City, County approve agreement to pay EPD for Lake Lanier water storage

FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. – The Board of Commissioners approved an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the City of Cumming during last week’s meeting that will determine how each government pays the Georgia Environmental Protection Division for storing water from Lake Lanier.

County Attorney Ken Jarrard announced at the meeting the City approved the agreement at its Tuesday meeting.

“As a by-product of the Water Wars, we now have the opportunity for the Corps of Engineers to allocate capacity in Lake Lanier,” Jarrard said. The primary lease will be between the Corps and EPD. EPD will then enter into a set of subleases with local governments that have capacity in Lake Lanier.

The agreements sets the formula for the allocation of payments for the first year of the agreement and each subsequent year. The City reserves the right to review the formula in two years.

During public hearings, the Board approved;

• An amendment to the Unified Development Code (UDC) to allow concrete pours outside regular business pour for projects that have a commercial building permit upon prior approval of the Director of Building and Economic Development for a fee of $35-0;
• An amendment to the UDC related to dumpsters that will be permit dumpsters containing putrescible waste for less than 30 days and dumpsters that contain inert debris and construction demolition waste for less than 90 days;
• An amendment to the UDC that allows an exemption for non-residential plat requirements;
• An amendment to the UDC that reduces the buffer on MI (Mining Industrial) property from 60 feet to 40 feet and the setback from 75 feet to 50 feet when it abuts residential or agriculture zoned property;
• An amendment to adopt the 2016 version of the 2016 state Record Retention Schedule.

The Board agreed to postpone until Dec. 3 a revocation or modification vote on the Hindu Center of Atlanta (CP190025) following comments by the Center’s attorney Ethan Underwood and County Attorney Ken Jarrard during the public comment portion of the meeting.

Jarrard explained that the Hindu Center is making progress on its attempt to relocate an outdoor storage yard from a Union Hill location to Tidwell Road. “Absent providential cause, there will be no more extension,” he said.

The Board also denied Nuru Zaman’s appeal of the suspension of his alcohol server permit based on unsanitary conditions.