Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 2A
- FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Sunday, Mownbw 29,1 W«
PLANNING from 1A
some harsh wads for the homeown
ers. “Where were you when we
fought Home Depot and the Super
Wal-Mart?” he said. “You all want
conveniences in someone rise’s dis
trict”
' ' After many homeowners spoke
in bpposition, Lipscomb responded
to their concerns. “We’re not talking
about Johns Creek or Lakeland
Plaza, we’re talking about serving
the people of that area,” he said.
Lipscomb explained that buffers
and berms were planned, along with
a 10-foot high chain-link fence
around the area. “We are willing to
accept conditions of zoning that
wduld require the sidewalks, park
benches, brick fronts and lighting
that would not be intrusive to the
neighborhood,” he said.
Statham made a motion to
approve the development under the
Neighborhood Shopping zoning des
ignation with several conditions such
as the fence, park benches and modi
fied lighting.
Planning Commissioner Carroll
.Castleberry seconded the motion,
and it passed 4-1. Planning
Commissioner Pam Livesay cast the
dissenting vote. “I will vote for a
denial,” she said. “I don’t have any
thing against it personally, but I see
that there is some strong resistance.”
Martin reminded everyone pre
sent that the Planning Commission is
just a recommending body, and that
the Board of Commissioners will
have the final say on the matter.
Another matter that caused a
.great deal of debate was the pro
posed issuance of a home business
use permit by Lynn Bottoms.
Bottoms spoke in favor of the zoning
application and said that he plans to
efect a 40x70 building behind his
property for the purpose of opening
a woodworking shop.
Several nearby homeowners
voiced their concerns about the
issuance of the permit. “I own land
across the street, and we have restric
tive covenants,” said Dudley Willis.
“The building would be unsightly.”
“This retail-type building goes
beyond home business applications,”
said Gary Lipham.
“My opinion of a home business
is that you work out of your home,”
said John O’Connor.
t Bottoms responded to the neigh
bors’ comments. “My place is not as
well kept as the others, but it’s not an
-eyesore,” he said. “I bought it and
paid fa it and am not trying to hurt
anybody.”
Martin made several comments
in support of Bottoms. “This proper-
■ Correction
The headline in the Friday edi
tion, Bed & breakfast will be
allowed despite protests, was incor
rect While the planning board has
recommended to the Forsyth County
’ Board of Commissioners that the
home business use for the Nuckolls
Road home as a bed and breakfast
over protests of some area residents,
the county commission will not take
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ty is zoned agricultural, he could put
hogs and chicken houses out there.”
Martin offered a motion to
approve the zoning, with Castleberry
seconding. Hall, Livesay and
Statham voted against the motion.
Truman Mountain L.L.C., was
represented by Lipscomb, and pro
posed rezoning 63 acres on Knight
road from Al to R2R. “We are try
ing to build affordable homes for
starting teachers and deputy sher
iffs,” he said.
“I don’t like R2R because you’re
packing in houses like chickens,”
Martin said. “It’s close to the lake
and they will all be on septic tanks.”
Livesay commented that the
square footage is too low: “1,000
square feet is a cottage, not a house,”
she said. “We want the neighbor
hood to be there in five years, not
trashed by renters.”
Statham made a motion for
approval under the less dense zoning
designation of RIR, and with the
condition that the houses be 1,200
square feet. Livesay seconded the
motion. The vote was unanimous.
The board took a similar stance
with ZA#2295, in which Jack
Thompson proposed that 50 acres be
rezoned from Al to R2R. While
Thompson was proposing 1,500
square foot homes with two-car
garages, he said that R2R helps to
keep the price of the homes down.
“Our job is not to determine how
much profit someone makes,”
Statham said.
Sam Hussein is a nearby proper
ty owner who spoke in opposition to
the R2R zoning because he was dis
couraged from seeking the R2R
rezoning. “An R2R rezoning would
put me at a considerable disadvan
tage,” he said.
“We have to do something to
control density,” Martin said.
Martin made a motion to approve
under the RIR designation, and sev
eral other conditions. The motion
was approved unanimously.
Steve Abernathy spoke in favor
of ZA#2296, in which 2.25 acres is
proposed to be rezoned from R1 to
CBD (commercial). “The land is not
suitable for anything other than
CBD,” he said.
When questioned about what sort
of business he planned on develop
ing, Abernathy did not respond.
