The Rosebud Coalition

On Tuesday evening, the Snellville Planning Commission voted 4-0 (with one abstention) to recommend approval of the daycare proposed for Rosebud Road and Brushy Fork Road, but not before the applicant scrapped plans, in the face of community opposition, to also build a two-story office building on the same property.

The recommendation of approval came despite the receipt by the Commission of approximately 83 emails of opposition from Rosebud Coalition members, a presentation by Coalition member Denese Van Dyne and comments by several other homeowners. Approximately a dozen area residents attended the meeting.

The applicant, Lonnie Todd of LT Construction, Inc., said that the Pre-K certified daycare center would be operated by his wife, who also operates the Kids Harbor of Bay Creek Child Development Center on Cooper Road near GA-20. Instead of the office building, Todd said that a small `water park` type feature and expanded play area would be built on the southeastern portion of the tract.

The apparent basis of the Planning Commission’s decision, as stated by Commissioner Joe Williams (made motion to approve) and Ida Graham (seconded motion), was their belief that the property was not suitable for a residence. Graham said that she visited the property and stood behind the residence. She believed that TomCo was too loud and that she “would not spend the night there.”  She opined that the daycare would “not be an eyesore” and that she was “a champion of Pre-K.”

Williams said that he supported the proposal because “most accidents happen on US highways” and “we don’t need all daycares to be on US highways.”

Graham and Williams’ comments did not address the CORRECT and LEGAL standard for suitability of use, which is whether or not the property has a “reasonable economic use as currently zoned.” The owner, Stephen Moon, confirmed that he had rejected at least two offers to purchase the property at Fair Market Value because he didn’t think that it was suitable for a residence. An area homeowner who had inquired about the property for a relative confirmed that Moon was marketing the property at a potential commercial, and not residential, value.

Offers to purchase at Fair Market Value are good evidence that the property has a reasonable economic use at its current zoning, R-100 (Low Density Residential). This and other valid evidence, however, was completely ignored by Graham, Williams and the rest of the citizen panel.

Commissioner Pat Port, a Summit Chase resident and the one member most likely to be affected by this bad development, inexplicably refused to vote either in favor or against the proposal and offered no discussion prior to the vote.

Williams exhibited additional disappointing behavior, motioning on a couple of occasions to the Commission Chairman to speed up or cut off comments by opposition speakers. Williams’ lack of interest notwithstanding, our community was able to adequately present our case.

The Planning Commission is a recommending body only; however, their vote and the recommendation of approval by the planning staff will, admittedly, be difficult hurdles to overcome if this flawed proposal is to be defeated.

~~ NEXT STEPS

The rezoning and annexation for this property is a bifurcated process; the annexation requires no hearing by the Planning Commission but two public readings and a hearing before the City Council. The rezoning requires a hearing before the Planning Commission (which occurred Tuesday) and a hearing before the City Council. Both can proceed on a different track until the final hearing. The City Council will conduct this annexation hearing and the rezoning hearing on the same night; that meeting is tentatively scheduled for January 28, 2008.

As always, we will provide additional information in the coming months.

To date, your response to this issue has been phenomenal. At the appropriate time, we will continue to vigorously oppose this bad development. Later this year, Snellville will conduct elections for Mayor and two Council seats. The election could present an interesting opportunity for us to influence the outcome of this rezoning and future issues that impact our neighborhood.

Regardless of how we proceed on this rezoning it is becoming more obvious that, despite the fact that most of us live outside of the city of Snellville, what the City Council does can have a significant impact on our community. Very often that impact, like the current case, can be negative and destructive. Increased interest and involvement in Snellville government and politics will be required to protect our homes from further encroachment.

Filed under: Growth & Development