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20 Pages, 2 Sections
A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. Winder, Barrow County, Georgia $1.00 Copy Wednesday, October 12, 2022
WBHS HONORS BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS WITH PINK OUT
Credit: WBHS
To show support for Breast Cancer Awareness month this October, Winder-Barrow’s softball team honored as
sistant principal Barbara Smith as she threw the first pitch of the game Thursday, Oct. 6. On Friday, the student
section theme at the home football game was PINK OUT, with cheerleaders, football players and the marching
band wearing pink to support the cause and honor survivors.
BOC addresses traffic conditions
on Mulberry Road and S.R. 53
By Morgan Ervin
A roundabout and oth
er proposed traffic calming
measures at the intersection
of Mulberry Road and S.R.
53/Gainesville Highway
were approved by the Barrow
County Board of Commis
sioners (BOC) Sept. 27.
A corridor analysis was
conducted by KCI Technol
ogies, at the request of the
county's public works de
partment, to evaluate current
roadway characteristics and
traffic conditions and provide
recommendations based on
the findings.
Mulberry Road features
narrow lanes, about 10-feet
wide, with sight distance con
cerns and limited signage.
According to KCI, “Drivers
unfamiliar with the corridor
will experience difficulty
driving at the posted speed
limit.”
According to Georgia De
partment of Transportation's
numeric database, crash re
cords from 2017-2021 indi
cate 29 total crashes, includ
ing five with injuries and zero
fatalities. Within the study
area. 27 crashes were not a
collision with a motor vehi
cle, six were collisions with
deer and 21 were caused by
drivers leaving the roadway
and crashing into trees, fenc
es, ditches or embankments.
GDOT also reports 14 out
of the 29 recorded crashes
occurred at night, and three
crashes occurred within the
corridor at Mulberry Road
and Chicken Lyle Road.
The vehicle maneuver for
16 out of 29 crashes were said
to be negotiating a curve, with
13 of those crashes taking
place along the major curve
between Collie Doster Road
and Chicken Lyle Road, none
of which resulted in a fatali
ty over the five-year analysis
period.
This major curve coin
cides with the location of the
Horseshoe Bend develop
ment, a proposed subdivision
consisting of 590 single-fam
ily detached homes along the
northside of Mulberry Road,
between Collie Doster Road
and Chicken Lyle Road. The
development is expected to
open in 2030.
Also nearby, additional fu
ture projects planned, includ
ing a future Mulberry Road
See Mulberry, page 2A
The GDOT provides the following information
on roundabouts:
HOW TO NAVIGATE A ROUNDABOUT
• When approaching a roundabout, slow down and
observe advisory speed limit signs. Stop for pedestrians.
It's the law.
• When entering a roundabout, yield to traffic already in
the circle. Look left and then enter when there is a safe
gap in the circulating traffic.
• When at the roundabout, drive counter-clockwise and
obey signs at all times and stop for pedestrians in
crosswalk.
• When inside the roundabout, DO NOT STOP. You have
the right of way. Approaching the exit, use the right turn
signal: watch for cyclists and pedestrians: and then slowly
exit the roundabout. Use correct speed upon exit.
ROUNDABOUT FACTS
• Roundabouts can be a safer and more efficient
alternative to traditional intersections, which are one of
the most common sites of crashes.
• Roundabouts require reduced speeds, giving drivers
more time to react to other vehicles and pedestrians.
• Roundabouts can accommodate larger vehicles such
as trucks, buses and tractor-trailers with large turning
radiuses. Most of Georgia's roundabouts offer a "truck
apron" in the design. This allows the rear wheels of larger
vehicles to safely navigate the roundabout. For example,
truck trailers can roll over the apron located around the
central island.
• Roundabouts can save money. There is no traffic signal
equipment to install, repair or maintain.
• Roundabouts can reduce congestion. When operating
inside a roundabout, a driver typically experiences a lower
delay time than at intersections with traffic lights or stop
signs.
• Roundabouts significantly reduce pollution, noise
impacts and fuel consumption.
MAILING LABEL
Winder seeks state grant to fund
walking trail at City Pond Park
By Morgan Ervin
The City of Winder will apply for the 2022-
2023 Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program
for the installation of a walking trail at City
Pond Park.
If Winder is selected, the program, initiated
by the Georgia Department of Natural Resourc
es, will fund the installation of approximately
6,400 linear feet of paved trail at City Pond
Park. The grant will fund 75% of awarded proj
ects with a 25.1% required match by the city.
The city has expressed a need for pedestrian
connectivity in the area surrounding City Pond
Park and has adopted a Complete Streets and
Trails Plan earlier this year as a guide to fa
cilitate local decision-making and investment
toward non-automobile transportation and out
door recreation.
The city estimates the total project cost at
over $2.8 million, which would require the city
to pay nearly $720,000, should it be awarded
the grant.
As the city’s first drinking water reservoir,
and centered between several current and fu
ture residential developments, the city believes
the installation of a walking trail at City Pond
Park would be ideal in improving community
connectivity.
In addition to the 6,400 linear feet of paved
trail along City Pond Park, the city is also pro
posing to install approximately 1,625 linear
feet of paved sidewalk along West Candler St.,
connecting the park trail to the existing side
walk on West Candler, which will close the
existing gap along the road and complete con
nectivity. The West Candler paving would cost
$254,660 of the grant funding, which the city
would cover 25.1%, or $85,340.
