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About Jackson herald. (Jefferson, Jackson County, Ga.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (April 12, 2023)
PAGE 2A THE JACKSON HERALD WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12, 2023 Commerce looks at changes to lot, house size requirements By Alex Buffington alex@mainstreetnews. com Commerce City Council members have begun a lengthy overview of proposed changes to the city's zoning ordinance. The council will spend the next several months discussing different sections of the town’s updated zoning ordinance. The new ordi nance came after a long review by the city's planning commission. During its April 3 work session, the coun cil discussed a number of proposed changes to minimum lot and house sizes, in addition to setback requirements. The Commerce Planning and Zoning Commission recommended changing min imum lot sizes in a number of categories: •R-l, 3 A acre (no change) •R-2, from Vi acre to 1/3 acre •R-3. from 14 acre to 1/3 acre •R-4 and R-5,14 acre (small change) The planning commission didn’t recom mend changing any of the minimum house size requirements, but the council is con sidering a few changes. While the previous trend has been for larger house sizes, City Manager James Wascher said they're see ing that trend change. “Now we’re kind of seeing that pendu lum swinging in the opposite direction." Wascher said, adding that more people are looking for a smaller footprint. In an effort to allow more affordable start er homes to be built in the city, the council is considering removing the requirement for unheated space in R-2 and R-3 zonings. That would reduce the overall minimum size of the house to: •R-l. 1,800 sq. ft. with 400 sq. ft. of un heated (no change) •R-2, 1,600 square feet (eliminates un heated space) •R-3, 1,400 square feet (eliminates un heated space) •R-4 (multi-family) and R-5 (mobile homes) don’t have the unheated require ment, so they won’t be affected. The city is also looking at reducing the minimum house size for OCR from 2,900 square feet to match the R-l sizes. Additionally, the city plans to look at in-fill lots on a case-by-case basis when considering house and lot sizes, as well as setbacks. That will allow future construc tion in established neighborhoods to better match the character of the area. “It needs to match its neighbors,” plan ning and zoning administrator Jordan Shoe maker said. “...We have neighborhoods that have great character. We need to start considering ways to make them shine,” The city is also considering changing its setbacks for residential properties to 15 feet on the sides and rear and 35 feet on the front (to allow ample parking). OTHER HIGHLIGHTS Other important proposed changes in clude: •establishing a planned unit development zoning category. The mixed-use, master planned developments are growing in popu larity and allow for a more creative project. The proposed regulations would require any PUD to be at least 20 acres with 20% open/ green space. The ordinance would also cre ate a new zoning, R-6, for townhomes. •prohibiting ground-mounted solar ener gy systems. •banning donation/thrift collection bins in commercial districts. •requiring a 5-foot setback for accessory structures. •prohibiting metal carports. •updating rules on fencing. Residen tial fences could only be constructed from wood, stone, chain link, vinyl or composite. Fences would need to allow meter reader access. Fence height would be limited to 4 feet in the front yard and 6’8” in the back. Commercial and industrial fencing could be constructed of brick, stone, composite or winged slates with black mesh in good condition. Maysville approves Memorial Day Bash planned for May 27 By Hannah Caudell The Maysville City Coun cil voted unanimously at its meeting last week to ap prove the Memorial Day event hosted by the Down town Development Author ity. The Downtown Devel opment Authority will be hosting a Memorial Day Bash on May 27 in Mays ville Veteran’s Park. The event is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. and will run un til 7 p.m. There will be food and crafts vendors, as well as a barbeque cook-off and a cornhole competition. The cornhole competition will cost $40 per team to enter. The event will be fol lowed by a performance from Matthew Kahler, who will perform a selection of James Taylor songs at the Maysville City Park am phitheater from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. There will be a seating charge for the con cert that will be determined at a later date. For questions or to make donations or volunteer, con tact 404-281-4928. OTHER BUSINESS In other business, the city council accepted the low bid from James Short Tractor & Equipment, Inc. for equip ment for road construction for a total of $76,715 to come from the Banks Coun ty TSPLOST fund. Road construction will come from the 2017 SPLOST fund, which will also pay for the tractor and the equipment. The city council also re certified their Certificate of Ethics as members of the Georgia Municipal Associa tion. The resolution is to be approved every five years to maintain the city’s member ship with the GMA. BOE approves facilities plan By Mike Buffington mike@mainstreetnews. com The Jackson County Board of Education formally approved its 5-year facilities plan on April 10, a move that includes plans for a new high school on the west side and a replacement elementary school to be built in North Jackson. The state-mandated facilities plan doc ument gives school systems a broad guide for planning needed buildings and renova tions. The Jackson County document in cludes a number of items the BOE has dis cussed in recent years as it wrestles with a huge amount of population growth on the west side of the county and the beginnings of growth on the east side as well. In addition to the planned two new schools, the 5-year plan also calls for addi tions at the existing Jackson County High School: renovations and additions at East Jackson Middle School and East Jackson High School; and upgrades to school se curity at all its facilities. The system projects it will have 10,870 students in 2027. Currently, the Jackson County School System is completing work on a new west side middle school that is slated to open next fall and has begun work on a new west side elementary school. Funding for the proposed new facil ities and renovations will be one issue the system faces as it begins its planning. Construction costs have soared in recent years and the cost of borrowing funding has also gone up. While the system will get some state funding for facility up grades and new buildings, most of the funding will come from local sources. The price tag for that could top $150 mil lion for all the proposed renovations and new facilities. A related issue the system faces is acquiring land for new facilities as the county grows. Superintendent Philip Brown said at a recent BOE meeting that