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BARNETT SHOALS PLAN
GETS MIXED REVIEWS
Residents of neighborhoods near Barnett
Shoals Elementary School met with Charles Floyd
on Tuesday, August 29, to discuss his latest plan
for developing his 56-acre property between the
school and the Snapfinger subdivision.
The land is the subject of an ongoing debate
that epitomizes arguments over "greenbelt"
development in Athens. Floyd, who is selling his
house and the surrounding acreage so that he
may retire, wants it rezoned from RS-20 to RS-15
to accommodate a 125-unit subdivision. The
greater density would increase the value of the
property for interested developers.
Floyd needs the support of his neighbors to g
give his rezoning request a realistic chance of ©
being approved by the Athens-Clarke County
Planning Commission. He has redrawn his plan *
several times, but many area residents fear the g
impact any development would have on roads *
and schools that they say are already over
crowded.
More than that, they have no desire to see
Floyd's pasture and forest bulldozed to make way
for more houses. (See City Pages, August 30, on
line at flagpoie.com.)
In exchange for the increased density, Floyd
has agreed to commit over 23 acres, most of it in
contiguous green space around the edges of the
property, to a permanent conse 'vabon easement
with The Athens Land Trust.
At the August 24 meeting, ACC Senior
Planner Bruce Lonnee took questions from the
IN OTHER NEWS...
The Georgia Department of Human
Resources (OHR) Offirz of Adoptions will
ho ; d an "adoption party end video confer
ence" on Saturday, September 9 in Macon,
from 1C a.m. to 12 noon. Participants in
Macon will be able to meet approximately
25 area children in need of adoption. Others
will be able to talk with the children via
videoconferencing at sites throughout the
state, including UGA's River's Crossing. Pre
registration is required. Call Danny Stevens
at (706) 547-9505, or call (888) 460-2467
or (877) 242-5774 for more information.
ACT UP (Aids Coalition to Unleash
Power) Atlanta is seeking an apology to
Georgia citizens from U.S. Rep. Bob Barr
(R-Smyma) after Barr invited dinosaur-
rocker led Nugent to a fund-raising event
in Atlanta's Jim Miller Park. In a press
release titled "Rep. Bob Ban's American
Family Values?,' ACT UP lists some of
Nugent's more .memorable quotes over the
years, including Td rape a nun if she got in
my way.' ACT UP also points out that Barr's
buddy is himself a 'draft dodger" who
stopped bathing and defecated and urinated
in his pants for a week before his draft
board physical to win a deferment
The Athens-Clarke County web site,
athensdarkecounty.com, now provides
information on UGA football parking. The
site features color-coded maps delineating
designated parking zones, directions to
downtown parking facilities (including
those for recreational vehicles), and infor
mation on where parking restrictions will be
enforced. Athens-Clarke will keep the mate
rials on the site throughout football seasoi..
For more information, call the ACC Public
Information Office at 613-3795, and Go
Dogs!
30 or so people gathered in the clubhouse of the
Greystone subdivision. Several asked how the
new ACC land use plan's development code—now
in limbo—might afreet Floyd's development.
Lonnee explained that it would not, unless Floyd
withdrew his plan and did not resubmit it until
the new ordinance is enacted.
In reference to improved environmental and
design standards in the proposed code,
Snapfinger resident Ann English said, "It would
seem a shame to me to spend two-and-a-half
years on a zoning code and then pass this to
undermine it"
John Olive, who also lives in Snapfinger,
countered that the risk of having the land com
pletely cleared outweighs anxiety over the den
sity of development.
Developed under the current RS-20 designa
tion, the property would held fewer units. Floyd
has said developing the land at that density
while retaining green space would be economi
cally unfeasible. Without a conservation ease
ment, all of the land Floyd has agreed to leave
undisturbed would likely be dear-cut and lev
eled in order to maximize development of the
tract.
Some residents are especially concerned
about the 28 townhouses induded in Floyd's
latest plan. One wondered what would keep the
development from becoming student housing.
When all questions to Lonnee had been
answered, Floyd stood before his neighbors.
"We have enjoyed having all this open space,
and so have you," he said. "But I'm not wealthy,
and when you have to sell your house you have
to do it... There's nothing in Clarke County th?*
has 60 percent open space that I know of. That's
unheard of. We want (the development) to be
good. We want it to be right"
Snapfinger resident Debbie Duncan said that
given the histoiy of permissive development in
Clarke County, there is no guarantee Floyd's plan
would be built as proposed. She asked Floyd his
selling price for the property, and said that a
buyer might be found who would leave the land
as it is.
Floyd, who has refused io make his asking
price known, replied that he is trying to get as
much as he can for it Ke added that he is "tying
up the land" with a good development.
Duncan, visibly upset, told Floyd, "There are
people who love this land as much as you do."
As of this writing, Floyd's proposal is set to
go before the Planning Commission on
Septenber 7 at 7 p.m., in the Planning
Department office at 129 West Douglierty Street.
UGA COMPLIES WITH
WATER RESTRICTIONS
Water rt.erves in Lake Herrick have been
getting a break since UGA dosed region Pool for
the season.
