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01-03-1983 Regular MeetingJanuary 3, 1983 The regular scheduled meeting of Mayor and Council was held pursuant to the Charter on January 3, 1983 at Smyrna City Hall. The meeting was called to order by presiding officer Mayor Arthur T. Bacon. All Council members were present. Also present was City Attorney Charles Camp, City Clerk Willouise Spivey, Police Chief R. E. Little, Acting Fire Chief Hubert Cochran, Public Works Director Jim David, Parks and Recrea- tion Director Sherry Reavis, Parks Superintendent Bruce Bates, Librarian Doris Morris, Civil Defense Director Jim Farley and representatives of the press. Invocation was given by Elbert Coalson, followed by the pledge to the flag. There were no citizen reports. Rezoning: Murriel M. Whitener requested rezoning of property at 2911 Foster Street and adjacent property from R-15 to Limited Commercial. Chris Whitener represented the applicant and said the house would be used for a small office for their company, Guaranteed Cable Service, and there would not be any outside storage. James Williams asked Mr. Whitener how much parking -would be needed, and the answer was 3 to 5 cars. There was no opposition and Mayor Bacon read the recommendation of the Planning and Zoning Board where they recommended the zoning be approved. James Williams made a motion the zoning be approved, seconded by Jim Tolleson. Jack Shinall asked about the zoning of adjoining property and Mr. Whitener said his property abuts Light Industry. They have already refurbished the inside of the house and will also renovate the outside. After further discussion, vote on the motion carried 7-0. Rezoning: Earl L. Styes requested rezoning of property at 706 Cherokee Road from Future Commercial to Limited Commercial for his office, Northwest Insurance Agency. Mr. Styes said he has been in the insurance business for 12 years and would like to convert this house to his new office. Elbert Coalson said he noticed Mr. Styes would have 4 employees and asked how many parking spaces he would need. Mr. Styes said customer parking would be on the side and he would have about 6 spaces, with the entrance from Burbank Circle. There was no opposition and Elbert Coalson made a motion the zoning be approved. Max Bacon seconded the motion which carried 7-0. Rezoning: Tillman Nowlin requested rezoning of property at 602 Pat Mell Road from R-15 to Limited Commercial. There was no opposition from the audience. Mr. Nowlin said he would like to convert the house into a real estate insurance office and construct a 30 x 50 garage on the rear of the lot for personal or rental use. This property adjoins commercial property now and he felt that after the house was renovated it would improve the general appearance of the street. Elbert Coalson said he was concerned about the construction of the garage, which Mr. Nowlin planned to use to store Charles Chips products, and asked how far back it would be. Mr. Nowlin said the lot was 200 feet deep and the garage would be about 100 feet behind the house. Mr. Coalson said he would admit the house was an eyesore but he would like to talk to the property owners to the rear on Kennesaw Drive to see if they would have any objections. Mayor Bacon read the recommendation of the Planning and Zoning Board where they denied the request primarily because of Mr. Nowlin's intention of building a garage to turn it into a warehouse, and felt ]t would be spot zoning. Attorney Camp said if the property was rezoned Limited Commercial he would not be allowed to build a warehouse or garage of any type. Jim Tolleson asked about the zonings on either side of the property. Mr. Nowlin said there was a beauty shop on.one side, with a residence on the other side. Mr. Coalson said he would certainly like to have Mr. Nowlin's business in the City but due to the location, existing traffic problem on Pat Mel] Road and his intention of using a warehouse in the back, made a motion the request be denied. James Williams seconded the motion which carried 5-2, with Jim Tolleson and Sarah Jones opposed. Rezoni g,:!S? L. Leveto requested rezoning of property on Matthews Street in Land Lot 633 —from Residential to Residential Townhouse District. There was no opposition from the audience. Mr. Leveto said there was approximately 15 acres on the site and the surrounding property is primarily compose & of multi -family and industrial. Mr. Leveto said they had made a new set of plans and would try to build as many fee simple townhouses as,possible, and still preserve the natural vegetation. The units will sell for approximately $45,000 to $60,000. James Williams asked how many variances he would anticipate. Mr. Leveto said there were none at this time, and hopefully they would not need any. James Williams made a motion the zoning be approved, seconded by Sarah Jones. Vote on the motion carried 7-0. Privilege License: Rita Clayborn requested a business license to operate a massage parlor, in conjunction with a full service beauty salon at 2790 Hargrove Road. ' Jack Shinall said the application submitted was notccomplete and made a motion the request be tabled to the next meeting. Jim Tolleson seconded the motion which carried by a 7-0 vote. January 3, 1983 - Continued Privilege License: Red Lobster Restaurant requested a liquor; wine and malt beverage pouring license for a new restaurant at 2617 Cobb Parkway. Mayor Bacon stated the.app'licant, Judy Diane Earlywine was not able to be present tonight. Jack Shinall made a motion this'request also be tabled to the next meeting. Elbert Coalson seconded the motion which carried by a 7-0 vote. Privilege License: Food Giant at 2370 South Cobb brive requested a transfer of their wine and beer package license, the applicant being Robert Earl Sharber. Jack Shinall stated their application was in order and the police investigation favorable, and made a motion the license be approved. Sarah Jones seconded the motion which carried by a 7-0 vote. Variance: Tarver L. Shirley requested a variance on the height restrictions for an amateur radio tower at his home at 808 Timberland Street. This request was tabled at the December 6, 1982 meeting to allow Randy.Shirley time,to work out interference problems some of the neighbors were having. Randy said the complaints were not actually concerning the height of the tower, which was structurally sound, but from interference on televisions. He said he would gladly work with anyone having a problem to correct the situation. The tower has been up for approximately 11 years but about a year ago he raised it approximately 40 or 50 feet. Max Bacon asked if he had received any complaints recently. Randy said that with any radio transmission you have interference comp.liaints but