GDOT releases funds for Post Road widening project
Press Release April 13, 2022
Forsyth County, Ga. – The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) is making funds
available sooner than originally anticipated for a project to add lanes on Post Road from S.R. 9 to Kelly Mill Road.
“Forsyth County is one of Georgia’s fastest-growing communities and appropriately managing
congestion is a top priority for state and local transportation officials in order to best serve residents,” said Gov. Brian Kemp. “I am proud of the partnership we have with Forsyth County leadership and our ability to work together to provide infrastructure improvements needed for the future.”
GDOT has committed to a total of $62,142,600. A breakdown is listed below:
– $21,193,600 for right of way (beginning as early as July 2022)
– $36,544,200 for construction (beginning as early as July 2025)
– $4,404,800 for utilities (beginning as early as July 2025)
“The widening of Post Road is a project that we have been working closely with the state to bring to fruition for residents that use that busy thoroughfare,” said Forsyth County Chairman Alfred John. “To see how much our partners at GDOT and the governor’s office value this project is great to see, and we thank them for their diligence to move the project timeline up.”
Once complete, the 3.64-mile portion of Post Road between S.R 9 and Kelly Mill Road will increase capacity and improve safety by adding two lanes in each direction with a raised median, shoulders, curb and gutter as well as five-foot sidewalks. The project is currently in the design phase.
“We greatly appreciate the governor’s support for this project and appreciate the state moving the
project’s timeline up,” said District 3 Commissioner Todd Levent. “This project is an example of just how important the relationship we have with the state truly is. This particular portion of Post Road has needed widening for some time now and I am pleased that it will get the update it needs to relieve some of the congestion in the area.”
The announcement follows last week’s Georgia Transportation Infrastructure Bank award of
$750,000 from the State for the Coal Mountain Connector project, another partnership between Forsyth County and the State.
County staff working to clarify goal for conservation subdivisions
News March 24, 2022
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. – County commissioners, planning commissioners and developers spent a large portion of Tuesday’s Board of Commissioners meeting in a discussion about potential modifications to the conservation subdivision zoning designation.
Much of the discussion on a conflict between the purpose and intent vs. strict performance standards that are written into the UDC. Developers submit their plans according to the county’s performance standards but the project may not meet the purpose and intent
District 4 Planning Commissioner Nedal Shawkat explained that secondary conservation areas must be five acres or more with a minimum width of 25 feet. Also, 85 percent of the lots must directly abut open space. Commissioner Cindy Jones Mills said, “It seems like we would better off if we gave them a little bit of flexibility rather than be so rigid.”
Shawkat agreed. “Getting away from the rigid standards perhaps in a way we may be uncomfortable with is something we need to do in order to make this a category that will really work .If it is done right, it can be a great thing for the community.”
Commissioner Todd Levent recommended lowering the 85 percent to 40-50 percent. “They would still have to meet the green space minimum but let them create pocket parks.”
After an hour long conversation the Board kicked the ball back into the planning commission’s yard, directing they “work with land planners and the development community to identify the overall goal for a conservation Res 2 and have the county UDC Chapter 19 written to accomplish that goal.”
Once a clear goal is established, it will return to the Board of Commissioners and a public hearing will be set.
County approves Denmark Park, Polo Fields land swap
Featured Stories February 6, 2022
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. – A potential land swap between the Polo Fields and nearby Denmark Park has been a hot-button issue for many months. The issue was resolved Thursday when the Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to approve an acquistions’ contract that will enable the County to sell approximately 57 of the 80 acres that had been designated for Denmark Park.
Commissioner Todd Levent
Commissioner Todd Levent introduced the issue by stating the county had received notice that the Polo Fields owners Kimberly and Michael Domenicone plan to sell the property and wants $300,000 per acre, a price Levent said the county can’t justify. If the land is sold to developers between 1,300 and 1,500 youth soccer players will be displaced.
