) to C-1 (Community Business) by approving it at the density approved by Fulton County for the original of 18,673 square feet per acre on 2.26 acres along with additional conditions from staff. The applicant's request of 12/15/08, was for a density of 28,260 square feet per acre requiring the site to be clear-cut. This rezoning is almost 10,000 square feet more dense than what Fulton County approved as appropriate for the area.

During the December 15th City Council meeting although there was a legal quorum not all of the seven member council were present, the AJC reported, "Milton Mayor Joe Lockwood wants a do-over on a recent zoning decision made while two City Council members and the city attorney were absent." Nurse, Doug. "Mayor wants 2nd vote on Ga. 9 rezoning." Atlanta-Journal Constitution 05 Jan. 2009.

More information on the rehearing available:

AJC 1/02/09
Milton Herald 1/08/09
Milton Herald 1/13/09

Please share this information with your neighbors, families and friends.

Additional Topics of Interest

Right-of-Way Privatization PoliciesDuring the Jan. 12th City Council Work Session, the first item on the agenda was the discussion of the right-of-way privatization policy, Presented by Dan Drake, Public Works Director.

Public Works provided a presentation regarding possible approaches as alternatives to gating of subdivisions or privatizing roads. Such alternatives include traffic calming measures like speed humps, stop signs, and lowered speed limits.

As noted during the work session, Public Works and Public Safety both are conducting further research on the item. The current Milton Right-of-way privatization policy and Georgia State laws seem to require the following:

- 100% of the affected property owners of the road being requested for closure would agree to the privatization.

- Privatization or abandonment of a road or right-of-way may not negatively impact overall public good including existing public access.

- State requirements must be met before Milton can take any action.

One item being considered is whether to reduce the 100% requirement in Milton. Public Works presented findings during their presentation that no other jurisdictions they could find had policies that were any less than the 100%.

The BHA respects all property owners and is dedicated to the safety of all of Milton. Your opinions on this possible policy change and related issues are critical. Please attend meetings regarding this important topic and let council members know your opinions.

This and other transportation topics will be evaluated as a part of the overall Transportation Master Planning Initiative.

Transportation Master Planning Initiative

The City is initiating its first Comprehensive Transportation Plan meeting on Thursday, Jan. 22nd at 4 P.M. - 9:00 p.m. This will be a work shop format and in addition to reviewing the transportation plan process, schedule and activities for the overall transportation plan, there also will be a presentation by Randall Arendt, author of "Rural by Design". The meeting is open to the public and all citizens are encouraged to attend.

Milton Meetings, click here=>
http://www.cityofmiltonga.us/gov/meetings/calendar/index.html

Wednesday, Jan. 21st - City Council Meeting, 6 P.M.
Thursday, Jan. 22nd - Transportation Plan Kick-Off, 4 P.M.
Monday, Jan. 26th - Board of Ethics, 6 P.M.
Tuesday, Jan. 27th - Planning Commission, 7 P.M.
Wednesday, Jan. 28th - Tree Commission, 3:30 P.M.
Community Zoning Information Meeting, 7 P.M.
Monday, February, 2nd - City Council Meeting, 6 P.M.

All meetings held at City Hall, 13000 Deerfield Parkway, Milton GA 30004
Every voice, every dollar and every volunteer makes all the difference!Helping to protect and plan for the future of this unique area has required the BHA's involvement in a variety of activities including transportation issues, proposed zoning amendments, and on-going monitoring of zonings already approved but not implemented, and more. Constant Attention Requires Commitment and Funding - Everyone Makes a Difference We ask for your membership and financial support. We are a fully volunteer organization and it is only through the generous donations and volunteer-time from our community that we have been successful. It takes time and money, but we all benefit directly from the results. Join or renew your membrship with BHA right now! =>
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