Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30, 2010
THE JACKSON HERALD
PAGE 3A
Hoschton council to change law allowing gun dealers
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
SAYING IT didn’t have a
law allowing firearms deal
ers in the city, the Hoschton
City Council voted Thursday
to change its zoning ordinance
after a council member said a
gun shop was unfairly treated
by officials.
“We did not have this ordi
nance,” said Mayor Pro Tem
Theresa Kenerly. “We’ve had
some problems with a business
license and council member
(Sandie) Romer brought it to
our attention. So, it’s become
apparent that we have a large
issue that we need to handle.”
At issue is a business
license issued to a gun store in
Hoschton.
After a closed-door meeting
on June 3, council member
Romer told reporters that she
believed that the gun shop was
harassed by city officials over
its business license.
SM Solutions — which
sells self-defense products,
including guns and tasers at
the Trigger Shop — initially
opened on Jackson Trail Road,
but moved to the Hoschton
Towne Center shopping center
in 2009. It then moved to its
current location at 4164 Ga.
Hwy. 53.
The Trigger Shop was issued
a Hoschton business license for
retail sales, but was later told
by city clerk Cindy George
that it needed a new business
license because it started sell
ing guns and ammunition.
The store paid the $100 fee
for a new business license after
George came in to the Trigger
Shop in April.
Kenerly said the store
didn’t get a new license when
it changed names and loca
tions. SM Solutions owner Bill
Topping has debated that state
ment.
City officials also contend
that since Hoschton’s zoning
ordinance didn’t specifically
allow for firearms dealers, the
store owners should have asked
the council to amend its regula
tions.
The Trigger Shop is located in
a small retail center zoned C-l.
Hoschton’s zoning ordinance
has several specified permitted
uses — such as drug stores, dry
cleaners and daycare centers
— in the C-l zoning district,
but it doesn’t include firearms
dealers. It also doesn’t specifi
cally prohibit them, either.
If a firearms dealer wanted
to open shop in the city, it
would have to ask the council
to amend its zoning ordinance
to make it a permitted use,
according to council member
Scott Butler. A proposed tat
too parlor — which also isn’t
allowed in the C-l zoning dis
trict — has been told about
the process to amend the zon
ing ordinance, which would
require public hearings.
“Had (SM Solutions) fol
lowed the same rales as the
man who wanted to put a tattoo
parlor in here — he realized
that a tattoo parlor is not a
permitted use in Hoschton, he
came to the city, said, ‘I’d like
to get an ordinance that would
allow me to open a business
in your city,”’ Butler said. “If
the people at the Trigger Shop
had done the same thing, we
would not be having this con
versation. We could have had
an ordinance passed and they
would have been in business.”
To amend the zoning ordi
nance, Hoschton requires that
the city’s planning commission
hold a public hearing and make
a recommendation to the city
council.
The council would then hold
its own public hearing dur
ing a work session, followed
by a vote at a regular council
meeting.
Butler said SM Solutions
didn’t follow the rales to allow
the store to operate a business
in Hoschton.
“It was never, ever discussed
for them to leave the city,” he
added.
The Hoschton City Council
voted 3-1 on Thursday to allow
firearms dealers in all com
mercial and industrially-zoned
districts.
However, the initially pro
posed amendment only
allowed firearms dealers in the
C-2 and M-l zoning districts.
Another gun store — Dixie
Dump Ammo — is located in
an industrial park in Hoschton.
Council member Jim
Cleveland asked that the ordi
nance include the C-l zoning
district, after Romer pointed
out that the Trigger Store is
located in that zoning district.
Romer also noted that other
businesses in Hoschton — such
as a yoga studio and a flower
shop — are also located in
the C-l zoning district and are
not specifically permitted in
the city’s ordinance. She ques
tioned if the city would change
its ordinance with every non-
permitted business request.
The council added flower
shops and yoga studios to the
proposed ordinance changes.
The ordinance amendments
provided by city attorney
Thomas Mitchell on Tuesday
would allow firearms dealers
in the C-l, C-2, C-3 and M-l
zoning districts; florist shops
in the C-l zoning district; and
exercise, yoga and physical
therapy services in the C-2
zoning district. Mitchell said
in an email that the phrasing is
subject to council approval.
Meanwhile, planning con
sultant Guy Herring is also
reviewing Hoschton’s ordi
nances, Kenerly said.
Romer also stood by her
comments about SM Solutions’
business license and said the
owners were harassed by city
officials.
Romer was the lone council
member to vote in opposition
of the proposed amendment
after concerns that it could
invite a lawsuit from gun rights
supporters.
“We have done wrong,” she
said. “We don’t need to do
this. We are going against the
Georgia statute. Our city can
not afford a lawsuit when the
gun people hear about this. We
are going to break this city.”
City attorney Thomas
Mitchell said the zoning ordi
nance is a regulation of land
use and not businesses, such as
firearms dealers.
Romer cited a 2009 state
law prohibiting counties or cit
ies from regulating firearms
dealers and other gun uses by
zoning regulations, ordinances
or resolutions.
