Newspaper Page Text
Land Use Plan Gutted
Al! The Green Going To Developers' Pockets
As of this writing, the ACC Commission is
scheduled for a September 5 vote on the devel
opment ordinance which will back up the land
use plan. Over the course of the summer, propo
nents of the plan's guiding principles have seen
the Commission—under pressure from land
owners, landlords, developers, the Athens Area
Chamber of Commerce and Realtors horn Athens
and beyond—dismantle one provision after
another. (See Publisher's Notes, August 9, on-line
flagpole.com.)
Alfred Rucker, who lives in the woodsy
Westgate subdivision off Jefferson Road, is dis
tributing green and white yard signs reading
"Stay G^een" to residents who are opposed to
high rural densities, decreased development
buffers on environmentally sensitive areas and
weakened clear-cutting and tree canopy regula
tions. ^ .• i
"What were trying to do is to stop sprlwl
everywhere," Rucker says, "and stick to our land
use plan that essentially was one house per 10
acres. They're giving away our green space to
developers."
Since April, the plan's original AR-10 rural
zone (one house per 10 acres) has been replaced
by an AR-5 (one house per five acres) designa
tion. A July 20 Commission work session
revealed that only one Commissioner—John
Barrow—still supports that plan. Four
Commissioners—Tom Chasteen, Ken Jordan,
Cardee Kilpatrick and Harry Sims—favor one
unit per five acres with clustering, resulting in
an average of up to one house per 2.5 acres.
A straw poll conducted at the July 20 session
showed the rest of the Commission—Charles
Carter, Marilyn Farmer, Linda Ford, Hugh Logan
and Alvin Sheats—would prefer a one unit per
acre designation with no clustering. This option,
introduced by Logan, was added to the latest
draft of the ordinance on August 3.
Dorothy O'Niell, of the neighborhood group
Friends of Five Points, sees Logan's proposal as a
potential red herring.
"The focus on a one unit per acre option with
no density bonus may be an extreme position
taken by Commissioners to make the one unit
per three with bonus seem more acceptable as a
compromise," O'Niell says. "But this last is
exactly the position greenbelt advocates were
working against just a very few months ago."
The one house per three acres option, with
clustering, would allow an average density of
one house per acre, and offers nothing to allay
fears of the side effects of suburban sprawl:
traffic-clogged streets, air pollution, and a tax
base that cannot support its own infrastructure.
Obliteration of the greenbelt isn't the only
reason citizens should be concerned, says Burt
Sparer, former uiban planner and President of
the Federation of Neighborhoods and Community
Associations. At its ordinance work sessions,
open to public view but closed to public com
ment, the Commission has already "spot zoned"
many parcels around the county. These changes
have gone mostly unnoticed by the community,
though they will have a direct impact on many
neighborhoods.
"People whose neighborhoods are affected
[need to] know about these changes to have an
opportunity to present their views to the
Commissioners in the public meetings," Sparer
says.
For example, the hotly congested site of a
proposed west-side Wal-Mart will be re-zoned as
commercial when the new development ordi
nance passes. Wal-Mart's derision to withdiaw its
plan was considered a landmark victory for area
neighborhoods. But the Commission rendered
that triumph null without as much as a whisper
from affected residents.
"That would permit another Tug box' like
Wal-Mart to locate on that site," Sparer says.
"Folks who were opposed to Wal-Mart should
know about it."
Sparer says commercial development in any
form on those 27 acres will "trigger changes"
along the rest of the tract, some IOC acres now
zoned primarily for apartments.
"It's important for people to know about the
possibilities of commercial use that the
Commissioners are proposing there," says Sparer.
Ruth Carpenter has lived in Westgate since
1969. She is participating in the "Stay Green"
campaign, but admits she is not optimistic about
how things will turn out.
"I personally think that certain
Commissioners, maybe they're listening but they
aren't hearing anything," Carpenter says.
"They've already made up their minds."
"And it's all with tuis organized real estate
group. I think they're very short-sighted.
Communities all ovei this country are fighting
sprawl, and we're just back in the 70s."
Carpenter says site has followed land use
closely since the early 1990s, when a group of
400 residents called "Athens-Clarke Tomorrow"
formed to study growth in the county over a 20-
year span.
"The report came out with this group of
people saying we don't want sprawl, we don't
want to grow beyond our capacity to support the
infrastructure. All along it was such a wonderful
feeling to think This is the way it's going to go.'
And now at the end, it's as though none of it
ever happened."
The latest draft of the land-use plan regula
tions, dated August 1, is now available for
review at the Planning Department office (120
W. Dougherty Street), the library (2025 Baxter
Street), Kinko's and Bel-Jean copy centers and
at athensclarkecounty.com.
Anyone interested in posting or distributing
"Stay Green" yard signs may reach Alfred Rucker
at leaveitgreen@hotmail.com.
Brad Aaron
Tfie Heart's
Eye Gattery
ART • LINENS • POTTERY • ANTIQUES -JEWEIRY
Closed the rest of
August. See you in
September.
1680 S. Lumpkin St • 227-3080
(f
Dr. Patricia Brawner, Ph.D.
Licensed Psychologist
Need Help?
■
Most Insurances Accepted
• -. * y. * * . v * *. 1 5
r 721S. Miiledge Ave.
Athens, GA 30605
s* 9 - 3700
Frontier
...rustic furniture, unusual stationery, natural
soaps and scents, uncommon cards, candles,
linens, antiques...
all in addition to the personal service and warm
welcome you’ve come to expect.
142 n. jackson 369-8079
** ' J J. Flea says thanks
■*! \
W for your support!
We gave you a real flea market and you
made us Georgia's biggest flea market!
Athens, Georgia • Open 8 to 5 Saturday and Sunday
J&J FLEA MARKET
Highway 441 M. (Commerce Road) • 706-613-2410
Nocxlleheact
Asian Noodle House
Curty-Miso-Coconut
BBQ Pork-Chicken-Shrimp
Fresh Herbs
Handmade Sauces
ice Cream
Green Tea-Azuki-Pistacbio
Draft and Bottled Beer
265 east clayton st.
athens
“ 706.613.9677
NORMALITY
BITES!
- - .. ** Ua£*
> ^
ft*
That's why the only thing
normal about us is our name!
Come check out our newly renovated
properties all located in Normattown
and available for the Fall!
546-1899
SUMMER CLEARANCE!
Downtown
546-5014 Leather & Outdoor
AUGUST 16. 2000 FLAGPOLE D