Loading...
04-01-1985 Regular MeetingApril 1, 1985 The regular scheduled meeting of Mayor and Council was held pursuant to the Charter on April 1, 1985. The meeting was called to order at 7:30 o'clock p.m. by presiding officer Mayor Arthur T. Bacon. All Council members were present. Also present was City Attorney Charles E. Camp, City Clerk Willouise Spivey, Police Chief R. E. Little, Fire Chief Larry Williams, Public Works Director Vic Broyles, Parks and Recreation Director Sherry Reavis, Civil Engineer Mike Hutchinson, Assistant City Clerk Melinda Dameron, Emergency Management Deputy Director Dick O'Hara, Building Inspector Scott Stokes, Librarian Doris Morris and representatives of the press. Invocation was given by Max Bacon, followed by the pledge to the flag. Citizens Reports: Joel Hannah, a resident of Green Forest Subdivision complained of noise and disturbance caused from dirt bike riders on private property and the Georgia Power easement near his home. Chief Little said if the property was properly posted they could make arrests, if the property owner was willing to testify. Mayor Bacon said the City would do everything they could to help and appreciated Mr. Hannah coming tonight. Dean Byers requested a parade permit for Smyrna Little League on April 13th from Cobb Center to Brinkley Park, beginning at 11:00 a.m. Jim Hawkins made a motion the permit be approved. Kathy Brooks seconded the motion which carried 7-0. Mr. Byers also invited council to ride in the parade and participate in the opening day ceremonies. Rezoning: George C. Walker requested rezoning of 1284 Sunset Avenue in Land Lot 521 from Limited Commercial to General Commercial. There was no opposition from the audience. Jack Cagle, appraiser and real estate broker represented Mr. Walker. Mr. Cagle said Mr. Walker is the owner of Smyrna Cleaners and Laundry presently located at the corner of Sunset and Atlanta Road. He has been at this location r- for 20 years but the building has been sold and Mr. Walker's lease is up in June. If the zoning is approved, Mr. Walker will construct a 40 x 85 building with an attractive decorative front to relocate his business. Property to the west is currently zoned Neighborhood Shopping and the other side is zoned Limited Commercial. To the rear of the property is the City of Smyrna parking area. James Williams asked Mr. Walker if his plans had been reviewed and if he would need any variances. Mr. Walker said the final plans are subject to the engineer's approval, but as far as they knew they would meet all requirements. Mayor Bacon read the minutes of the Planning and Zoning Board meeting where they recommended the zoning be approved. James Williams made a motion the property at 1284 Sunset Avenue be rezoned from Limited Commercial to General Commercial. Max Bacon seconded the motion which carried 7-0. Privilege License: Charles J. Vrono requested a transfer of the beer and wine pouring license for Sizzler Restaurant, 2731 South Cobb Drive. There was no opposition from the audience. Tim King, manager of the restaurant was also present and said he has worked for Sizzler about 8 months at this location. Hugh Ragan asked Mr. King how he would handle any problems at the location should they occur. Mr. King said if someone comes in that looks underage, they ask for an ID. The percentage of alcohol sales is about 1}% on weekends, and less during the week. Also, they seldom ever sell beer or wine without food because of the prices. Mr. King said since he has been there, they have had one incident involving alcohol sales, and called the police. Chief Little said he had no problem with the transfer of the license and Bob Davis read a letter from the Lutheran Church located across the street stating they had no objections to the license being issued. Mr. Vrono said he also understood that he would be fully responsible if anything should go wrong. Bob Davis made a motion the transfer be approved. Jim Hawkins seconded the motion which carried 7-0. Charter Amendment: Jack Shinall said this was a public hearing to consider an amendment to the Charter which has been on file with the Clerk's office. The amend- ment defines the boundaries of the City by metes and bounds, eliminating the piecemeal descriptions. There were no questions or comments from the audience and Jack Shinall made a motion the Charter be amended by deleting Article II in its entirety and replacing section 6(c) of Article III with a new section. James Williams seconded the motion which carried 7-0. Annexation: Bonnelle C. Bowie requested annexation of 3399 Pinetree Drive in Land