“I believe that this is a zon
ing ordinance and that means
we’d be violating the Georgia
stature state law,” Romer said.
“I cannot vote for this.”
Mitchell countered that the
state’s constitution outlines
that cities and counties may
regulate land use. The Georgia
Constitution overrides all other
laws in the state, he added.
Until the council adopts its
amended zoning ordinance
allowing firearms dealers
— and yoga studios and flower
shops — the city will allow
the businesses to continue to
operate.
The Hoschton City Council
is expected to adopt an amend
ed zoning ordinance in August,
after the planning commission
makes its recommendation.
Kenerly said the council held
a called meeting on Thursday
to discuss firearms dealers after
the issue became the center
of media attention. An Atlanta
television station also reported
on the business license issue.
“We had hoped that it could
be handled with discretion,”
Kenerly said. “This was never
about running anybody out of
business, nor was it about any
one on the city council or the
mayor had any wishes not to
have a gun shop in the city. It
was about following the rale
of the law.”
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business, Mitchell
reported that the owner of a
proposed tattoo parlor hasn’t
filed the required zoning ordi
nance amendment request to
allow his business.
The owner recently
approached the city about
opening a tattoo parlor on
Ga. Hwy. 53, but was told by
Mitchell that it would require
a change to the city’s zoning
ordinance. Mitchell said he
hadn’t heard from the owner’s
attorney, although Mitchell
said he was recently on vaca
tion.
Mitchell said the business
license permit may possibly
be denied because the appli
cant hasn’t asked to amend
the zoning ordinance within a
specified timeframe.
The council also met in a
closed-door session for five
minutes to discuss threatened
litigation. The council took no
action when the meeting was
opened to the public.
Hoschton pitching for citizens’ SPLOST project ideas
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
A THIRD grader has an idea
on how Hoschton could spend
some of its sales tax money:
Get a special swing at a play
ground.
It’s a proposal that Mayor
Erma Denney said she recent
ly heard from the elementary
student — and the city’s top
elected official wants to hear
other ideas, too.
“It’s something that we could
each think about it and maybe
speak to our neighbors on what
the citizens would like to see
come through the SPLOST
5,” Denney told the council on
Thursday.
Jackson County voters will be
asked in November to approve
the next round of Special
Purpose Local Option Sales Tax
(SPLOST) funds.
If approved by voters, the
penny sales tax is estimated to
generate a total of $47.5 million
over a six-year period.
Hoschton would get an esti
mated $932,068 — or $155,344
a year — through the sales tax
funds.
Jackson County and its cities
are now hammering out which
projects it will ask voters to
approve in the next round of
SPLOST. State law requires that
sales tax revenue be used for
specific types of capital projects,
such as roads and recreation.
Hoschton council members
questioned if SPLOST funds
could be used to pay off exist
ing debt. The city has more
than $6 million in state loans to
expand its wastewater treatment
facility.
Council member Scott Butler
said the sales tax revenue could
only be used to pay for the prin
cipal payment on that debt.
As for other projects, council
member Jim Higginbottom said
he’d like to see a new sidewalk
on Broad Street, near the city
cemetery. He also suggested
paving the street to fix potholes.
The Hoschton City Council
is expected to continue seek
ing ideas for potential SPLOST-
funded projects. City clerk
Cindy George was named
Hoschton’s contact person with
the county on the SPLOST
review process.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business, the
Hoschton City Council:
•met in a closed-door meeting
for 10 minutes to discuss pend
ing litigation. The council took
no action when the meeting was
opened to the public.
•heard from Shane Hartson,
who wants to open a tattoo par
lor and body piercing shop at
4188 Ga. Hwy. 53. Hartson also
wants to offer an art gallery,
permanent make-up procedures
and T-shirts in the store. City
attorney Mitchell said tattoo
parlors are not a permitted use
in the city’s C-2 zoning district.
He said Hartson would have
to get approval of the business
license through a zoning pro
cess that would include review
by the city’s planning com
mission and approval by the
council. Council member Jim
Cleveland said since Jackson
County doesn’t require health
inspections of tattoo parlors, he
said he was concerned about
cleanliness of the facility. He
suggested that the council, if the
request is approved, require that
the store be subject to annual,
unannounced health inspec
tions.
•tabled a request by Ronnie
Richardson to rezone 4.6 acres
on West Jefferson Street to R-3.
Several area residents told the
city’s planning commission
in April that they opposed the
proposal. Richardson asked the
council to table the request until
July.
•authorized the mayor to issue
a quit claim deed to Richardson
for Belva Street, located on
the property that he wants to
rezone. The street, which only
exists on documents, was not
properly abandoned by the city
council. Richardson signed an
agreement on Monday stating
his desire to purchase the prop
erty, according to city attorney
Thomas Mitchell. The city will
discuss a purchase price with
Richardson.
•adopted an amendment to
the city’s business license ordi
nance to remove a phrase about
pro rating fees and allowance
for refunds.
•issued a proclamation rec
ognizing the Boy Scouts of
America’s 100th anniversary.