he has tried to eliminate them as quickly as possible when someone calls. He has a letter from FCC stating that his equipment is in compliance with their regulations. There were two people in the audience in opposition to*the variance. Randy said he had corrected the problem with the original complaintant and was working on others, but lowering the antenna would only make the interference worse. The tower is now 100 feet and he said FCC regulations would allow him to go as high as 200 feet. George Elinas, a resident of Eastfield Road objected and said he did not think it was fair to allow one person to create interference for an entire neighborhood. When asked if he hdd contacted Randy about the interference problem, he said he had not, and would not do so. Randy said another neighbor is operating a CB radio illegally and also causing interference problems and presented a petition from surrounding neighbors stating they had no objection to the radio tower. Jack Shinall said this has been a very hectic situation and he has heard both sides. However, this is a variance from the ordinance making an exception for one particular person and since there was opposition he would have to make a motion to deny the variance. Jim Hawkins seconded the motion. Jim Tolleson said he would like to see something worked out with the neighbors complaining. Mr. Andrews, an FAA employee stated he was familiar with the equipment Randy is using and said that lowering the tower would have no bearing whatsoever on the interference problem. Vote on the motion to deny the variance carried 4-3 with Max Bacon, Sarah Jones and James Williams opposed. There were no commercial building permits to bring before council. Residential Business License: John Cavender requested a residential business license for Smyrna Lighweight Concrete Company at 821 McLinden Avenue. Mr. Cavender said this will be the same type business he has always done, but will now be self- employed. He needs the license to have a business phone at his home and also to be able to park his truck there. Jim Hawkins stated the petition to be signed by the surrounding property owners only had several signatures. Mr. Cavender said he had always parked his truck at his home, but the ones not signing the petition said they did not want a business in the neighborhood. Jim Hawkins made a motion the license be denied. Jim Tolleson seconded the motion which carried by a 7-0 vote. Ordinance Amendment: Max Bacon said we were one of the last municipalities to adopt the RM-1 zoning classification and read the proposed amendment as follows: In order to provide suitable housing for retired persons, single persons and couples without children in areas where the vehicular access and traffic flow allow; where the particular topography of the land is suitable; where population density will not be adversely affected; where proper zoning and planning practices are followed and where aesthetics of the community will be enhanced, there is hereby established in the City of Smyrna: RM-16 (Residential Multiple -Family District). A district which does not exceed sixteen units per acre with provisions for customary accessory uses. Each development shall be required to have at least 50% of the total number of units either efficiency or one bedroom units. Minimum Lot Area: 80,000 sq. ft. Minimum Floor Area: Efficiency - 450 sq. ft. January 3, 1983 - Continued Minimum Floor Area: Minimum Lot Width: Minimum Yard Adjacent to Public Streets: Minimum Side Yard: Minimum Rear Yard: Maximum Cover: Maximum Height: 1 bedroom - 450 sq. ft. 2 bedroom - 750 sq. ft. 3 bedroom - 900 sq. ft. 100 ft. Arterial - 75 ft. Collector - 50 ft. Local - 50 ft. 35 ft. 40 ft. 35% 3 Stories Max Bacon made a motion the ordinance be approved, seconded by Jack Shinall. After discussion, the motion and second were withdrawn. Max Bacon made a motion the amendment be advertised for 2 weeks, with the public hearing held the first meeting in February. Jack Shinall seconded the motion which carried 7-0. Street Closing: Jim Tolleson said there was an unopened portion or spur of Beech Valley Drive at the northeast end which had been properly advertised and posted, and made a motion it be closed and abandoned. Max Bacon seconded the motion which carried 7-0. Conveyance Deed: James Williams made a motion that the portion of an abandoned street or alley located behind the home of Richard Pecha on Brown Circle be conveyed to him, with Mr. Pecha to pay all cost involved. Max Bacon seconded the motion which carried 7-0. Jack Shinall made a motion the minutes of December 6, 1982 be approved as submitted. Sarah Jones seconded the motion which carried 7-0. Jim Hawkins made a motion the minutes of December 20, 1983 be approved as submitted. Jim Tolleson seconded the motion which carried 7-0. Committee Reports: (Water) Jim Tolleson called for a Sanitation Committee meeting on Thursday at 5:30 for all council. Jim Tolleson said he would like to speak to every taxpayer in the county with the exception of Marietta, regarding their recent annexations of Richway and Peoples Restaurant. Each time they annex a company the size of Richway, it cost each citizen 60t per day. If it continues, the cost will soon be up to $10 per day, or more.. Jim said somebody has to do something, ,and the PTA may be the key. If enough people would get upset over these annexations, maybe the legislators would take some action. Jim said he had called, and couldn't get their attention any - longer. The people of this county have to get mad and call their legislators. - Jim Hawkins said he supported what Mr. Tolleson said about Marietta continuing to move down Cobb Parkway and felt it was time to do some lobbying again. Jack Shinall said this started several months ago when John Smith Chevrolet annexed into Marietta. The people of Cobb County need to realize that these businesses that annex are shirking their responsibility to our school system. rf these businesses do not want to support our school system, then why should we support them. Jack said he did not. (Library) Doris Morris said income tax forms are available at the library, and the Prentice Hall Federal Income Tax guide. Mayor Bacon said he appreciated the cooperation he has received this past year and everyone had worked well together. We will have to double our efforts this year and stand up to the task of making Smyrna a better place to live. The next meeting will be Tuesday, January 18th and Mayor Bacon urged all council p to attend the Mayor's Day meeting which will be a good time to see the members of the legislative delegation. Mayor Bacon said this Thursday, or the next meeting, he would be making changes in committee assignments. With no further business, meeting adjourned at 8:40 p.m.