Commission Agenda-Setting Session Tuesday, February 19, 2002

7:00 PM City Hall
Duration: 3 hours
All commissioners were present.

Highlights:

A special session preceded tonight's meeting. The purpose was to consider reallocation of the $65,000 Community Development Block Grant funds for Garden Springs residents who have gone through the approval process for relocation expenses. Tonight the commissioners unanimously approved even distribution of the remaining $22,000 left over from the CDBG to those Garden Springs families who have qualified and have gone through the approval process.

Another item, which came under the special session and was a last-minute addition from this afternoon, was authorization for the Human and Economic Development Department to submit an application to the GA Dept. of Community Affairs for an emergency shelter grant for relocation assistance for displaced Garden Springs residents. This authorization passed unanimously by the commissioners.

Doc Eldridge vocalized a public thank-you on the record to the ACC Unified Gov't and to local organizations and churches working on behalf of the Garden Springs residents. He stated, "They have done everything they could to change a bad situation to a good situation…hopefully we have set an example for others in the state of GA."

Planning and Zoning Issues:

Here are the zoning issues to keep your eye on for the voting meeting on Tuesday, March 5th.

Three zoning issues consisted of requests of Upshaw Bentley for MD Properties, LLC: 185 Bloomfield St, 175 Bloomfield St, 199 Bloomfield St.-- Request to rezone from RS-5 (single family residential) to RM-1(mixed density residential). The commissioners discussed the fact that this property had been rezoned from RG (a residential designation which encompasses rental units where up to four unrelated people may live) to RS-5 in December 2001. Barrow, in particular, had a difficult time accepting a jump from RG zoning to the new RM-1 zoning request in such a short period of time. He believed there should be an ordinance to rezone the property to be equivalent to the former RG status in order to keep the historic character and scale of the neighborhood. Commissioner Jordan brought up an issue of a letter submitted by residents in the area, which stated that the property in question already has a problem with trash and some crime.

Another zoning request came from Beall Gonnsen & Co, who wants to develop their already designated C-O (commercial/office) property off Gaines School Road in the airport overlay zone. Address is 855 Gaines School Road. Plans are for a 3.11-acre retail (65%) and office (35%) center. Retail ideas consist of coffee shop, bakery, clothing store, beauty parlor and assorted gift shops. The developers want to make it a diverse place, and want to build a large pedestrian area. The center would use the same entry drive as St. Andrews (school?). A traffic impact analysis still has to be completed.

This was an interesting item. McCarter stated his reservations: the developer is requesting more flexibility in the zoning ordinance than is allowed (the zone is really for offices, and the developers want 65% to be retail), and there is concern about the impact on the surrounding townhouses and residential neighborhood. Commissioner Jordan, however, raised the most concerns: 1. The special overlay zone at the airport is only a couple of months old, and now the developers suddenly have a bunch of variances to request. 2. The developers want to cover 73% of the property with impervious surfaces and haven't given much thought to the hydrology/stormwater runoff. 3. The developers are asking for a ten-foot buffer without a fence (Jordan believes there should be at least a twenty-foot buffer, with a fence). 4. Concerns about reduction of surrounding property values because of traffic? 5. Light trespassing and glare issues. 6. There is an existing bus stop adjacent to the property, yet no consideration in the plan for a bus bay. The report states that bus access is not practical; Jordan wants them to make more accommodation for alternative transportation.

Another zoning request came from the same company, Beall Gonnsen, for a Special Use Permit in the C-G (Commercial General) district for 11.72 acres at 2275 West Broad St for a community of multifamily apartments. This is in the area between Kroger and the Beechwood Shopping Center. A new (private) connecting road would be built between Kroger and Beechwood. Unlike in the previous plan, the developers are thinking about having the Athens Transit bus go down the connector road. This area is designated as a mixed-use zone.

Commissioner Ford stated that she liked the idea, especially the interconnectivity of businesses and residences. Barrow had many concerns, however. He stated it is extremely important for the commission to realize how serious of a vote this would be. He emphasized the importance of a mixed-use designation, and stated he believed that this plan is not consistent with a mixed-use plan on a micro level. "Don't abandon the vision of a plan just because a company wants to change it!" he stated. Barrow pointed out that Five Points follows the mixed-use plan very well, with the integration of businesses and residential areas scattered homogeneously. However, this proposal would call for a closed-off eleven-acre apartment complex surrounded by fifteen adjacent acres of commercial development. He would like to see businesses with residential living on top.

Chasteen argued that from a macro perspective, this is mixed-use, and thought it appeared to be an ideal situation for a community. Commissioner Jordan said he liked the idea, that it is what is envisioned in a mixed-use zone, but that it is "protected" mixed-use. He would like to see more greenspace, as well as a hydrologic assessment incorporating the water entering the detention pond from Broad St, Alps Road, and the Beechwood Shopping Center. Hugh Logan echoed Jordan's comments on stormwater concerns, traffic concerns, and wondered whether the pipes in that area were still in good shape.

Janet Nackoney