Friday, November 29, 2002

Union City denies church zoning change, approves annexation of 73+ acres

By JANET MCGREGOR
snippets@bellsouth.net

The Union City Council started their meeting last week considering two items tabled from the October meeting. The council denied a text amendment to the zoning ordinance that would have reduced requirements for a church to be located on a residential property within the city to be less than three acres.

Howard Williams had requested the amendment. A request by the World of Life Outreach Ministry of Griffin and JCB Investments to amend the Zoning Ordinance was tabled for a second time by request of the petitioner.

The groups are asking the commission to change the text to read "Religious institutions, churches, mosques and temples from a Conditional Use to a Permitted Use." The Planning Commission voted to eliminate the three acre minimum requirements for religious institutions, etc., in neighborhood commercial zoning districts. The item will be on the December agenda.

In other business, the council approved a contract agreement between the city and Georgia Correctional Health, LLC for medical services at the jail.

The council unanimously agreed to annex 73.423 acres located on Koweta and Dodson Roads and adopted a resolution authorizing the adoption of a Community Greenspace Program for the City.

Chamber of Commerce Director John Boothby's proposal to write the City's Livable Initiative Grant was approved. Boothby will complete the proposal for $1,500. A four-way stop at the intersection of Baker and Alexander Streets was approved. Currently there is a 2-way stop at the intersection.

The final two items on the agenda caused some consternation for council members.

Mayor Ralph Moore had hoped to garner input from other council members regarding the proposed South Fulton Municipal Regional Water & Sewer Authority Intergovernmental Agreement.

However, the agreement was not completed in time for the meeting and the matter was tabled until the December meeting.

The final item concerned the Torrey Homes/Oakley Road project and sewer billing. Due to the manner in which the sewer lines are set up Union City will be responsible for sewage and the City of Atlanta will be responsible for the water. Union City is in the process of determining how to handle increasing sewage needs.

Additionally, sewage and water are typically interrelated. When a customer is past due on their sewage the standard remedy is to disconnect the water. Union City will not have that option for the Torrey Homes project.

The city is considering various options to rectify the situation.