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ror, Commission
near fiom Citizens on
Jail lit, Development
Spend $50,000 of tax money for public
art at Athens-Clarke County's long-plarmed
new jail? HeU no, say many citizens who
have contacted their commissioners about
this apparently burning issue. Tve received
phone calls, emails, U.S. Mail tetters and
stops on the street," longtime Commissioner
Kathy Hoard said at last week's meeting of the
ACC Mayor and Commission, from "people I
don't generally hear from—people who have
remained silent on the hundreds of issues"
the local government has considered over the
years. Hoard said that she personally favors
installing art in public areas of the jail—and
would be willing to contribute her own money
to it—but will vote
against public funding,
given the "overwhelming"
opposition.
"A representative's
responsibility is not only
to make decisions based
on personal views and life
experiences—along with
information and study materials provided—but
also to listen to the people," she said. But
commissioners are divided on the question
"We're not talking about making the lives
of our prisoners happier," said Commissioner
Ed Robinson, butjather about making Athens
more attractive to visitors (the jail is visible
from incoming airplanes landing at Athens-
Ben Epps Airport, Robinson noted, although
not from Lexington Road). "Athens is a pretty
ugly town to drive in," he added: "It's one
step up from Augusta."
The commission voted against funding, but
the question will be decided next month after
Commissioner Jared Bailey requested a recon
sideration of the 6-4 vote, having misunder
stood the motion.
‘A representative’s
responsibility is not only
to make decisions based
on personal views”
The meeting was well-attended by citizens
who oppose Selig Enterprises' proposed retail/
apartment development adjacent to down
town. The project was not on the commission's
agenda (and it's unclear how commissioners
would stop it anyway), but opponents filled
the chamber, and some spoke during the open
comment opportunity at meeting's end. Others
held signs ("Think Outside the Big Box") and
stood in opposition.
"I foil in love with this town," said Ryan
Fritz, decrying the "injustice" of "putting a
Walmart in between Jittery Joe's and Weaver
0's." Attorney Russell Edwards presented a
petition of T)ver 17,000 names of people who
oppose a downtown Walmart.
"We can do better," he said, while acknowl
edging "it would be a big convenience to
many residents." He asked commissioners to
"pass legislation to compel Selig Enterprises
to shrink the size of their anchor tenant"
Others also said the footprint is too large,
and cited Walmart's low
pay scale, its reputation
for destroying local busi
nesses and for abandoning
stores quickly (as it did its
Atlanta Highway store).
Selig has shared its
general plans but has not
filed for county permits
(except a demolition pern it for buildings on
the site, and that was held up for 90 days at
the behest of commissioners Alice Kinman and
Kelly Girtz). Can commissioners stop the proj
ect or modify it—even presuming a majority
of them want to?
"It's hard to answer that question," ACC
Planning Director Brad Griffin told Flagpole,
because Selig has not yet submitted its plans
for county approval. But the proposal Selig
has publicized is "less than half the size of
the Walmart on the Eastside," he noted, and
is well under downtown's timits for building
size—which allows buildings to be multiple
stories in height (up to 100 feet), and to
total five times the square footage of the
land parcel they're built on. Downtown roning
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requirements haven't changed significantly for
a decade, he said.
If Selig's plans meet current zoning
regulations—unless they ask for specific "vari
ances" or exemptions—the question would
never even go to the commission, but would
be approved automatically. (Some minor vari
ances could go before the Hearings Board.)
The developer will have to submit a study of
projected traffic impacts—and pay for addi
tional traffic lanes or signals, if needed—but
that's a matter to be decided between Selig
and the Georgia Department of Transportation,
not Athens-Clarke County, Griffin said. •
And because Selig is preparing its plans
based on what Griffin's department has told it
about ACC requirements, the county attorney
believes the developer already has "vested
rights" to proceed with its plans—even
though it hasn't yet submitted them—and
ACC could not legally change the requirements
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this late in the game. In any case, changing
downtown's zoning requirements would require
Planning Commission consideration, and would
take at least 90 days, Griffin said; if Selig sub
mitted its plans in the meantime, the existing
regulations would certainly apply. Have any
ACC commissioners asked the planning depart
ment about how zoning requirements might be
modified? They have not, he said.
Also last week, several commission
ers asked for the commission's standing
Legislative Review Committee (which consists
of half the 10 commissioners) to determine
whether community gardens—and the sate of
vegetables from them—are legal under county
ordinances. If not, the ordinances might be
changed. "My own vegetable garden might
be against the ordinance," said Commissioner
Alice Kinman.
John Huie
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JANUARY 11,2012 • FlAGPOLE.COM 5
