About The Braselton news. (Jefferson, Ga) 2006-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 23, 2022)
The Braselton News Wednesday, February 23, 2022 Page 2A Community calendar Art-TIques Winter Market set for Feb. 25-27 in Braselton Vendors from the metro Atlanta area will set up booths at the historic Braselton Gymnasium for the three-day Art-Tiques Winter Market Feb. 25-27. The event is located at 4825 Hwy. 53. The market will include antiques and artwork, along with "boutique, farmhouse and repurposed creations," according to organizers. Food trucks will be on location and live music is planned. Dates and times are as follows: •Friday, Feb. 25, noon to 7 p.m. •Saturday, Feb. 26,9 a.m. to 6 p.m. •Sunday, Feb. 27,10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For festival and vendor information, contact Donna Cannella at 706- 824-7204 or visit www.vintagemarkets.net. White Plains plans fourth Sunday singing White Plains Baptist Church will hold a fourth Sunday night singing on Sunday, Feb. 27, at 6 p.m. Glory Bound Quartet will perform. White Plains is located at 3650 Plwy. 124 West, Jefferson. Braselton Paddy's Day PathFest and PathQuest set for March 12 The sixth-annual Paddy's Day PathFest and PathQuest will be hosted at the Braselton LifePath on March 12. Festivities run from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. beginning with a St. Paddy's Day-themed decorated golf cart Path parade along the east side of Plwy. 211, followed by a Quest challenge. Prizes for best-decorated carts and costumes are sponsored by the Braselton Community Improvement Dis trict (CID). This event is sponsored by the Buy Local Braselton program. Learn more atwvwv.BraseltonLifePath.com. Toast of Braselton scheduled for May 12 The annual Toast of Braselton fundraising event is slated for May 12 from 6-9 p.m. at the Braselton Civic Center. Tickets include a buffet dinner, wine and beer, entertainment, a silent auction and a live auction. Organizers have announced a prohibition-era theme for this year's event. The Toast of Braselton is hosted by the Braselton Downtown Develop ment Authority. Proceeds benefit the Braselton DDA and the Braselton Main Street programs. For more information, contact Jessica Payne atjpayne@braselton.net. Hoschton spring festival set for May 14 The City of Hoschton's downtown spring festival—Jammin' in the Park — is set for May 14. Vendor information is available at cityof- hoschton.net under "2022 City Festivals." Braselton announces 2022 'Movies Under the Stars' dates The Town of Braselton has announced its 2022 schedule for its "Mov ies Under the Stars" series on the town green. Movies will be shown May 21, June 11 and July 23. Admission is free. Concessions will be available starting at 7 p.m. Movies will start as soon as it gets dark. Downtown restaurants will offer to-go dinners and beverages. The town will announce the movie titles for each date when they're confirmed. Braselton Concert on The Green dates announced for later this year Conceits on the Braselton Town Green for 2022 will be held Aug. 20 and Sept. 17 from 7-10 p.m. The musical acts have not yet been an nounced. "Music lovers are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and blan kets and enjoy this fun, free event," organizers said. Concessions will be available from the concessions building next to the green and some downtown restaurants will offer to-go dinners. The town green is located at 9924 Davis St, Braselton. New Liberty UMC plans 'Pub Theology' New Liberty United Methodist Church will begin hosting a weekly small group gathering at the Braselton Brewing Company. The first meeting was held Feb. 10. "Pub Theology is a time to grab a beer and enjoy conversations about theology, philosophy and the ways that faith is enacted in the world," leaders state. 'This is not a series of debates but friendly, open conversations among peers. All are invited to attend." For more information, get in contact with Tayler Johnson at tayler. johnson@ngumc.net. Braselton More amendments to Braselton’s development code being considered Braselton’s planning com mission and its town council will both hold public hearings over more amendments to the town’s development code. The planning commission, which is an advisory board, will hold its public hearings Feb. 28 at 7 p.m., while the town coun cil will hold public hearings over the same items on March 10 at 4 p.m. with potential votes following during its March 14 meeting (7 p.m.) Among the proposals consid ered are changes to definitions for automotive service stations and gas stations and conve nience stores. An amendment will also be considered to modify the defini tion of the term “land use” with in the codes. An amendment adding a definition for electron ic signs is proposed, too. There are also amendments proposed for the town’s general architectural requirements and non-residential lighting stan dards as well as an amendment dealing with the prohibition of electronic signs. Additionally, Braselton lead ers will consider an amendment to its planned unit development (PUD) codes related to revi sions to PUD proposals. Both the planning com mission and the town council recently approved multiple de velopment code amendments, including an amendment pro hibiting new gas stations, drive- through restaurants, car washes and auto service stations in the Hwy. 211 Overlay District. REZONING REQUESTS The planning commission and town council will also hold public hearings on a pair of re zoning matters on Feb. 28 and March 10, respectively. The first is an annexation and rezoning request from VDC Development Group LLC for .084 acres on Thompson Mill Rd. (Gwinnett County Tax Parcel R3006-009A). The property’s current zoning is O and I, but the applicant requests annexation and a rezoning to O-I (office institutional). The applicant seeks to combine this tract with adjacent incorporated property (5950 Thompson Mill Road) for space for a fire lane needed for an assisted living and memory care facility under construction. The second rezoning request is from Kevin Ringo for 0.85 acres owned by Bobbie L. Odom Kinney on 12510 Lewis Braselton Blvd. (Jackson Coun ty Tax Parcel B02 021C). The current zoning of the property is R-l, but the applicant seeks an N-C (Neighborhood Commer cial) zoning to use the property for an office. Around town Weekly snapshots from around the Braselton-Hoschton community ADDISON EICH MAYOR FUTURE MAYOR Photo by Ben Munro Seven-year-old Addison Eich recently met with Hoschton Mayor Lauren O’Leary and other town of ficials and was given her own nameplate. Eich said she plans to run for mayor when she’s older and has collected 63 signatures on her campaign sign. See related story on Page 3A. News briefs Submitted photo Pictured (L to R) are Braselton Community Devel opment Department staff members Jessica Payne, Amy Pinnell and Sarah Copeland. BRASELTON Braselton promotes community development staff Braselton town manager Jennifer Scott formalized the Community Development Department and assigned three staff members for its operation, according to a press re lease. Amy Pinnell, a nine-year employee, is the director to co ordinate community-related initiatives including the Buy Local campaign and will launch new initiatives recruiting community volunteers and outreach to HOAs (home own ers' associations) throughout the town. Jessica Payne, in her third year with the town, will be the Main Street coordinator and will staff the Downtown Development Authority. Sarah Copeland will organize and promote activities as the town’s event coordinator. “It’s a natural organizational upgrade for our many pro grams and projects,” said Scott, “And we have high confi dence in this team to continue to do exceptional jobs.” BRASELTON AREA NGHS down to 104 COVID patients Northeast Georgia Health System (NGHS) continues to see a decrease in COVID hospitalizations after treating well over 300 cases a month ago. As of Monday (Feb. 21), NGHS reported 104 COVID hospitalizations across its campuses. Twenty-three of those patients were being treated at NGHS’s Braselton facility. The system reported 340 COVID hospitalizations back on Jan. 22 during the Omicron variant surge. HOSCHTON Kolter Homes hires Landers to lead Hoschton’s Cresswind development According to a report from Atlanta Agent Magazine, Kolter Homes has hired former Serenbe Development Vice President and General Manager Jennifer Landers to serve as community director at Hoschton’s active-adult development, Cresswind Georgia. Landers, who has has 22 years of experience in resi dential real estate, will oversee the community’s devel opment. sales and homebuilding, according to Atlanta Agent Magazine. Prior to working at Serenbe Development, Landers spent 17 years with master-planned communities devel oper Newland, serving as marketing manager and then regional marketing director before being promoted to vice president of operations. Landers was honored by the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association as the 2021 Council Chairman of the Year and the 2009 Marketing Director of the Year. BRASELTON Grand opening for Braselton’s renovated 1904 building set for Feb. 24 A grand opening for the renovated 1904 building in Bra selton will be held on Feb. 24 from 4-7 p.m. The 1904, located at 9924 Davis St./Suite 1, is the orig inal section of the historic Braselton Brothers Building and now serves as a multi-tenant space. The first 100 adults to arrive receive a gift bag and a chance to enter a raffle. Jackson Co. BOC One acre lot size plan tossed back to planning board Plans to set Jackson County’s unincorporated minimum lot size at one acre hit a roadblock Feb. 21 when the Jackson Coun ty Board of Commissioners sent the issue back to the county plan ning commission for more work. A lengthy motion by com missioner Ralph Richardson Jr. called for the proposal to be remanded to the planning board and for a number of subdivision projects currently in the works to be exempted from the new min imum lot size rules. The motion carried with an unanimous 4-0 vote with chairman Tom Crow absent. Commissioner Chas Hardy followed the vote by calling for a special meeting between the BOC and county planning staff to further discuss the lot size issue. No date was set for that meeting. The proposal to raise the minimum lot size in the county came from a review of existing ordinances undertaken after the BOC issued a one-year morato rium on new housing projects in the county last fall. The county has been reviewing its codes and is also planning to put impact fees in place to help offset the cost of new infrastructure due to a massive boom in housing growth. The larger lot size proposal was approved by the Jackson County Planning Commission and is seen by some as a way to slow the rapid growth of new homes in rural areas of the coun ty But developers have pushed back against the idea, saying that larger lots will increase house prices, decrease the value of raw land and force new residential projects to go into other commu nities. In a related move Feb. 21, the BOC first approved, then denied, a planning board proposal to re quire raised slab foundations on most new houses in the county. The BOC first voted 3-1 to approve mandating raised-slabs or basements under new homes, then following a brief recess 25 minutes later, the board re scinded that vote followed by a 3-1 vote to deny a change to the county development code man dating raised slabs or basements. Slab homes are typically cheaper to build than houses on raised foundations. OTHER ACTION In other business Feb. 21, the BOC: • voted to buy two new ambu lances at a cost of $555,800. • agreed to update the GDOT speed zone ordinance, a move that lowers the speed near the new Jackson County High School. • approved a supplemental road paving list that included removing Benton Rd. from an earlier list and adding $800,000 to the road paving budget due to the high cost of paving materi als. • voted to approve a bid of $1 million from ACR Commercial Roofing to re-roof the Gordon Street Center building. • accepted Centurion Way as a county road. • created a special tax district for street lighting in Hellen Val ley Subdivision. • agreed to purchase two acres from James Patrick for $ 130,000 as part of a land-swap deal to increase the buffer around the closed county landfill. r $ 5 00 0FF Ticket Of s 20f° Or More. Valid with coupon Mon.-Thurs. only. La Hacienda Commerce La Hacienda Braselton 173 Steven B. 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