Lot 597 into the City of Smyrna. There was no opposition. Max Bacon made a motion the property be annexed to become a part of Ward 2, the legal description April 1, 1985 - Continued having been read and made a part of the March 4, 1985 minutes. Jack Shinall seconded the motion which carried 7-0. Variance: Mary D. Latham requested a variance on the front yard setback for an addition to her porch at 2284 Old Spring Road. There was no opposition. Ms. Latham said she called the Inspections Department to ask if she would need a permit to enlarge her front stoop and was told she would not. When they started work and put a' roof over the porch the inspector came by and told them they would have to stop work. Scott Stokes said they were putting a roof on the porch which connected to the house and it encroached into the front yard setback. Max Bacon told Ms. Latham that her letter should have stated the hardship involved, which is now one of the requirements. Jack Shinall said that basically the hardship requirement was directed more to new construction; multi -family, commercial, etc. Kathy Brooks said the Latham's were trying to improve their property and apparently there were some misunderstandings between both parties. Jim Hawkins said they were now asking people to show proof of a hardship when asking for a variance and would like for Ms. Latham to provide such a letter tomorrow to attach to her application. Hugh Ragan stated Ms. Latham did have letters from .two adjoining property owners stating they had no objection to the variance. Kathy Brooks made a motion the variance be approved. Jack Shinall seconded the motion which carried 7-0. Variance: Jack N. Halpern requested a variance to allow an additional building at South Cobb Plaza, 2552 South Cobb Drive. There was no opposition. Herb Singer was also present and stated he was one of the principals involved in the business they were trying to locate there. Mr. Singer said that Section 507 of our zoning _ ordinance allows only one building and its customary accessory buildings on any lot. Their plans were to build a drive -through hamburger kiosk in front of the shopping center. There has been a` foto-mat building in front of the shopping center for some time and felt the kiosk they proposed could be viewed as a customary accessory building, allowable under Section 507. In addition, they were asking for a reduction on the front setback from the 50 feet required to 20 feet and stated that the 50 foot setback could create a hardship in terms of traffic flow and safety for their customers. Following a lengthy discussion, Jack Shinall said he had some serious questions about the variance, and especially the setback, and made a motion the request be tabled to the April 15th meeting. Bob Davis seconded the motion which carried 7-0. Variance: Stone T. Ermentrout requested a variance on front and side setback requirements for Cumberland Glen Apartments at 1978 Cobb Parkway. Colin Barker, builder was also present and said that apparently their engineering firm had made a mistake when they placed the stakes. The two buildings in question are already constructed and they did not discover the error until their final survey was made for closing. Mr. Barker said they needed a reduction in the side setback of building #11 to 21.26 feet which is adjacent to the back parking lot of an existing office building. They also need a reduction in the front setback of building #4 to 41.63 feet which is at the rear of Circuit City. There was some discussion about the information not provided with the application; i.e., letter explaining the hardship and letters from the two adjoining property owners. Mr. Ermentrout said that as far as he knew .after visiting the Inspections Department, he had provided everything required. If the variance was not approved it would be a severe hardship on them since the buildings are already constructed and they had their closing scheduled in two weeks. Max Bacon said he had some problems with approving the variance tonight without the letters from the adjoining property owners and a letter explaining the hardship. After further discussion, Bob Davis made a motion the variance be tabled to April 15th. Max Bacon seconded the motion which carried 7-0. Mr. Barker requested a reconsideration of the denial since they have their closing scheduled for the 15th and stated it would place an extreme hardship on them to have to delay the closing again. Mayor Bacon called for a 5 minute recess. When the meeting reconvened, Bob Davis made a motion the variance be approved with the stipulation