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COMMUNITY
Roswell
Sandy
Springs
Norcross
Tucker
Georgia Court of
Appeals will hear
cemetery case
Descendants of a Confederate vet
eran will soon appear before the Geor
gia Court of Appeals to argue that the
veteran’s family cemetery should be
returned to them.
On Nov. 19 the state Court of Ap
peals agreed to consider the appeal
filed by the descendants of Judge John
Heard, a founding member of the
Sandy Springs community. Heard’s
1-acre cemetery is located at 0 Heards
Drive.
The descendants are trying to take
control of the cemetery away from
Christopher Mills. Mills, who is not
a member of the Heard family, owns
the property because it was mistaken
ly sold at a tax auction. His in-laws
paid the back taxes and obtained the
property in order to preserve the cem
etery. They later sold the property to
Mills for $1. Mills wants to build a
home on an undeveloped portion of
the land. Mills obtained an archaeo
logical survey that determined there
are no graves on the spot where he
wants to build.
Mills and his attorney have repeat
edly declined requests for comment
about this case.
Mills applied for a building per-
BRIEFS
mit, which the city of Sandy Springs
denied because the property con
tains a cemetery. Mills sued the city in
2012. Members of the Heard family
filed a motion to intervene.
Fulton County Superior Court
Judge Kimberly Adams ruled against
the descendants’ motion for summa
ry judgment, which would’ve giv
en them control of the property, but
agreed to let the Court of Appeals Re
view her decision.
City accepting
award
nominations
Each year the city of Sandy Springs
presents its Humanitarian Award to
an individual who lives or works in
the city and “embodies [Dr. Martin
Luther] King’s history of character
and service.”
The city is accepting nominations
for the 2014 recipient, who will be
honored Jan. 20 at the city’s annual
Martin Luther King Day event.
To submit a nomination, vis
it http://www.sandyspringsga.gov/
MLK
SANDY5PRINGSGA.GOV
Rafael Celedon
wanted to
build a 15 x
183 foot tree
house in the
Talbot Colony
neighborhood
for his two
children. After
it was partially
constructed,
Celedon
learned he
needed a
permit, due
to size.
City Council debates
tree house
BY DAN WHISHT
danwhisenhunt@reporternewspapers.net
There’s no matter too small for a zon
ing dispute in Sandy Springs. Even a tree
house can draw attention.
During the Nov. 19 City Council
meeting, council members spent about
30 minutes debating a zoning applica
tion for a tree house presented by Rafa
el Celedon, who lives in the Talbot Col
ony neighborhood. Celedon’s property
is one of several in that area built near
Ga. 400.
Celedon wanted to build a tree house
— technically it’s a playhouse, but the
council used those terms interchange
ably — for his kids, who are aged 9 and
11.
Celedon has been working to get the
tree house approved since August.
It was already partially constructed,
but Celedon learned that he needed a
permit. By the time he got the permit,
with some restrictions, on Nov. 19, Cel
edon said he would withdraw the appli
cation.
“It’s been a long painful process for
me,” he told City Council.
Patrice Dickerson, manager of plan
ning and zoning for the city, told city
council that playhouses that are no larg
er than 120 square feet do not require a
permit. The property is 15 feet high and
183 square feet, according to the appli
cation.
Celedon’s neighbor, Cynthia Wilkins,
requested a 30-day deferral to address
some of her concerns, and City Coun
cil briefly considered a motion to defer
for 60 days.
City Councilman Chip Collins said
that was unnecessary and recommend
ed approval, with a few conditions to
screen the property from the neighbors.
“To my mind we’ve already spent too
much time and effort on this,” Collins
said. “I certainly don’t think it’s wor
thy of a deferral of 30 or 60 days. Ei
ther grown people can figure this out, or
we can’t.”
Other council members agreed with
Collins, so they voted to approve the
permit.
But when a reporter caught up with
Celedon outside of the meeting, he said
he was giving up on his plans to build
the tree house on the property.
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www.ReporterNewspapers.net | NOV. 29 — DEC. 12,2013 | 7