“I can’t stand that we’re all getting pitted against each other over this,” Levent said. “I wish that [we] had $7.5 million extra in the coffer. Yes, the county could use both pieces of land in the future, there’s no doubt in our mind …. We asked staff to look into our capital funds, and [the money] is just not there to hold both of them. We would love nothing more than keep both parks and not create this controversy between everybody.”
The County purchased approximately 57 acres on Windy Hill Drive from Kay Veal and another 23 acres on Mullinax Road for about $2.4 million from Mullinax Road, LLC and Jay Land. The acreage was planned for Denmark and would include pickleball courts, walking trails, four rectangular fields. The county now proposes to sell that land to developers in order to raise the money to purchase the Polo Fields.
County Attorney said the acquisition contract anticipates a 90-day due diligence period. “There will be no closing on the Polo Fields unless the county is able to sell the discussed portion of the Denmark property for a price of no less than $7.5 million,” he said.
Emily Kaminski, speaking on behalf of Kay Veal, the former owner of the Denmark Park property read a statement written by Veal who was too upset to attend the meeting. The statement follows: “I am adamantly opposed to the proposed land swap. I sold my farmland to be used by the county as a park. I turned down much larger offers so the land could be a park. My late husband did not want houses on that land and I don’t either. I wanted to do something for the county and now I feel duped if the county goes forward with this land swap. I am outraged that certain members of this board would consider misusing my goodwill in this way. Leave Denmark Park alone.”
But Brian Yearwood, a member of the Parks and Recreation Board, worried about the state of youth sports if the swap was not approved.
“Spring is going to be a disaster if we don’t have those fields because we have no place to put the kids. Fall is going to be an unmitigated disaster because we now have football, cheer, lacrosse and soccer.“
Forsyth County Comprehensive Plan update under way
Press Release February 2, 2022
PRESS RELEASE
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Every 5 to 10 years Forsyth County updates it’s comprehensive plan. This plan is what lays out and identifies the type growth, density, commercial and what should be allowed in specific areas of the county.
Forsyth does this pursuant to GA State land use laws. Applications for zonings and Commissioners decisions rely heavily on the comprehensive plan and land use maps.
This is your opportunity to give input into the future of Forsyth County. Please see the announcement to attend up coming events and locations.
Forsyth County Comprehensive Plan
Announcements
Foster Forsyth 2022 is a five year-update to our current comprehensive plan. It focuses on refining the County’s future land use vision as well as priority needs, opportunities, and action items in order to facilitate the community’s vision for future growth.
CHECK OUT NEW MATERIALS ON OUR WEBSITE
Several new documents are now available on the project website, including the following draft plan materials and summaries of community input:
Inventory and Assessment
Interim Needs and Opportunities
Stakeholder Interview Summary
Meeting Series 1 Input Summaries
Meeting Series 1 Presentation and Display
VISIT OUR WEBSITE
In case you missed our last email, Meeting Series 2 is coming up! All three meetings will cover the same material, so join us for the meeting that best fits your schedule.
Meeting 1: February 23 | 6:00pm to 8:00pm
Fowler Park Community Room (Fowler Park Recreation Center)
4110 Carolene Way, Cumming, GA 30040
Meeting 2: March 1 | 6:00pm to 8:00pm
Central Park Banquet Room (Central Park Recreation Center)
2300 Keith Bridge Rd, Cumming, GA 30040
Meeting 3: March 2 | 6:00pm to 7:15pm
Virtual Meeting hosted on Zoom
Questions? Concerns? Contact us at [email protected]
Thank you for allowing me to serve as your Commissioner.
Todd Levent
District 3 Commissioner, BOC member
Winter storm keeping county employees working overtime, please stay at home
News January 16, 2022
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — At 10:20 a.m. today (Jan. 16) the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office posted the following road report:
Trees and wires down at these locations:
* Sawnee Dr/Tribble Gap Rd
* Brannon Road/Ronald Reagan
* Haw Creek Circle/Redbud Way
* Haw Creek Circle/Habersham Gate Dr
* Haw Creek Circle/Sassafras Ln
* Pilgrim Mill/Magnolia Ave
Forsyth County Commissioner Todd Levent posted:
Please consider Public Safety Official’s Safety and workload with the incoming weather. This storm will create major challenges, so please do not add to the challenges. Stay at home unless getting in your vehicle is absolutely necessary.