that letters from both adjoining property owners be provided as well as a letter defining the hardship, no later than 5:00 p.m., April 2nd. Also, that a fine of $500 for each building be assessed, totaling $1,000, also; to be paid no later than 5:00 p.m. on April 2nd. Jim Hawkins seconded the motion which carried 4-3, with James Williams, Kathy Brooks and Jack Shinall opposed. Charlie Jones requested approval to work longer hours at Mill Pond Village, due to recent bad weather. Mr. Jones said they are approximately 4 months behind schedule and requested that they be allowed to work until 10:00 p.m. They are probably 2,000 to April 1, 1985 - Continued 3,000 yards from the nearest residence. Mr. Jones said if the police department did get any complaints they would be glad to stop work. Hugh Ragan made a motion the work hours be extended from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday, until September 1, 1985. Kathy Brooks seconded the motion which carried 7-0. Charles K. Morehead requested permission to work after 6:00 p.m. and on Saturdays at Lakewood Office Building at 1955 Lake Park Drive. Mr. Morehead said the construc- tion was noisy and apparently they have created some problems for residents in the area. They are behind schedule because of bad weather and a great deal of rock excavation they did not anticipate. These are commercial buildings that must have concrete slabs. The concrete is poured during normal hours but it has to be finished as it cures and dries. At times they may be finished at 8:00 p.m. and other times it may be 11:00 p.m. Mr. Morehead said they would like to have approximately 10 working days to pour concrete and be allowed to work late to finish. There were 5 residents in opposition. Mr. Morehead said he would be willing to limit any type of heavy equipment to reasonable hours and they should be finished with earth work, weather permitting, in 2 to 3 weeks, •which is now being done during regular work hours. The only machinery that would be used at night would be one piece of equipment to finish the concrete. Elaine Faith represented those opposed and said the noise had been constant Monday through Saturdays, and sometimes on Sunday. Mrs. Faith said she had small children that need their sleep at night and asked that they not be allowed to work after 8:00 p.m. In response to a question from Max Bacon, Mrs. Faith said they felt the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. would be reasonable on Monday through Friday and on Saturdays, from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. John Jones with City Group said the 10 pourings days would not be consecutive. Mr. Jones suggested they be allowed to work until 8:00 p.m. and from 9:00 to 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, from now to September lst. On the concrete finishing days they would like to work until 10:00 p.m. Mr. Jones said they could notify the residents 3 days in advance when they would be finishing concrete and the machines would be cut off at 10:00 p.m. Following a lengthy •discussion, Bob Davis made a motion the hours be extended to allow work from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Monday through Friday and from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Saturday. In addition, that they be allowed 10 working days to pour and finish concrete and on these days they be allowed to work until 10:00 p.m. provided they notify the Inspections Department of the pouring days at least one day in advance. The permit will be in affect until September 1, 1985, but will be reviewed in 2 weeks as it applies to the concrete pouring days. James Williams seconded the motion which carried 7-0. Commercial Building Permits: Commercial building permits were presented by Inspector Scott Stokes and recorded as follows: 1) Sharon Baptist Church at 3405 South Cobb Drive requested a permit to install a new roof at a total estimated cost of $16,000. Jim Hawkins made a motion the permit be approved subject to approval of the City Engineer and Fire Marshal. Max Bacon seconded the motion which carried 7-0. 2) Trinity Baptist Church at 3133 Atlanta Road requested a building permit for a one story addition at a total estimated cost of $75,000. Max Bacon made a motion the permit be approved subject to approval of the City Engineer and Fire Marshal. James Williams seconded the motion which carried 7-0. 3) Brawners Hospital at 3180 Atlanta Road requested a building permit for construction of a new building at a total estimated cost of $420,000. Hugh Ragan made a motion the permit be approved subject to approval of the City Engineer and Fire Marshal. Jack Shinall seconded the motion which carried 7-0. 