The city also has looked into costs associ
ated with other items such as: trail amenities,
including benches, trailheads and public edu
cation signage ($15,813) an engineering firm
for design ($36,395) and a 1,500 linear feet
elevated boardwalk ($125,500).
In discussions among the council on whether
to move forward with the application, coun-
cilmember Travis Singley pointed out the con-
See Winder, page 2A
VOTERS
It’s time to make your voices heard by voting in this
upcoming election Nov. 8.
Early voting begins Oct. 17
Advance voting dates for the Nov. 8 General Election
and the Town of Bethlehem Special Election are Oct. 17-
Nov. 4. Early voting will be held Monday through Friday
from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Barrow County Elections Of
fice, located at 233 East Broad St. in Winder. Early voting
will also be available Saturday, Oct. 22 and Oct. 29 from
8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For questions, call the elections office at
770-307-3110.
Judge dismisses
Winder’s claims
against state, county
By Morgan Ervin
morgan@barrownewsjournal.com
A Barrow County Superior
Court judge issued an order
to dismiss all of the City of
Winder's claims against the
State of Georgia and to dis
miss certain claims against
Barrow County in an annex
ation dispute. Winder chal
lenged the constitutionality of
the annexation dispute arbi
tration procedure after it heard
arguments from an arbitration
panel, State of Georgia and
Barrow County on multiple
motions to dismiss Winder’s
petition for judicial review
during a hearing Sept. 27.
In its motion to dismiss,
the state argued, “the primary
issue in this case is whether
the City of Winder may take
advantage of the annexation
powers explicitly delegat
ed by the General Assembly
while refusing to comply with
reasonable conditions the
General Assembly imposed as
part of that delegation.”
“The answer is no, and
Winder's claims for relief
should be denied,” read the ar
bitration panels’ and State of
Georgia’s brief in opposition
to judicial review.
"Winder cannot have it both
ways - either it exercises the
annexation powers delegated
to it by the state, with the con
ditions attached, or it pursues
annexation though local legis
lation at the next term of the
General Assembly,’’ said the
state’s brief.
BACKGROUND
The hearing followed the
city's appeal seeking judicial
review of a decision made
by an arbitration panel Aug.
9, which was initiated by
the county’s objection to an
annexation application sub
mitted by Meritage Homes
of Georgia seeking to rezone
roughly 130 acres of proper
ty zoned in Barrow County’s
agricultural (AG) district into
the City of Winder’s Planned
Unit Development district
(PUD) to accommodate 321
townhome units with a pro
posed density of 2.48 units
per acre along Pearl Pentecost
and the West Winder Bypass.
The county’s primary ob
jections stemmed from the
proposed change in density
as the proposed density more
than doubles the most inten
sive residential zoning district
permitted under the county’s
Future Lane Use Map, which
allows for only one unit per
acre. The county also took a
strong position on protecting
the Future Land Use Map
(FLUM), as the proposed
zoning didn’t comply.
The development of the
FLUM is a lengthy and thor
ough public process that in
cludes a considerable amount
of public input. Therefore,
protecting the FLUM is anal
ogous to protecting the inter
ests of the community.
More specifically, the coun
ty was keen on ensuring the
West Winder Bypass is de
veloped per the plans mapped
out in the FLUM, which des
ignates it as a commercial and
industrial corridor lined with
townhomes, which is in line
with what Winder seeks to ac
complish, however, the PUD
zoning district it seeks to an
nex into has not been updated
to the city’s comprehensive
plan.
The arbitration panel ul
timately ruled that Barrow
County’s objection to the an
nexation was valid as it would
require significant changes to
a county-maintained intersec
tion that would cost up to $2
million and that Winder's pro
posed zoning change differs
substantially from Barrow
County’s existing uses.
The panel recommend
ed for one-year, one portion
of the annexed property be
zoned low density single-fam
ily residential and the other
parcel be zoned neighborhood
commercial (B-l), general
commercial (B-2) or Industri
al (I) per the Winder code.
Georgia law requires the
city to either accept the rec
ommendations of the arbitra
tion panel and proceed with
the remaining annexation pro
cess, or abandon the annex
ation proceeding altogether.
Shortly after the arbitration
panel’s formal ruling was is
sued Aug. 31, the city brought
the constitutional challenge
through four separate counts,
including judicial review for
errors of fact or law, biases,
misconduct or abused discre
tion on behalf of the arbitra
tion panel, judicial review on
the time required for filing ap
peals, a petition for certiorari
and a petition for declaratory
judgement asking the court
to declare the annexation ar
bitration law unconstitutional
and the decision of the panel
“null and void and without
effect.”
Meanwhile, during its next
regularly scheduled council
meeting Sept. 6, the city pro
ceeded to annex and rezone
the property under the zon
ing classification originally
sought by the developer in the
annexation application, rather
than the zoning classification
required by the arbitration
panel in compliance with state
law.
In its Oct. 3 order, the Bar-
row County Superior Court
found the county satisfied
the requirements for entering
into a preliminary injunction
to “maintain the status quo”
pending a decision on the
city’s request for judicial re
view to block the city from
acting any further following
its Sept. 6 decision to annex
and rezone.
The dismissal of the claims
against the state and the coun
ty prompted the city to file
two new lawsuits in two dif
ferent courts -against the state
in Fulton Superior Court and
against the county in Barrow
Superior Court. In the city’s
latest filings, the same allega
tions, challenging the consti
tutionality of the state's law,
are being made.