E-911 calls and emergency services will be overwhelmed. They are preparing for high winds, ice, snow, fallen trees, and powerlines.
Commissioner Levent’s wife Dana and her co-workers have been called into the E-911 center until sometime Tuesday. “She has packed clothes for three days. Fire trucks and patrol cars will have chainsaws on board to cut trees out of their way just to answer one call to the next.”
The Public Works Department employees will also be overwhelmed trying to keep the roads as clear as possible.
Please stay at home if possible!
County Commissioners will receive first cost of living increase since 2010
News December 19, 2021
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. – With the inflation rate soaring to 6.2 percent, the highest in more than three decades, and consumer prices skyrocketing, County Commissioners agreed to give themselves an $8,000 increase in their annual base salary Thursday.
The Board voted 4-0, with Commissioner Molly Cooper absent, to direct County Attorney Ken Jarrard to draft a resolution for their approval during the first meeting of the New Year. The pay raise does not impact the commissioners benefit package.
Commissioner Todd Levent
Commissioner’s base salary is currently $34,900 annually. District 3 Commissioner Todd Levent explained that commissioners have not had a cost of living allowance (COLA) since 2010. “If we had received the same inflationary increases that our employees have, we would have a base salary of $51,000 now. We raised the base by $8,000 which is halfway between where we are now and where would have been had we received the annual cost of living increases. ”
While it was not on the agenda, Commissioner Laura Semanson initiated a discussion of term limits for county commissioners. She and Commissioner Alfred John support term limits. Levent and Chairwoman Cindy Jones Mills do not. Both are in their third term on the Board.
“I’m going to talk about term limits every time we talk about increasing our salaries,” Semanson said.
Jones Mills argued, “I feel like the voters should determine who stays in and who stays out. We cheat our voters by starting over too quickly. Just because we as a Board disagree with voters doesn’t mean they are wrong.”
John said he does not know what the limit should be on a person holding the office of county commissioner, but did say, “I don’t believe someone should be in elected office – a career politician – for 20-30 years.”
Commissioners approve change orders for Ronald Reagan project
News September 8, 2021
Assistant County Manager David McKee makes presentation to Board of Commissioners regarding Ronald Reagan Blvd. project
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. – The Board of Commissioners unanimously approved (with Commissioner Molly Cooper absent) two change orders to the contract for the Ronald Reagan Boulevard extension project, during Thursday’s meeting.
The first involved a value engineering proposal (VEP) that calls for replacing an arch culvert with a box culvert, resulting in a savings of about $1.8 million that will be shared with the contractor GPs Enterprises.
The Ronald Reagan project involves the construction of a 3.6 mile long, four-lane roadway with 20-feet raised median, shoulders, curb and gutter with sidewalk along both sides from Majors Road to McGinnis Ferry Road.
In his presentation to the Board, Assistant County Manager David McKee said, “There is a big reason this is the last section of Ronald Reagan to be completed. The main reason is we’re building it through a swamp.”
McKee explained that a VEP is a post-award proposal by the contractor to save time and cost without impairing the function or characteristics of the project.
The second change order involved the need to purchase an additional 80,000 cubic yards of rock embankment at a cost of $2.6 million. The embankment is used to construct and stabilize a roadway, particularly in a swampy area, that Is frequently inundated with water.
Commissioner Todd Levent said, “When this project is done, it is done of the more crucial projects in this county. This and the 369, 400 interchange. When those two projects are done, it will start moving traffic astronomically different in this county.”
Estimated completion date for the project is July 2023.
