Newspaper Page Text
The Braselton News
Page 3A
Wednesday, July 19, 2023
Braselton
Braselton DDA sets date for 2024 beer festival
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews. com
While more planning lies
ahead, the Braselton Down
town Development Authori
ty has already selected a date
for its inaugural beer festival.
The DDA’s Mitch Chap
man announced Thursday
(July 13) that the event will
be held Sept. 22,2024.
Chapman said last month
that the DDA looks to hold
the festival on the Braselton
Town Green.
The festival will coincide
with the annual two-day
Pooches in the Park event.
Still, Braselton Main Street
Director Jessica Payne said
the events shouldn’t conflict
and could actually “piggy
back” on one another.
The DDA looks to estab
lish the festival as an an
nual fundraiser to replace
the yearly Zombie Run 5K,
which has been dropped
from the DDA’s calendar.
OTHER NEWSIn other
news discussed by the DDA:
•is working on a contract
with the artist whose design
the DDA selected for the
repainting of Braselton’s
downtown planters. Mean
while, work on the parking
deck mural extension was
slated to begin this past
weekend.
•heard that the promotions
committee wants to start
monthly “cars and coffee”
car show events. The com
mittee also discussed placing
bee art in certain spots down
town.
•heard that the Aug. 10
Downtown Wine Walk
(5-9 p.m.) is sold out.
•continues work towards a
booster grant program to aid
downtown business owners
with various projects.
Hoschton
Hoschton leaders
delay vote on final
subdivision plat
Hoschton
Hoschton DDA surveys residents
about downtown structure
Photo by Ben Munro
The Hoschton Downtown Development Authority
has posted a survey on Facebook for residents to
provide input over future use of the former site of
Larry’s Garage, which the city owns.
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews. com
Approval of the final
plat for the former Nunley
Farms development — now
known as Alma Farms — is
on hold as the Hoschton
City Council looks into the
project’s initial approval
from April 2021.
On Monday (July 17),
Acting Mayor James Law-
son motioned to table the
vote “until we get a little
bit more information about
what was going on with
the public hearing for this
parcel, when it was done,
how it was done and who
approved it.”
The plat for the devel
opment, located at 300
Peachtree Rd., raised ques
tions from some city resi
dents during public com
ment at Thursday’s (July
13) work session, most
notably about the develop
ment having a single en
trance despite plans for 55
homes.
“Is this a variance, and if
so, how is it documented?”
resident Richard Green
asked.
City planner Jerry Weitz
said the council in 2021
amended a code that re
quired two entrances for a
subdivision of 50 or more
homes.
Resident Christina
Brown asked about the le
gality of the matter, con
tending that a change in
homes from 49 to 55 was
granted without a public
hearing.
“I understand that code
was amended, but that was
after a vote on 49 lots,”
she said. “And somehow,
it turned to 55 without an
additional public hearing.
So, I just wondered if that
was appropriate. It is con
cerning.”
Other inquiries during
public comment includ
ed the reduction of buffer
zones, the installation of
street trees and buffer zone
planting.
As for other discussion
regarding the subdivision,
Weitz, who recommended
approval of the final plat,
said the development still
lacks street signs, but those
have been ordered. He also
confirmed that the project
will include a 12-foot-wide
asphalt cart path in front
of the development along
Peachtree Rd.
The council will consider
the plat again in August.
COUNCIL TABLES
PARKING ORDINANCE
The city is working on
an ordinance to remedy on
street parking issues, but
the council delayed voting
on it to allow the city po-
Qualifying
continued
from3A
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews. com
The City of Hoschton has
announced qualifying for
lice department more time
for review.
According to Weitz,
the proposed ordinance is
based on the City of Pen
dergrass’s code and places
significant limits on on
street parking.
On-street parking issues,
specifically in the Village
at Hoschton, have generat
ed safety concerns among
some residents who have
recently addressed the
council.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business, the
council:
•heard the city lost an
Italian restaurant that was
to lease the commercial
space within Hoschton’s
new city hall complex.
However, two other restau
rants have expressed inter
est in the unit.
•approved a convenience
store with fuel pumps with
in the Twin Lakes master
plan development along
Hwy. 53. The convenience
store wasn’t permitted un
der the current zoning,
requiring a zoning condi
tion modification approval
from the city council. The
change passed 3-1, with
Debbie Martin opposing.
•approved a group of
variances for an already-ap
proved 24-townhome proj
ect for 2.37 acres on Hen
ry St. The changes allow
for a minimum square foot
reduction from 2,400 to
2,000 feet for the townho-
mes, an increase in town-
home buildings from six to
eight and a minimum road
frontage reduction from
24 to 20 feet. The varianc
es passed 3-1, with Martin
opposing. It also approved
the preliminary plat for the
project, passing with a 3-1
vote with Martin opposing.
•approved a $10,000 de
sign bid from Garland and
Associate Contractors,
Inc. — which constructed
Hoschton’s new city hall
— for the city’s new pub
lic works facility on Cabin
Dr. The city will bid out
the construction separately.
The proposed new facility
is designed as a four-bay
drive-through building. The
public works department
has been housed in the
wastewater plant but has
outgrown that space.
