Wednesday, August 21, 2002
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Wednesday, August 21, 2002 |
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Bad signs lead to Tyrone meeting snafu By JOHN THOMPSON
A combination of poorly-marked signs and conflicts of interest left most of the audience at last week's Town Council meeting angry and upset. Thursday's meeting was supposed to be one of the busiest of the year, with three rezoning requests scheduled. Residents packed Town Hall to see how the Town Council would vote, but in the end, no decisions were made on the issues. The first issue was a request by Burt Clark to develop a 23-home subdivision on 36 acres near Laurelwood Road and Laurel Lake Drive. The land is currently zoned for three-acre homesites, but Clark wants the property rezoned from AR to R-48 to allow for the higher density use. "Keep it one home per three acres. Twenty-three septic systems on this property could flow into Line Creek," said Tracy Heard, who lives near the property. But in the end, the Town Council postponed voting on the issue because the signs posted for the public hearing were not legible. Town attorney Brad Sears said the town could face a possible lawsuit if a resident who wanted to attend Thursday night's meeting could not read the sign outlining the time and place of the hearing. The town will discuss the issue again Sept. 19 The next rezoning concerned another request from Burt Clark. Town councilmen Ronnie Cannon and Lisa Richardson recused themselves from discussion on the issue, since they knew people involved in the rezoning request. Since Mayor Sheryl Lee can only vote in cases of ties, only Councilmen Ray Bogenschutz and Paul Letourneau could vote on the matter. With only two eligible council members left to vote on the issue, Sears told the Town Council the matter would have to be referred to Superior Court, where a "special master" would be appointed to conduct the public hearing. "This happens about once a year. With a small town and only five people on the council, you're going to run into this," Sears said. The final zoning issue was a 56-acre site at the intersection of Ga. Highway 74 and Senoia Road. The property is zoned Agricultural-Residential, but the Hobgood estate wants it changed to M-1, Industrial. Rick Sewell represented the Hobgoods and said the property is surrounded by industrial land and the Hobgoods just want the property zoned to industrial, which is how it is earmarked on the Future Land Use Map. But Tyrone residents opposed the change. "The citizens don't want anymore industrial," said Gary Lee. Lee Wright, who used to serve on the town's Planning Commission, was adamant in his opposition. "I'm concerned about traffic and noise pollution. Do we want to look like Fairburn at Interstate 85?" He said. Since there were no specific requests for the property, the Town Council voted to send the matter back to the Planning Commission for further discussion. The commission may also discuss the Future Land Use Map.
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