Semanson on nominating process: “It was manipulated by someone with an agenda”
Featured Stories April 22, 2021
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. – The normally uneventful process of appointing members to a committee quickly erupted into an embarrassing 30 minutes of angry shouting, accusations of “manipulation” and “dirty” tactics at the Board of Commissioners meeting Tuesday.
Furious about the way the nominating process for members of the Development Authority was conducted, Commissioner Laura Semanson said, “This is not the way it was supposed to go. If that is the way we’re going to do this, count me as a no vote on all nominees. This is something that was pulled off at the last minute and I am not okay with it.” She argued that each commissioner was to have a nominee and that each one would receive an up or down vote
Chairwoman Cindy Mills
Chairwoman Cindy Mills reminded her that the process the Board agreed to provided that the first two nominees to receive a simple majority vote would receive the appointment.
Semanson and Commissioner Molly Cooper proposed writing the five nominees’ names on a piece of paper then ranking them to determine the nominations but the county attorney said the rules the Board adopted do not provide for that.
An irate Semanson then claimed the process had been “manipulated by someone with an agenda.” Mills answered, “If it was manipulated, it wasn’t by me. To my knowledge no one manipulated it.”
Clayton Rhodes, Commissioner Todd Levent’s nominee, and Grant Schmelk, Cooper’s nominee, eventually received the at-large appointments by a majority vote.
Semanson then sarcastically told Levent, “Good you got your way, but it was dirty.”
Commissioner Alfred John, who just came onto the Board in January, tried to defuse the situation saying, “It is not becoming of us to keep going on and on. It’s decided. Let’s move on.”
The Board also approved:
· Awarding the bid for construction of Lanierland Park Phase 2 to Astra Group in the amount of $14,820,000 plus a $200,000 contingency;
· The purchase an Eventide Netlog 740 Recording System through Quality Recording Solutions, LLC for the E911 Department under a State of Georgia Contract in the amount of $208,396.34;
· The purchase of replacement membranes for the Manor Water Reclamation Facility from Suez Water Technologies in the amount of $234,446.00;
· Awarding the bid for construction of Lanierland Park Phase 2 to Astra Group in the amount of $14,820,000 plus a $200,000 contingency;
· A Task Order with NOVA Engineering and Environmental for Lanierland Park Phase 2 Geotechnical and Construction Inspections for the Department of Public Facilities in the amount of $98,405;
· The purchase of one new Crafco Super Shot Diesel Melter for the Department of Roads and Bridges from Reynolds Warren Equipment in the amount of $69,645.00;
· The purchase of one new Compact Loader for the Department of Water and Sewer from Bobcat of Atlanta in the amount of $78,885.73;
· The purchase of three new Front Loaders for the Department of Parks and Recreation from Mason Tractor in the amount of $88,466.44;
· The purchase of three new Compact Loaders for the Department of Parks and Recreation from Bobcat of Atlanta in the amount of $122,103.53
· Awarding the design/environmental services contract for a multi-use trail on Pilgrim Mill Road, Holtzclaw to Tidwell Park Entrance for the Department of Engineering to American Engineers, Inc. in the amount of $628,600.00;
· Awarding the bid for Audio Visual System Upgrades for two (2) Juvenile Courtrooms to Conference Technologies, Inc. in the amount of $64,161.94;
· A Final Response Time to Reconciliation Letter between Jacobs and Archer Western Construction regarding the Fowler Water Reclamation Facility Expansion;
· A Memorandum of Understanding between the Improving Community Preparedness to Assist Victims of Mass Violence and Domestic Terrorism: Training and Technical Assistance (ICP-TTA) and Forsyth County;
· Adoption of a Waterline Extension Policy to define a process for extending water service to existing, developed areas that do not currently have access to the Forsyth County public water system;
· The design and build project for a Customer Service Facility at the Sexton Hall Campus with authorization for this Project to be included in the existing contract for the Sexton Hall Site Master Planning with Lose Design. The new Facility will serve as the replacement for the Sharon Springs Tag Office and provide services for the Tax Assessors’ Office and Department of Water and Sewer to assist the residents in South Forsyth. The estimated cost for the Project is $2.5M;
· A discussion and possible direction regarding amendments to the Unified Development Code related to Special Event Facilities and Agritourism;
· A discussion and possible direction regarding proposed amendments to the Unified Development Code regarding Pools and Accessory Structures to move to a public hearing;
· An offer from Georgia Transmission Corporation to acquire an easement across County property located at 7385 Browns Bridge Road;
· A discussion and possible direction regarding moving alcohol application approvals to an administrative process;
· Postponement of a request by the Board of Registrations and Elections for an increased meeting per diem and monthly expense account;
· A Right to Enter Agreement with Anson Logistics Assets, LLC to accommodate wall construction for Parcel 7 of the Ronald Reagan Boulevard Extension Project;
· A review of a Short Term Rental Permitting Ordinance.