4) Smyrna Bank & Trust requested a building permit for new construction at 888 Concord Road at a total estimated cost of $775,000. Kathy Brooks made a motion the permit be approved subject to approval of the City Engineer and Fire Marshal. James Williams seconded the motion which carried 7-0. Approval of Minutes: Jim Hawkins made a motion the minutes of March 4th and 18th be approved as submitted. James Williams seconded the motion which carried 7-0. Max Bacon made a motion the parade route for the Jonquil City Spring Festival be approved for April 20th, subject to approval of Chief Little. Jim Hawkins seconded April 1, 1985 - Continued the motion which carried 7-0. Max Bacon made a motion that Bank Street be closed on April 20th from 8:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. for the Jonquil City Spring Festival arts and crafts show and dance.,, Kathy Brooks seconded the motion which carried 7-0. Max Bacon made a motion that West Spring Street be closed April 20th from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. for the Jonquil City Spring Festival- ugly dog contest. Hugh Ragan seconded the motion which carried 7-0. Bid Award: James Williams said that 3 bids were received on the first phase of the sewer rehabilitation and they have been reviewed by Welker & Associates. The low bidder on this project is Lovern Construction at $940,750.50. James Williams made a motion the bid be awarded to Lovern Construction. Jim Hawkins seconded the motion which carried 7-0. Jack Shinall said he was still getting complaints about the sewer line put in at Stone Creek and Powder Springs Street and asked Jim Belk to check into it. Request for Bids: Jim Hawkins made a motion bids be requested for bleachers and a new bridge at Cobb Park to be opened the next meeting. Jim said these are budgeted items. Max Bacon seconded the motion which carried 7-0. Speed Zone Ordinance: Attorney Camp read the entire speed zone ordinance submitted by the State for approval. Max Bacon said he had not had time to completely review the ordinance pertaining to the streets in his ward and would like to review it more carefully before approving. Chief .Little. said that any deletions or changes made by council would make those streets ineligible for radar use. After discussion, Hugh Ragan made a motion the ordinance be tabled to the next meeting. Jim Hawkins seconded the motion which carried 7-0. Committee Reports: Max Bacon said that David May with Audio -Tech was here tonight and hoped everyone would notice the big improvement in the sound system. Max also reminded everyone of the special election tomorrow on the-l% sales tax. (Parks) Sherry Reavis said King Springs Pool would open April 15th; also, they are taking applications for booth requests for the Spring Festival and swim lesson registration started today. (Finance) Jack Shinall said the Finance Committee is still working on budgets and the City Administrator position. Announcements: Little League parade and opening day ceremonies April 13th; all -comers youth track meet on April 13th; King Springs Pool opens April 15th; next council meeting April 15th. With no further business, meeting adjourned at 9:42 p.m. April 15, 1985 The regular scheduled meeting of Mayor and Council was held April 15, 1985 at Smyrna City Hall. The meeting was called to order at 7:30 o'clock p.m. by presiding officer Mayor Arthur T. Bacon. All Council members were present except for Hugh Ragan. Also present was City Attorney Charles E. Camp, City Clerk Willouise Spivey, Police Chief R. E. Little, Fire Chief Larry Williams, Public Works Director Vic Broyles, Parks and Recreation Director Sherry Reavis, Assistant City Clerk Melinda Dameron, Emergency Management Director Jim Farley, Building Inspector Scott Stokes, Civil Engineer Mike Hutchinson, Librarian Doris Morris and representatives of the press. Invocation was given by Jim Hawkins, followed by the pledge to the flag. Citizens Reports: Kathy Barton and Elsie Rape invited everyone to the Jonquil Spring Festival this weekend in conjunction with Keep America Beautiful Week. There will be 20 different activities this weekend including a womanless wedding with members of council and other officials participating. Maurice Blount invited members of council to attend a Rose Garden Hills neighborhood meeting to celebrate the completion of the first phase of their park sponsored by the Smyrna Mens Club, on Saturday, April 27th from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.