"There are no leases in existence,” he
said. “It would be premature to get a
lease at this time.”
“The property would be good for
CBD, but he doesn’t know what
kind of CBD he wants,” Martin said.
After speaking with several of
action on the application request
until its next regular meeting.
The Nov. 23 public hearing
before the commissioners was a
chance for citizens to voice their
support or objection to the proposal.
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the area homeowners in opposition
to the development, Hall suggested
that the decision be postponed until
they could meet. However,
Abernathy requested that the recom
mendation from the board be handed
down at the meeting.
The adjoining property owners
were also represented by an attorney.
“We have plenty of neighborhood
shopping in this neighborhood
already,” he said.
Pauline Loggins, a 42-year resi
dent of the area, also spoke in oppo
sition. “I would be an island sur
rounded by traffic,” she said.
Abernathy responded to the criti
cism. “R1 is not an appropriate zon
ing,” he said. “It is only suitable for
commercial.”
Statham abstained from voting,
due to his involvement with a nearby
church, but did state his opinion on
the matter. “I would like to see a lot
more cooperation,” he said to
Abernathy.
Martin made a motion to deny,
with Livesay supplying the second.
The vote was unanimous.
Zoning Applications #2777 and
#2278 were discussed, which
involve adjoining properties.
ZA#2777 deals with a long strip of
land directly off Ga. 400 that
Lipscomb is requesting be rezoned
from Al to CBD.
“It’s not suitable for the current
zoning or for residential use,”
Lipscomb said. “We are planning to
have an entrance directly off 400 and
one off Settingdown Road.”
There was no opposition to
ZAffiTl.
ZA#227B caused a bit more dis
cussion. The 31 acres is proposed to
be rezoned from Al to Ml (light
industrial).
“The neighbors have told me that
they would prefer a business park
over a subdivision,” Lipscomb said.
“This is a reasonable transitional use
of the property.”
Neighbor Jeff Miller spoke in
agreement with Lipscomb. “We real
ize that as close as we are to (Ga.)
400 things are going to change,” he
said. “You can’t stop progress.”
The vote on the issue was 4-1,
with Charles Hall voting in opposi
tion.
Other issues from the meeting:
•John B. Dinsmore, ZA#lss6,
denied unanimously
•Shiloh Pallet Co./J.E. Eidson,
ZA#l77B, approved unanimously
•Glover Pallet Co/Milton Glover,
ZA#l7Bl, approved unanimously
•Gregory K. Benkiser, ZA#lßls,
approved unanimously
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MORATORIUM from, a
“My initial response was that I felt
sorry for any developers who were
getting houses ready for the spring
market,” said Kim Farmer, a mortgage
banker with the Cumming office of
the Homeßanc Mortgage
Corporation. “Sewer and water are big
considerations, but I don’t see how it
came to this.”
According to Jeff Watkins, direc
tor of the Forsyth County Office of
Planning and Development, Gwinnett
County handles the rezoning issue by
limiting them to 10 per month.
In 1997, 128 rezonings in Forsyth
County were submitted for approval.
As of Nov. 20,108 parcels of property
have been submitted fa rezoning.
According to statistics generated
by Planning and Development, 18 res
idential, 16 commercial, three industri-
al, one agricultural and one cell tower rezoning have
been approved in 1998, making the total 39. The others
are either pending, withdrawn a denied.
The Board has decided to tackle another zoning issue
during the moratorium period by appointing a citizen's
committee to review the Forsyth County zoning ordi
nances and zoning district requirements.
“We have very good people that will represent the
entire population,” Jenkins said. “They will try to put
ordinances together that are fair.”
One of the problems that Jenkins said he sees is that
several of the zoning districts have such a broad range of
permitted uses that residents don’t really know what sort
Deaths
Gregory D. Gilmer
Gregory Dinsene Gilmer, 39, of
Sterling, Va., died Sunday, Nov. 15,
1998, at Columbia Reston Hospital
Center in Reston, Va.
He is survived by his parents,
Ronnie E. and Nancy Montgomery
Gilmer of Cumming; brothers, Eric
Gilmer of Cumming and Joel
Gilmer of Indianapolis, Ind.; pater
nal grandmother, Dortha Gilmer of
Moreland, Ky.; two nieces; and a
nephew.