Commissioners set to implement permit process for short-term rental
News March 12, 2021
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Short-term rental in Georgia is a multi-billion dollar industry and that was the hot topic at Tuesday’s Board of Commissioners meeting.
Forsyth County does not have a permitting process for short-term rentals and is currently losing hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars in fees and potential sales tax revenue.
Chairman Cindy Mills said, “People all over the county are renting their houses and they are doing so illegally, not by what Forsyth County Board of Commissioners said you should do.”
In some neighboring counties short-term rentals are treated like any other business, requiring a business license, short-term rental license — both of which must be renewed annually — and the payment of annual sales taxes.
Commissioner Todd Levent said the issue had come up before and that some rules and regulations had been drafted, but another Board of Commissioners rejected the idea of a permitting process.
With all commissioners in agreement, Mills directed staff and County Attorney Ken Jarrard to come back with a recommendation for a process to regulate short-term rentals.
In other business, the Board approved:
- An Amendment to the Master Services Agreement between Healthstat, Inc. and Forsyth County to provide for a 3 percent increase in various fees and clinic staffing rates at the employees wellness center;
- A list of surplus items with authorization for the Department of Procurement to dispose of accordingly;
- An amendment to the agreement with Tyler Technologies for the MyCivic Module for the Department of Information Systems and Technology;
- Expanding the scope with Praetorian Group Inc. for LocalGovU, a Learning Management System, to provide training and professional development to County staff for one year beginning on April 1;
- Award Bid 20-180-1620 to replace the flooring at the Forsyth County Animal Shelter to Ward Humphrey, Inc. in the amount of $593,359;
- Award Bid 20-192-1620 for the renovation of the Forsyth County Tax Assessor’s Office to Striker Contracting, LLC in the amount of $109,616.00;
- Award Bid 21-02-3120 to provide as-needed Liquid Calcium Chloride Treatment on approximately 35 miles of roadway in Forsyth County to South Eastern Road Treatment, Inc. in the amount of $65,000;
- Award Bid 21-18-3150 for as-needed Hot Asphaltic Concrete for the Department of Roads and Bridges to three companies C.W. Matthews; Blount Construction; and, Baldwin Paving with an estimated expenditure is $1,100,000;
- An amendment to the task order with American Engineers, Inc. on the SR 369 Widening Project to provide post design services in the amount of $25,000;
- An amendment to the Task Order with Ch2MHill Engineers, Inc. for the Fowler Reclamation Facility Expansion Project for the Department of Water and Sewer in the amount of $196,000;
- Award RFP 20-145-3340 for AMI Meters and System Installation to Delta Municipal in the amount of $18,020,926 with authorization to continue the software/network as an annual service cost for the duration of the system;
- A Task Order with Jacobs (CH2MHill) for providing AMI Implementation Management Services in the amount of $1,350,000;
- Atlanta Gas Agreement to provide gas service for a new natural gas generator to be installed at 428 Canton Highway for the Public Health Facility of $1,389.29;
- Acceptance of the FY2022 Federal Transit Administration Section 5311 Rural Transit Program Grant in the amount of $170,671 with a County match of $170,671.00;
- Scheduling a public hearing on Incentives for large-lot agricultural subdivisions;
- Schedule public hearing on changes to the UDC involving a Lot of Record as defined within the Forsyth County Unified Development Code;
- A County-Initiated Conditional Use Permit for farm related activities, including: enclosed retail sales of agricultural products; open air retail sales of agricultural products; and, various uses related to agritourism, such as a petting zoo, u-pick, sunflower patch, hayrides, and similar activities on 25.4 acres currently zoned A1 – Parcels 291-043 and 291-044;