TOWN HALL MEETING
District 3 Commissioner Bruce Yates will be holding a Town
Hall Meeting on Tuesday, July 13, 2010 at 7:00 p.m at the Talmo
Depot, located on Hwy. 332 in Talmo.
Mr. Yates will be providing informational updates and seeking
dicussion on property assessments, SPLOST, the Jackson
County Comprehensive Plan and its Short Term Work Program,
the County Budget, John B. Brooks road project, Hog Mountain
Road project, Recreation, and other issues of concern to citizens.
The public is encouraged to attend.
Si
✓
Heritage Academy plans
to open at Zion Baptist
School gets initial approval
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
A LORMER manufactur
ing facility converted into
a church will likely also
house a private Christian
school.
The Braselton Planning
Commission recommended
approval on Monday of
Heritage Academy’s request
for a conditional use permit
to use Zion Baptist Church’s
facility as a school.
The Braselton Town
Council will hold a pub
lic hearing on the planning
commission’s recommenda
tion on Thursday, July 8, at
4 p.m., with a vote expected
on Monday, July 12, at 7
p.m.
Zion Baptist Church
moved to the former
Mitsubishi warehouse off
Ga. Hwy. 53 and renovated
it for church services in
2005.
Heritage Academy —
which has been meeting at
The Lamily Church in Sugar
Hill for the past three years
and previously atBlackshear
Place Baptist Church in
South Hall — plans to lease
17,000 square feet of space
from Zion Baptist Church
for its school.
“We were looking for a
new home and Zion Baptist
graciously allowed us to
come,” said Ken Gossage,
headmaster of Heritage
Academy.
The school plans to offer
classes for grades 1-12,
based on a university model
school program.
That model integrates
classroom instruction at
the school and home-based
independent study.
At Heritage Academy,
middle and high school
students would meet at
the campus on Mondays,
Wednesdays, and Lridays,
with home-based indepen
dent study on Tuesdays and
Thursdays, Gossage said.
Elementary students
would meet at Heritage
Academy on Tuesdays and
Thursdays, with indepen
dent study on Mondays,
Wednesdays, and Fridays.
Heritage Academy esti
mates that it will welcome
190 students, Gossage said.
Classes start in August.
The school opened in
1997 and is the second-
oldest school in the country
to use the university model
school program, Gossage
said.
Zion Baptist Church is
located at 2001 Cherry Drive
in the Braselton TechCenter,
next to YearOne in Jackson
County. The property is
zoned M-D (Manufacturing
and Distribution).
No one from the pub
lic spoke in opposition nor
favor during Monday’s
planning commission hear
ing.
“I don’t see any prob
lems with (the request) at
all,” said planning commis
sion chairman Allan Slovin.
“The facility is there. It’s
more than big enough. The
parking is there.”
Also at the meeting, the
planning commission rec
ommended approval of an
update to the town’s devel
opment code related to defi
nitions.
Braselton recently adopt
ed the state’s current model
ordinance soil, erosion,
sedimentation and pollution
control ordinance.
Town planning director
Kevin Keller said Braselton
should also adopt the
revised definitions in that
ordinance. There were no
major changes to the defini
tions, he added.
Initial construction
starts on firing range
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
ALMOST FOUR months
after its closure, construc
tion remains in the early
stages at Braselton’s firing
range.
After neighbors in
Hoschton raised concerns
about noise and safety
issues at the Todd Helcher
Memorial Firing Range,
Braselton closed the con
troversial facility in March
to make repairs.
Since its closure, the
foundation footings for a
pre-fabricated metal struc
ture that will enclose the
firing range have been dug,
according to town manager
Jennifer Dees. The walls
and roof will be added at
the site.
The building will be
enclosed on three sides
with a roof, she said. The
portion that will be open is
the side where the shooters
will stand.
Braselton isn’t expand
ing its 10-lane firing range.
which has hosted almost
40 federal, state and local
agencies to train at the
facility.
No one has used the firing
range since it was closed,
Dees said.
A nearby FBI shoot house
— which is also located on
the property of the town’s
water reclamation facility
off Josh Pirkle Road — has
remained open for training.
That structure is partially
enclosed by high walls and
a roof.
After agreeing to enclose
the firing range, Braselton
sought the help of U.S.
Rep. Paul Broun to make
the repairs, Dees said.
However, his office couldn’t
find federal funding for the
project.
Instead, Braselton is
funding the $130,000 proj
ect with drug money seized
by the police department.
The repairs are expected
to be completed in October,
Dees said.
M3V 5&V ®3Qa®3 0333®
RENT TO OWN.
NO CREDIT CHECK.
Quality
Workmanship
Built with
Mennonite
Craftsmanship
2 Months Payment Delivers
with No Payment For 60 Days
Quality
Material...
H V I
Pressure Treated
Exposed Material
Look For The “C”
For Quality & Affordability
©GroasQacall ©0 /MLare!
12170 Jefferson Rd., Athens, GA
(office of 129 Motor Sales)
706-215-1544