• OK’d a verbiage change
in employee policies allow
ing city staff to take Friday
off if Veterans’ Day falls on
Saturday or Monday off if
the holiday falls on Sunday.
•passed another verbiage
change requiring employ
ees to use paid time off
(PTO) when taking days
off. The city manager must
approve all vacation time.
•authorized the city to
seek permitting to expand
its water system from
950,000 gallons per day to
two million gallons per day.
The city projects it will ex
pand to a two-million-gal-
lons-per-day capacity by
2028.
•met in closed session on
Thursday to discuss real es
tate.
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews.com
As the Hoschton Down
town Development Authority
(DDA) considers the future
of the fonner Larry’s Garage
building, the board is turn
ing to residents to glean their
thoughts.
JJie DDA posted a revi
talization survey on its Face-
book page last week seeking
feedback on the future of the
historic structure located at the
comer of Hwy. 53 and West
Broad St.
JJie survey includes ques
tions about priorities for the
renovation, its role in the
revitalization of downtown
Hoschton and a possible name
for the building.
JJie survey is still available
to the public via Facebook.
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews. com
The City of Hoschton has
announced qualifying for
Nov. 7 special elections to fill
its mayoral vacancy and an
empty council seat — both of
which have terms that won’t
expire until 2026.
Special election qualifying
will run from Aug. 7 at 8 a.m.
to Aug. 9 at 4:30 p.m.
The qualifying fee for may
or is $360, and the council
seat is $180. Those interested
in running for mayor or the
The department was rein
stated in 2021, having been
dissolved 11 years earlier,
and moved into its current
location at 4162 Hwy. 53
Hie DDA is already consid
ering its options for the build
ing.
In May, Braselton developer
Matt Ruppel went before the
DDA with renderings of what
the renovated structure might
look like. Ruppel asked the
DDA to allow him 90 days to
present a specific plan to the
board.
city council post can pick up
a qualifying packet at city hall
during qualifying times.
Former Mayor Lauren
O’Leary resigned on July 5
due to a family move away
from Hoschton, while for
mer councilman Scott Mims
stepped down in March, cit
ing family and professional
reasons.
hi addition to those special
elections, the city will have
standard elections in No
vember for three other seats
whose terms expire in 2024,
in the spring of 2022. The
city purchased the Hwy. 53
building, previously the site
of a florist, and remodeled it
to house the police depart-
The City of Hoschton pur
chased the Larry’s Garage
building in May 2022 with
a vision of rising it for a city
market with restaurant and
retail spaces. It looked to sell
the property to Cole Hudgens,
who had a similar concept, in
December 2022, but the deal
did not materialize.
giving Hoschton five council
races. Up for grabs in those
races are the seats of Tracy
Carswell, who said he won’t
seek re-election; Debbie Mar
tin, who won a council seat in
2022 to fill the unexpired term
of Shantwon Astin; and the
former seat of Adam Ledbet
ter, who stepped down in Feb
ruary to devote attention to his
son’s kidney transplant.
The qualifying details for
these races will be identical to
those of the two special elec
tions.
ment, budgeting $50,000 for
the project.
Hoschton leaders will
now seek bids from tenants
to fill that space.
July 19, 2023 ~ Crossword Puzzle
ACROSS
1. Ribonuclease
6. “Law & Order” doctor Emil
11. MN 55120
12. The violin’s ancestor
13. Medicine man
15. Moral excellence
18. Cola plants
19. Plunge into a liquid
20. Wheel tracks
21. Get free of
24. Celt
25. Actress Thurman
26. Zig-zag movement on skis
30. Tossed around
32. Media mogul Turner
33. Green or Earl Grey
35. Shipping container
43. The SW division of Oceania
44. Macao monetary unit
45. Hit with the open hand
47. Publicities
48. Frosts
49. Treaties
51. Plural of crus
52. Dully painful
54. Standing rib and crown
55. Body that develops into a seed
57. Related on the mother’s side
58. Sebaceous gland secretion
59. Palm fruits
DOWN
1. One part of a chemical
reaction
2. National Measurement
Accreditation Svc.
3. Turkish leaders titles
4. Diego or Francisco
5. = to 1/2 em
6. Jr’s, parent
7. Kiloelectron volts
8. Kimono sashes
9. Denigrated
10. Existing in reality
13. Growth of stunted vegetation
14. LA 70360
16. Put into service
17. Snakelike fish
21. Radioactivity unit
22. Large WPA project
23. Young female socialite
26. About tide
27. 2nd musical tone
28. Ask at O’Donnell’s Web page
29. A rule in Sanskrit
31. Misleading & dishonest
34. Manual computing devices
36. Ancient Egyptian sun god
37. Double helix nucleic acid
38. A place to sleep
39. Former CIA
40. 2001 Spielberg film
41. Not hidden
42. Xhosas (alt sp.)
43. Chauvinists
45. A health resort
46. Resin used in shellac
48. Highly incensed
50. Deliberate affront
51. A sleeved outer garment
53. Glutamic acid
54. Transmits info from DNA
56. = to 2 ens
57. - , denotes past
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Hoschton
Hoschton plans qualifying
for special elections
Police continued from lA