- Authorization to terminate the Intergovernmental Agreement between the Forsyth County School District and Forsyth County regarding the Lease of Real Property, entered into on December 15, 2016; property in reference is a historical building commonly referred to as the “Denmark Clinic;”
- A proposal to release certain Certificates of Occupancy in Hadley Estates, lots 75 and 76, while zoning condition modification is pursued;
- A resolution adopting Rules and Regulations Governing Ad Valorem Tax and License Fee Refund Claims, including delegation of same to the Board of Tax Assessors or appropriate County department for a determination if the claim involves obvious clerical errors and establishing procedures for conferences with the BOC;
- Conveyance of 945.59 square feet of Utility Easement to the Forsyth County Water and Sewerage Authority over portion of Matt Park, as requested by Eastwood Homes and BEI, Inc., for the Parkview subdivision;
- A Consent Order for the deposit of additional funds and disbursement of funds to Hubbard Rental, LLC in connection with Civil Action File No. 19CV-0458-3 (SR 369 at GA 400 Interchange project, parcel 43);
- A Conservation Easement between Forestar (USA) Real Estate Group, Inc., Carruth Lake Estates Community Association, Inc., and Forsyth County, Georgia for Phase 4 of the Carruth Lake Estates subdivision;
- Acquisition of 32.101 Acres of Land from McFarland/400, Inc.; Tom Aderhold; and Charles Van McCollum, as Trustee of the Amy R. McCollum Revocable Living Trust Dated December 18, 2013 (Tax Parcel 064-022).
The Board did not vote on the intersection at Habersham Trace and Nuckolls Road and moved the issue of staggered terms for Development Authority members to the next work session.
Ethics Panel finds Levent violated two articles of Forsyth County Code of Ethics; recommends warning
News March 2, 2021
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. – After two full days of sworn testimony and a $265,000 bill to Forsyth County taxpayers, an independent three-member ethics panel found Commissioner Todd Levent violated two of the provisions in the ethics complaint filed by fellow Commissioner Laura Semanson and added the appropriate action is a warning.
Commissioner Laura Semanson
The panel found that Levent violated Article 3, Sec. 1 and Article 3, Sec. 8.
Article 1, Sec. 3 states: Member of Boards, Commissions and Authorities, Elected Officials and County Departments shall uphold the Constitution, laws and legal regulations of the United States, Stage of Georgia and County of Forsyth and all governments therein and never be a party to evasion.
Article 1 Sec. 8 states: Member of Boards, Commissions and Authorities, Elected Officials and County Departments shall never engage in conduct which is unbecoming to a member or which constitutes a breach of trust.
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Levent ethics hearing scheduled Monday
News February 27, 2021
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. – An ethics complaint that has consumed 10 months and cost Forsyth County taxpayers nearly $200,000 in legal fees could finally, mercifully, be decided by a Forsyth County Ethics Board Monday (Feb. 28).
The Board will meet at 9 a.m. in the Commissioners Meeting Room in the County Administration Building, 110 East Main Street.
District 3 Commissioner Todd Levent is the target of the complaint which alleges he accessed Commissioner Cindy Mills email account without filing an Open Records Request.
Last May, commissioners authorized an outside agency to investigate Levent at a cost not to exceed $20,000. In August they voted 3-0 (Commissioners Levent and Mills recused) to censure him. Two weeks later, they voted to spend an unlimited amount of taxpayer dollars to hire a law firm to bring their complaint before the Ethics Board. As of December, the price tag had reached more than $180,000.