the system would like to have “more op tions” for its future facilities. The 5-year plan has been approved by the state department of education and fol lowing local BOE approval will go to the state BOE for final approval. In other action April 10, the BOE also approved a job description for a transpor tation fleet supervisor. Commerce to vote April 17 on landscape supply company By Alex Buffington alex@mainstreetnews. com Commerce council members are set to vote Monday on a request to allow a landscape supply company in town. The Commerce City Council will consider the conditional use request for 2602 North Broad St. The applicant has requested the change to allow outdoor storage and a fully HardiePlank-sided building in the overlay district. If approved, the applicant plans to open a landscape supply storefront busi ness, “Southeast Landscape Supply.” They plan to sell mulch, pine straw, wheat straw, pipe, and other landscaping materials from the storefront. A number of conditions are recom mended including: Outdoor lighting must be fully-shielded; outdoor storage must be shielded for stored materials that aren’t for sale; materials that are on display (like mulch) can be set-up in corrals. Staff recommends that those corrals stand 6 feet high. Staff also rec ommends requiring a handicap-compli ant entrance, restroom and air condi tioning. OTHER BUSINESS Other business up for a vote April 17 includes: •a request from the Boys & Girls Club to host a 5K on June 10 at Spencer Park. The event will begin at 8:30 a.m. •street closures for Cruisin' Commerce on May 13. Portions of State Street and Central Avenue will be closed during the event. The event will include a car show, swap meet and an event zone. The coun cil will also consider a beer garden/tap truck for the event. •new procedures for property acquisi tion that would allow city staff to make small land purchases without it going to the city council. The new procedures could help speed up processes when the city is purchasing easements or rights- of-way. Hoschton still working on plan for garage property By Ben Munro ben@mainstreetnews. com Hoschton City Manager Jennifer Kidd-Har- rison said the city is still working towards a city market-type plan for the former Larry's Garage property on Broad St. despite the city's sale of the property fading through. The project came up at Monday’s DDA meeting after a resident asked about the prop erty. The city has envisioned a Ponce market-type development in reference to the popular mar ket in Atlanta. “We're still working on that vision of the market,” Kidd-Harrison said. Kidd-Hanison said a deal to sell the city- owned structure to a buyer with a similar vi sion for a restaurant and retail market did not materialize. The city purchased the building in May 2022 for $900,000 before accepting a bid in December to sell the land to Cole Hudgens for $950,000. But with that purchase no longer an option, the city looks to have a plan to present within a month about the future of the building. “We can't go too much into it but there’s something is coming.” Mayor Lauren O'Leary said at the meeting. O’Leary, Loveland nominated for DDA openings By Ben Munro ben@mainstreetnews. com Hoschton Mayor Lauren O'Leary and Bob Loveland have been nominated for two open spots on the city’s downtown development au thority (DDA). The DDA approved the nominations on Monday (April 10) and will submit those selections to the city council for final approval. O'Leary's nomination comes as the DDA has sought to add an elected official to its board. O'Leary has served as Hoschton's mayor since January 2022. Meanwhile, Loveland has decades of mu nicipal administration expe rience, including a stint with the City of Macon. The DDA seeks to return to a complete board after three members — Shawn Manaher, Jeff Parkinson and Shawn Adams — have resigned over the past six months. Mariya Bentz has filled one of the empty seats, joining the DDA in Febru ary. In a separate matter, the DDA approved Tracy Jordan as its new chairperson and Sri Kumar as its vice chair. Kumar has served as the board's chairperson since the DDA's inception in 2021 but said he wanted to open the role up to someone else. Home cooling help available for elderly, medically-homebound Home cooling help is available for the elderly and medically-homebound. Brenda Dalin. program director of Ninth District Opportunity. Inc., says that households in which every member is age 65 or older or is medically-homebound due to health reasons may apply for assistance with their heating beginning April 3. One-time payments will be made by check issued to the home energy suppli ers up to $500. Eligibility for the program is based on the income of all household members. When applying for assis tance. persons will present verification of age for every one in the home, verifica tion of all household income received within the past 30 days (check stubs, public assistance checks, unem ployment checks, etc.); verification of Social Secu rity numbers for everyone in the home, verification of citizenship (driver’s license, state ID, etc.), and the most recent electric bill and heat ing bill. Bring all documen tation with you as the Ninth District can no longer obtain that information for you. All eligible applicants are asked to contact Ninth District Opportunity, Inc.'s scheduling system April 3 beginning at 12:01 a.m. by telephone at 855-636-3108 or go online to ndo.appoint ment.works/ea. Phone lines and website for scheduling will not be active until the opening date of the program and no appointments will be made by telephone or online until this time. Appoint ments will be scheduled un til all funds are exhausted. Additional information will be made available online at www.ndo.org. Only households 65 years of age and older or medical ly homebound may apply beginning April 3. Appli cants who do not meet the required criteria will be denied. The general public may apply on May 1. Ninth District Oppor tunity. Inc. covers Banks, Barrow, Clarke, Dawson, Elbert, Forsyth, Franklin, Habersham, Hall, Hart, Jackson, Lumpkin, Madi son, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Rabun, Stephens, Towns, Union and White counties. Were married in a beautiful ceremony at Cherrywood Ranch in Toccoa, GA on April 2nd, 2023. The wedding was officiated by a dear, loving, friend of the couple, Greg Mathis and they were surrounded by family and loved ones. Shawnmarie is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Budde of Elberton, GA. Kenneth is the son of Mrs. Sallie Mae Gordon and the late Mr. Melvin Gordon of Ila, GA. The couple could not be happier starting this new adventure together as one. They are very grateful to have found each other and the amazing, respectful love they have. Marrying your best friend is truly special! They would like to thank everyone that has supported them on this journey and who have added so much love and happiness to their lives.