Born in Louisville, Ky., he
attended Indiana State University,
majoring in theatre and art. At the
time of his death, he was employed
as a network technician with Diginet
Communications Inc., in Sterling,
Va.
Memorial services will be held in
Cumming on Saturday, Dec. 5, at 11
a.m. at the L.W. McDonald & Son
Funeral Home Chapel. Expressions
of sympathy may take the form of
contributions to the American Heart
Association in his memory.
L.W. McDonald & Son Funeral
Home is in charge of the service.
Forsyth County News
Nov. 29,1998
Yellow zoning signs may be few
and far between since the morato
rium began.
sizes and whether they allow fa sewer a septic tank
usage. The districts include: RIR (Single Family
Residential), CRI (Single Family Community
Residential), R1 (Single Family Residential), R2R
(Single Family Residential-Septic), R2R (Single
Family Residential-Sewer), R 2 (Single Family
Residential), R 3 (Multi-family residential -two faiqily
units), R 3 (Multi-family residential - three or more
families), R 4 (Mobile home park), VC (Vacation
Cottage) and OSR (Open Space Residential).
Other zoning designations include Al
(Agricultural), A2 (Agricultural Farm Protection),
Agßes (Agricultural Residential) and Recreational.
Gary Matthew Holcomb
Gary Matthew Holcomb, 48, of
Marietta, died Wednesday, Nov. 25,
1998.
A native of Whitfield County, he
was a Shriner, a member of the
Yaarab Temple and the Canton
Masonic Lodge. He served as a
clown at Shriner fairs. He was a vet
eran of the U.S. Navy and was a
member of the Church of God.
Survivors include his children,
Sherrie and David Cline of Marble
Hill, Gloria Ladezma of Chamblee
and Gary D. Holcomb of
Cumming; eight grandchildren; sis
ters, Sharon Wilkerson of
Ellenwood and Marie Sission of
Vancouver, Wash.; brother, Lewis
Holcomb of Alabama; and a num
ber of nieces, nephews and other
relatives.
Services will be held Sunday,
Nov. 29, at 2 p.m. at Ingram
Funeral Home Chapel.
Interment will be held at
Sawnee View Memorial Gardens.
Ingram Funeral Home of
Accent Mortgage
Services, Inc.
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—— ——-——-
Forsyth County News
J Kwr "Hometown Paper" Since 190 S J
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Phone: 770-887-3126
Internet Address: www.fbrsythnews.com
Publisher DENNIS STOCKTON
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Sports Editor STEPHEN UNDERWOOD
Graphic Systems Manager TOM JORDAN
Published Sunday, Wednesday. Thursday and Friday by the Forsyth County News
Company, 302 Old Buford Road, Cumming, Ga. Second Class Postage paid at
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Classified Line Advertising Deadlines
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For Sunday's paper classified line ads are due by noon Friday.
For Wednesday’s paper classified line ads are due by noon Monday.
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? ’’ ;
of use the owner intends. “I
would like to see the permitted
uses broken down,” he added.
Currently, there are nine com
mercial zoning districts, with each
having a broad range of permitted
uses. They each have different
setbacks and lot size require
ments. The districts include: NS
(Neighborhood Shopping), HB
(Highway Business), CBD
(Commercial Business District),
RC (Rural Convenience), O&I
(Office and Industrial), MI
(Restricted Industrial), M 2
(Heavy Industrial), Mine (Mine
Operating District) and CT
(Commercial Tower).
Forsyth County has 11 differ
ent residential zoning districts,
which differ in their setbacks, la
Cumming had charge of the
arrangements.
Forsyth County News •
’ Nov. 29,1998
* ►
John F. Williams •
John F. Williams, 55, of
Cumming, died Wednesday, Nov.
25, 1998.
Survivors include his wife,
Jane Litwin Williams of
Cumming; mother, Carpie
Williams of Minneapolis, Minh.;
children, Jason Williams, Amy
Williams and Nicole Williams, •all
of Austin, Texas; and sistpr,
Sandra Larson of Minneapolis,
Minn. '
Memorial services will be held
Wednesday, Dec. 2, from 6-8 p.m.
at Werness Brothers Funeral
Home, 3500 W. 50th St.,
Minneapolis, Minn.
Ingram Funeral Home .of
Cumming is in charge of local
arrangements.
Forsyth County News
Nov. 29,1998