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CITY PA GES COMMISSIONERS MAY NOT ATTEND HEARINGS During a July 11 work session on Athens- Clarke County’s new development ordi nance, Mayor Doc Eldridge and the ACC Commission decided to delay a vote on the regulations from August until September. At that time, some Commissioners said they would like to use the extra month for at least one more public hearing before they vote. A vote on the regulations—intended to back up Athens-Clarke’s new comprehensive land use plan—was originally scheduled for April. The Commission has since postponed a decision several times, citing the concerns of rural property owners and developers, among others, who fear the regulations will hurt them economically. Two major issues yet to be resolved by the Commission are: housing densities in the UPCOMING LAND USE PLAN EVENTS: Monday, August 7: Public input session, 5 p.m.-9 p.m., ACC Public Library, 2025 Baxter Street. Wednesday, August 9: Public input ses sion, 1 p.m.-4 p.m., ACC Public Library, 2025 Baxter Street. Monday, August 14: Mayor and Commission work session, 7 p.m., ACC Planning Department building, 120W. Dougherty Street. No public input accepted. Tuesday, August 15: Mayor and Commission agenda setting session, 7 p.m., City Hall, downtown. Public may address the Commission on the devel opment ordinance (providing it is still on the agenda). Tuesday, September 5: Mayor and Commission work session, 7 p.m., City Hall, downtown. Scheduled Commission vote on the ordinance. Public comments accepted. rural “greenbelt” and development buffers on waterways and other environmentally sensitive areas. Critics say the Commission has watered do\ f n what was once a sound development pian by catering to a f mall con tingent of its constituents at the expense of the majority. Public input sessions have been set for August 7 and August 9 at the ACC Library on Baxter Street, where the latest versions of the ordinance and land use maps will be available for viewing. ACC Planning Staff will also be on hand to answer questions. Athenians hoping to talk with the Commissioners themselves could be out of luck, however, because the Commission, in its official capacity, won’t be there. “Their attendance is optional, and some of them will probably be dropping in here and there," says ACC Clerk of Commission Jean Spratlin. “But they felt like it would give a better opportunity to get technical ques tions answered and spend more time looking at the map, and then let people see if they actually have questions after they talk to staff." Statements from the public will be taken at the sessions, then summarized and pre sented to the Commission. The Commission will discuss them during a work session— open for observation but closed to public comment—on August 14. Aside from personal phone calls, letters, or e-mails, the only direct contact the Commission will have with the public regarding the ordinance before it comes to a vote will be at the August 15 agenda setting session—if the ordinance is still on the agenda at that time— and on the night the Commission votes on the ordinance. As of this writing, the ordinance is scheduled to be voted on at the Mayor and Commission’s September 5 work session. (Brad Aaron) GREEN PARTY KEPT OFF GEORGIA BALLOT The Georgia Green Party Caine up short in its effort to gather enough signatures to get Presidential candidate Ralph Nader on the November ballot. Relying solely on volunteer petitioners, state Greens had until 12 noon on July 11 to gather the signatures of over 39,000 regis tered voters. At the end of their months-long drive, they submitted about 10,000 signa tures, according to Georgia Green Party Secretary Hugh Esco. Georgia currently has one of the most restrictive ballot access barriers in the United States. Earlier this year, the state leg islature—led by House Speaker Tom Murphy (D-Bremen)—killed the Georgia Voter Choice and Election Access Reform Act. which would have reduced the number of signa tures required for local, state and federal elections. The bill would have made parties which had met the petition requirement automatically eligible for future races. Democrats and Republicans do not have to petition to appear on ballots. Even if the Voter Choice Act had passed, Georgia Greens would not have met its 15,000 signature threshold. The low signa ture count could be attributed to the fact that the party did not hire professional peti tioners. Nader 2000 spokesperson Laura Jones says Nader hires a state coordinator to lead a grassroots campaign in each of the 50 states, and that petition drives are only a part of that effort. There were other factors. At the national Green Party convention on June 26 in Denver, CO, just before a Georgia delegate announced her state party’s support for Nader, she informed conveners that earlier in the day Georgia Green Party petitioners had been arrested while collecting signa tures in a public park. Nader has filed a lawsuit in North Carolina challenging the ballot access requirements in that state. Hugh Esco says Georgia Greens are “exploring litigation” while they launch a write-in campaign. Jones says Nader is on the ballot in 16 states (including South Carolina and Florida) and has 15 additional petitions pending veri fication. Signatures are being gathered in another 15 states, and Nader “still has a shot” at getting on all 50 ballots, she says. Nationwide, Nader support has reached eight percent in some polls; a university- sponsored poll showed him at 11 percent in Connecticut, making that the first state poll to show Nader receiving more than 10 per cent of the vote. (BA) Work on SPLOST-funded infrastructure improvements moves to Broad Street, just in time for fall semeseter. cAthens^QQjCenter $60 for Six Weeks Please Pre-Register 546-4200 263 W. Clayton SL • 5*6-4200 Basic Beginner Class Starting Dates Monday, August 7 7pm Tuesday, August 8 10:30am Wednesday, August 9 7pm Thursday, August 10 1pm Ongoing Ijevel 1 and Intermediate, Drop-in Classes also Available. ATHENS; Super Mcdo. Los Compadres-1380 Prince Ave. 706.543.6777 Council Travel- 480 Broad Street 706.543.9600 ^ATLANTA \ 2~ 9 ° 4 TIMES A DAY We are now inside PLAZA FIESTA 4166 Buford Hwy. - Suite 1023B 1-877-725-5287 B FLAGPOLE AUGUST 2, 2000