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BARROW NEWS-JOURNAL
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2021
Auburn council
considers water
connection fee hike
for new construction
By Morgan Ervin
For the Barrow News-Journal
During its Oct. 21 work ses
sion, the Auburn City Coun
cil considered a $1,000 water
connection fee increase for fu
ture development that has been
recommended for approval by
staff when the council holds
its monthly voting session next
week.
The proposed increase —
from $3,500 to $4,500 — would
not affect current customers or
monthly water rates, only new
constructions. City officials
said the increase is intended to
be used to support population
growth, to keep up with cur
rent and future upgrades and
maintenance measures to ac
commodate future customers, to
help pay for the direct costs of
connecting to the water system,
for the infrastructure and water
resources capacity needed to
support new developments, and
for treatment plant water quality
improvements.
Water taps are the connection
points where home or business
lines connects to public water
lines. The fee pays the cost of
laying down pipe to reach the
property, which could include
boring under the road and in
stalling the tap and meter, offi
cials said.
In comparison, connection
fee pricing in surrounding mu
nicipalities range from $1,128
in Gwinnett County to $5,000
in the City of Winder.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business during its
workshop Oct. 21, the council:
•considered a text amendment
for a Planned Suburban Village
(PSV) ordinance on the city’s
official zoning map to provide
for company development in
areas where services and ame
nities can be more distant from
residences than in urban cen
ters and to establish groupings
of residential and/or office uses
for “efficient” use of land. The
PSV ordinance would allow for
commercial uses, including gas
stations and convenience stores,
drive-thru restaurants, veteri
nary clinics, offices and hospi
tals and fitness facilities.
•considered an amendment to
the Post-Construction Storm
water Management for New
Development and Redevelop
ment ordinance to establish a
one-inch minimum rainwater
requirement to “control the
adverse effects of increased
post-construction stormwater
runoff and source pollution as
sociated with new development
and redevelopment.” According
to staff reports, the ordinance
would enable better commu
nication through reporting at
state levels for the Municipal
Separate Storm Sewer System
(MS4) program monitored by
the Georgia Environmental Pro
tection Division (EPD).
•considered a resolution to
formalize how the city plans
to make use of the funds it re
ceived under the American
Rescue Plan Act Resolution
(ARPA), which comes with de
tailed guidelines on allocation
amounts and uses of funds.
•met in closed session to in
terview a candidate for the open
city planner position. No action
resulted from the session.
Statham continued from 1A
zones around the county.
•heard from Piper that speed
bumps have been installed on
Railroad Street to deter speed
ing and that “we are looking at
other locations.”
the coming years.
•heard from Piper that the
school zone speed warning signs
are up by Bear Creek Middle
and will soon be up by Statham
Elementary. Those driving 11
miles per hour over the post
ed speed limit in school zones
will be ticketed through the
mail by Blue Line Solutions,
the company that is installing
the speed cameras in school
Planning continued from 1A
less space,” said Hogan, who
sought to assure the planning
commission that the com
pany wouldn’t “run out and
look for someone else to get
in there” if it found trouble
selling the homes to people
55 and over.
County staff has recom
mended language for the
northern tract of the devel
opment that the homes be
targeted toward seniors with
“active-adult” amenities in
cluded. But commission
member Deborah Lynn said
she favors keeping the senior
requirement in place.
“Barrow County needs se
nior housing,” Lynn said.
“If we’re going to reopen
this box, I feel that our cit
izens need to know what
they’re getting. What can we
do to guarantee that prod
uct?”
Lynn was joined in oppo
sition by members Ronnie
Morrow, Barry Norton and
Kevin Jackson. Members
David Dyer, Robert Lanham
and Ray Fowler were not
in attendance at last week’s
meeting.
The latest public hearing
came after the commission
tabled a decision on the re
quest last month and devel
opers met with both county
representatives and nearby
residents in attempts to as
suage their concerns about
the project and proposed
changes.
Hogan told the commis
sion she believed progress
had been made on that front
and said the developer made
several “concessions” on
the conditions. She noted
that recommendations from
a traffic study for the devel
opment have been and will
be incorporated into the site
plan, that the developer has
agreed to a condition to in
stall decorative fencing along
the full length of the devel
opment and that any and all
zoning buffers will remain
undisturbed, including a 25-
foot buffer around an on-site
cemetery.
County staff also recom
mended substituting a condi
tion prohibiting clear cutting
of timber on the entire tract
for a tree-planting replace
ment plan and agreed to rec
ommend waiving a condition
that capped the number of
building permits issued each
calendar year at 50.
But while residents Joel
Bell and Patricia Stallings
acknowledged they had
found some consensus with
the developers in their dis
cussions, concerns about the
proposed changes remained.
Stallings said she was in
favor of keeping a condition
that requires a professional
study to be conducted to de
termine the extent of the cem
etery and is seeking stronger
assurances that as many ex
isting trees be protected as
possible. Bell noted that the
county had to issue a stop-
work order last month after
workers were on-site clear
ing paths and knocking down
some of the trees without a
land disturbance permit.
Bell said the residents un
derstand the project will be
built under its approved R-3
zoning, but added that the
“spirit” of the 2008 con
ditions was to mitigate the
impact an R-3 development
would have on the surround
ing developments with lower
density. He also said addi
tional traffic analysis should
be performed and there
should be more feedback
from the Georgia Depart
ment of Transportation be
fore work proceeds. Accord
ing to county documents, a
GDOT representative in fact
wrote that coordination with
GDOT would be required for
the development.
“I do believe the intent (of
the 2008 conditions) was to
offset the R-3 zoning (ef
fects),” Bell said. “Overall
we’re asking it to blend in
better with the surrounding
development.”
The BOC public hearing
is scheduled for the BOC’s
6 p.m. meeting Nov. 9.
ELECT
JERRY MARTIN
CANDIDATE FOR WINDER
CITY COUNCILMAN AT-LARGE
• Leads with honesty and integrity - "I am very strong in my faith and
always pray for guidance in all decisions that I make."
• Business Minded and believes government should be ran like a busi
ness. Before raising taxes you should always look over the budget to
see what can be cut out before raising taxes.
• Keeping that small town feel while handling growth. The city's big
gest challenge is how to handle growth and still keep that small town
feel. This is one thing that I'm passionate about and will stand firm
to achieve this goal.
Please go to www.jerrymartincitycouncil.com or scan the
QR code to watch a video to learn more about me
and why I feel led to run for the council seat.
VOTE JERRY MARTIN
WINDER CITY COUNCILMAN
AT-LARGE, NOVEMBER 2,2021