In order to comply with current Athens-
Clarke County outdoor watering restrictions, the
University of Georgia has been forced to find
alternate sources of water. During this year's dry
summer keeping lawns he a’thy has been a main
concern of UGA's manager of grounds, Dexter
Adams.
"We've elected to drop irrigation on all but
the highest priority turf areas," says Adams,
"and we're watering with lake water or Legion
Pool water."
Physical plant workers are pumping water
out of the pool and using it for irrigation during
the week. In order to ensure that the pool water
was safe for use on the grounds, it was allowed
to stand for a few days. The chlorine evaporated
and the water was tested for harmful chemicals.
Initially landscapers were using UGA's Lake
Herrick- to irrigate. Access to Legion's half mil
lion gallons eased the need for lake water.
Adams hopes that by the time the pool water is
exhausted the water restrictions will be lifted.
' Restrictions that went into effect on August
5 allow residents at odd-numbered addresses to
water outdoors on Saturday from 12 midnight to
10 a.m.; even addresses water on Sunday from
12 midnight to 10 a.m.
According to Athens-Clarke County Public
Works Water Conservation Coordinator Mieneen
Klein, use of private lake or pond water is
common. Klein explains that golf courses often
have access to pond water for irrigation, which
is less expensive than city water. Sire is not
concerned that drawing water from Lake Herrick
will have any senous effects. "Lake Herrick is
pretty stable right now." she says.
UGA uses Tanyard Branch, which flows under
Sanford Stadium, to water the grass there, Klein
says. The University has a permit issued by the
Georgia Environmental Protection Division to
use water from the stream.
Athens-Clarke County Director of Public
Utilities Gary Duck says UGA has cooperated
beyond what is required in order to conserve
water. He points out that UGA's use of lake or
stream water during the week is not a violation
of ACC water restrictions. "We don't enforce
restrictions for people pulling water from wells
or streams," says Duck, "only those utilizing
On August 29, the Georgia Theatre hosted an alcohol server training seminar for local bars, taverns, and
restaurants. The meeting was conducted by Solicitor Ger«eral Ralph PowtU's alcohol compliance officers
water from the public works."
Since the University grounds don't have
street addresses, the campus has been divided
into six zones. Half of the zones are watered
with city water on Saturday night and half on
Sunday night.
Adams believes that the lack of water has
had a significant impact on UGA's landscaping.
"I think some of the damage is unforeseen,"
says Adams, "A lot of mature trees are taking a
hit. The effect tends to be cumulative and isn't
seen until further down the road. But, Tir also
surprised at the survival with what little rain
we've had." (Jeremy Bales)
FORD SAYS SPRAWL
IS NOT THAT AT ALL
At the August 14 Mayor and Commission
work session on Athens-Clarke County's new
development ordinance, Commissioner Linda
Ford suggested a new option to regulate devel
opment in the rural "greenbelt." (See City
Pages, August 23, on-line at flagpole.com.)
Since April, the proposed zoning code's orig
inal (Agricultural-Rural) AR-10 rural zone
(allowing one house per 10 acres) had been
replaced by an AR-5 designation (allowing one
house per fiv* acres) with no clustering provi
sion. That option was summarily scrapped as
well and, as of August 14, choices ranged from
an average of one unit per 2.5 acres with clus
tering to a one urdt per acre allowance with no
clustering bonus.
Supporters of the AR-10 zone say these
higher rural densities are in conflict with the
lar.d use plan's guiding principles and that they
would encourage sprawl and degrade what's left
of the county's green space.
An August 14 inter-departmental memo
from ACC Attorney Ernie DePascale to Mayor
Doc Eldridge and the Commission outlined
Ford's propose!. (See memo on this page.)
Commissioner Ford could not be reached for
comment by press time. Mayor Edridge, who
backs Ford's plan, said, "It appears that Linda
has been able to articulate and boil down to
writing what some of the Commissioners w*re
asking for."
Asked for his assessment of Ford's plan,
Edridge said, "I may be wrong, but right now I
get the feeling that the Commission may be
moving more toward this proposal."
Commissioner John Barrow says Ford's plan,
as it was presented to him by Ernie DePascale,
offers no limits on how many parcels may be
subdivided from larger tracts each year. Even
the current zoning ordinance contains that
restriction, Barrow points out—a fact that has
been "completely and politely ignored" by
Commissioners who are in favor of a one-unit-
per-acre standard.
"All of the one-to-one options that have
been presented thus far propose to dispense
with that requirement altogether," Barrow says,
“which would have the effect essentially of
converting all of the current AR zones into RS-
40 subdivisions."
Barrow says another fundamental flaw is
relying on clustering to preserve rural green
space. Since few outlying areas have city water
and sewer, developers would have to employ
septic tanks which, in turn, would require
larger lots.
"Until we have adequate means for deliv
ering water and treating waste, we're making a
bad situation worse. We're right on the edge of
having important new pollution regulations
imposed on this community that will be
directly affected by the extent to which we
continue to rely on septic tanks."
Federal mandates are pending, accoiding to
Barrow, that will reduce non-point source pol-
SEPTEMBER 6, 2000