But the investigation revealed Levent did file an Open Records Request when he asked Carolyn Haag, an administrative aid to the commissioners, to retrieve the emails for him. Ga. OCGA 50-18-71 clearly points out that an Open Records Request may be made orally or in writing. The same emails can be retrieved by any citizen.
In announcing Levent’s censure, Commissioner Semanson (then Chairwoman) accused him of “obtaining un-redacted lists of current emails.” Georgia law does permit some limited redactions in response to an ORR, however it is government’s responsibility to redact the information where permitted.
Levent has said he did nothing wrong and that the investigation is a political vendetta.
He will be represented by attorney Daran Burns.
Levent ethics hearing set December 14
News December 3, 2020
Commissioner Todd Levent
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. – The outcome of a seven-months’ ethics investigation that will cost Forsyth County taxpayers close to $200,000 will be decided Monday, Dec. 14 at 10 a.m. when the county’s ethics panel meets in the Board of Commissioners Meeting Room, 110 Main Street.
The investigation of District 3 Commissioner Todd Levent — which commissioners initially agreed should cost no more than $20,000 – was conducted by the law firm of Smith, Gambrell and Russell. The current cost is $168,000 with December’s invoice still outstanding.
The Board has accused Levent of accessing Commissioner Cindy Mills’ taxpayer-funded email account without her permission. Levent made a verbal request for Administrative Assistant Carol Haag to retrieve the emails for him, which she did. Commissioners contend that Levent did not file an Open Records Request for the emails. However, under Georgia Open Records Act § 50.18.70 requests may be made verbally as well as in written form.
Commissioners nix warehouse on Windermere Parkway
News July 12, 2020FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — The Forsyth County Board of Commissioners worked their way through a busy agenda that included a dozen or more public hearings in less than two hours Thursday.
Most of the items passed by unanimous consent. One that did not, however, was a planned commercial use on Windermere Parkway. The applicant, RD Links Investment, LLC proposed an amendment to the zoning condition that would allow a warehouse to be added to a home renovation business on 1.5 acres at the intersection of Windermere Parkway and Towne Club Parkway.
Chairwoman Laura Semanson that in other “upscale neighborhoods” (particularly in Cobb County) the applicant has a showroom without a warehouse. “That was not something they were interested in doing (in the Windermere neighborhood).
She called the addition of a warehouse a “leap too far for Windermere Parkway, a residential corridor with neighborhood-oriented retail. That is the way it was designed to be, a high pedestrian area with children walking to South Forsyth High School and Sharon Elementary.”
Semanson made the motion to deny which was approved unanimously.
Commissioners also considered, but took no action, on the first of two required public hearings on changes to the animal control ordinance. Attorney Molly Esswein addressed the Board, saying, “One of the key motivations on this was to look at the dangerous dog, the responsible dog ownership laws the state has and coordination with our ordinance to make sure that animal services had all the tools that they need to go out and protect the public and make sure they can make those key determinations about when to classify a dog as dangerous or vicious.”
The proposed changes include a new section that deals with neglected animals and allows animal control officers to look at a case that might not necessarily rise to the level of cruelty, but may still have an impact on how animals are being treated.
Commissioners unanimously approved an amendment that allows breweries and distilleries to apply for a conditional use permit to operate in the M1 zoning district.
The Board approved by a 4-1 vote – with Commissioner Todd Levent opposed increasing the maximum building height from 50 feet to 90 feet at the Georgia Stone Products site at 4870 Leland Drive. All other votes received unanimous approval.
Commissioners also held a second public hearing on the proposed millage rate for 2021. The third public hearing will be held July 23.
Commissioner Dennis Brown read a proclamation declaring the Board’s support and appreciation for law enforcement at the local, State and federal level, and applauded their commitment to selfless service on behalf of Forsyth County, the State of Georgia and the nation.
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