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The 58-acre campus was formerly home to the
State Normal School and contains seven proper
ties listed on the National Historic Register as
contributing to the Oglethorpe Avenue Historic
Oi strict.
The NSCS is moving to New London, CT,
thanks to a 2005 decision by the Base Closure
and Realignment Commission, and the property
is currently under consideration by the Local
Redevelopment Authority for future uses.
Oanlel McDonald dmcdonald8@holmail.com
Early Warning
Neighborhoods Now Notified
Athens-Clarke County's year-old Neighborhood
Notification Initiative has so far been joined
by 15 local neighborhood associations, whose
members receive email notifications from the
ACC Planning Department when there are rezon-
ings, variances or historic building alterations
proposed within their boundaries. Any interested
citizen can also sign up for the neighborhood no
tifications (even without joining a neighborhood
association) or for any of 16 other ‘’special-inter
est* districts (ircluding downtown and various
major streets, or entire commission districts).
See sidebar for a current list. About 90 people
are receiving notifications
so far, according Lara
Mathes of the Planning
Department. Sign up at
the planning department
website, www.accplanning.
com. There is also informa
tion about registering a neighborhood organiza
tion (and the county encourages developers to
contact those organizations when they are plan
ning projects in their areas).
A proposed development project needs only
routine approval if it doesn't require a rezoning;
but if it does, the request must go befo r e the
ACC Planning Commission and the ACC Mayor and
r ommission. Site plans that accompany rezoning
requests—and planning staffers' comments—are
now posted on-line (if you can find them: they
SIGNED UP
These areas of Athens-Clarke County—
with more to come—are registered and
participating in the new Neighborhood
Notification Initiative.
ACC COMMISSION DISTRICTS 1-10
BARNETT SHOALS ROAD (Northern)
BARNETT SHOALS ROAD (Middle)
BARNETT SHOALS ROAD (Southern)
BAXTER STREET
BEECHWOOD
BOULEVARD
CEDAR CREEK
CEDAR SHOALS DRIVE
CHAMBERLIN *
DOWNTOWN
EPPS BRIDGE PARKWAY
FRIENDS OF FIVE POINTS
GAINES SCHOOL ROAD
GREEN ACRES-CRESTWOOD
HOMEWOOD HILLS
IDYLWOOD
MCNUTTS CREEK
MIDTOWN-BLOOMFIEU)
MITCHELL BRIDGE (Loop to Tallassee)
MILLEDGE AVENUE (Northern)
MILLEDGE AVENUE (Middle)
MILLEDGE AVENUE (Southern)
NOWHERE ROAD
PINECREST
PRINCE AVENUE
RED FOX RUN
ST. IVES
TALLASSEE ROAD
TIMOTHY ROAD
WESTGATE PARK
WOODHAVEN
are in the "agendas* for the Planning Commission
at the planning department website). Mathes
says that the website will soon be reorganized by
a county-hired consultant.
John Huie jphuie@speedlactory.net
Water, Water...
Conservation is Key
Athens-Clarke County's strict "water wast
ing* ordinance makes it illegal to leave a hose
running when washing a car or washing down a
driveway (you must use a cutoff sprayer nozzle),
and it requires leaky plumbing—like sprinklers,
faucets or toilets—to be fixed. Also prohibited:
watering or sprinkling that allows water to run
onto someone else's land, or into public streets
or sewers. That ordinance—like others in the
Southeast—was written after several years of
drought that ended in 2002, according to ACC
Water Conservation Coordinator Steve Dorsch.
Water conservation has long been a concern
in the western United States and even in Florida,
Dorsch says, but "it's just starting to creep into
everyday life in the eastern coast states.* The
local water rules seem to be working, Dorsch
reports: while the county's population has in
creased in the past few years, its total water use
has stayed level
A local water conserva
tion committee chaired by
Commissioner Kathy Hoard
is considering implement
ing a "conservation rate
structure* for local water
use. "The idea is not to increase water prices
for everybody, it's to discourage water waste,"
Dorsch says. "We're looking 30 years down the
road.* Water availability won't increase, he
points out, but the population will.
At present, homeowners pay the same per-
gallon rate ro matter how much water they use,
and commercial users pay 13 percent less than
residential ones. No rate structure changes have
been decided, Dorsch says, but in some places
users are charged a higher rate if their water use
spikes (typically in summer months). "If you use
water moderately... you probably won't even see
a change." Institutional users (like UGA and local
chicken-processing plants) might get discounts
if they take measures to conserve water, he says.
Dorsch offers free water audits—home visits with
advice on how to save water—to homeowners
who request it (just call 706-613-3729). The au
dit comes with a free low-flow shower head and
faucet aerators, which are also available for pick
up from Dorsch's office at 1865 W. Broad St.
A lot of water goes to watering lawns, and the
current ACC ordinance requires even-numbered
addresses to water only on Monday, Wednesday,
and Saturday, and odd-numbered ones on other
days—except for Fridays, when no outdoor water
ing is allowed. The rules apply to lawns and gar
dens alike. Persistent violators can be fined under
the ordinance, but first-time violators receive a
warning. Dorsch recently added a rule that any
one with a variance permit for outdoor watering
must display the permit visibly (partly to cut
down on calls from concerned neighbors).
How much water does a lawn need? That de
pends on the lawn, and how its owner wants it
to look, says Jason McCarty of Cofeds Home and
Garden Showplace. 'Bermuda grass is the most
drought-resistant grass," he says, and it rarely
dies from drought. "It'll hold on a lot longer than
any other type of grass." A well-established lawn
can do with weekly watering during the summer
drought season. That season usually starts in late
summer, but has already started this year, ac
cording to McCarty. But a homeowner who wants
an "emerald-green" lawn must water two or three
times per week, he says, and preferably not in
the middle of the day, when much water will be
lost to evaporation. (For this reason, ACC rules
don't allow spray irrigation between 10 a.m. and
6 p.m. Hand watering and {/rip irrigation are al
lowed at any time of day, but also must adhere
to the every-other-day schedule.)
► continued on next page
“The idea is not to increase
water prices for everybody,
it’s to discourage water waste.
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