At its Feb. 22 meeting, the Woodstock City Council approved, 5-0, rezoning requests made by Cherokee Ford and a rezoning variance request made by Larry Lusk and Dan Thornton.
Public hearings were held at the meeting for both matters, but no one attended. Ward 4 Councilwoman Tracy Collins, the mayor pro tem, presided, as Mayor Donnie Henriques and Ward 3 Councilman Bob Mueller were absent.
Cherokee Ford asked for rezoning from DT-GC (Downtown General Commercial) to GC (General Commercial) for the 17.27 acres where the business is located at 195 Parkway Drive. Owner Vernon Krause said he needs more flexibility in the architectural redesign of the dealership as he moves a Lincoln-Mercury franchise onto the lot with the Ford franchise.
The Woodstock Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously recommended approval, with several conditions, including eliminating outdoor paging and making lighting comply with Dark Skies certification criteria. The property, if sold, would revert to DT-GC.
Lusk and Thornton asked for a variance on their 8.5-acre property, currently zoned LI (Light Industrial) with a technology park overlay, to eliminate the 40-foot streetscape adjustment and the 50-foot rear buffer. The property, on the east side of Rope Mill Road north of Ridgewalk Parkway, will be intersected by the Rope Mill Road interchange. The planning commission recommended the variance, with a stipulation the developer should provide 20 percent greenspace. The city council lowered the stipulation to 15 percent.
At the meeting, the council also agreed to repeal, 5-0, the condemnation for TLLC – Brown Brothers, because a purchase agreement had been reached for right of way for the interchange.
The council approved, 5-0, the first reading regarding the approval of an unfit structure condemnation for 132, 137, 138 and 139 Woodberry Court. Passage of the second reading would give City Building Inspector Duane Helton, under the ordinance for unfit structure, the authority to pull the certificate of occupancy from properties deemed by him to be unsafe for human habitation. The measure already has been taken in regard to 136 and 134 Woodberry Court. Final decision will be made in a Municipal Court hearing.
City Engineer Mike Ross has determined there is a public safety issue because an unstable wall supports a parking area that is cracking. Ross estimated it would cost about $100,000 to fix the entire wall.
In other business, the city council:
• approved, 5-0, budget modifications for mid-fiscal year 2010, including moving less money out of the water and sewer fund into the general fund to pay it back for debt incurred building the wastewater treatment plant; the transfer was set at $2.6 million and is now set at $1.3 million, because the water and sewer fund needs enough money to operate, said Chief Financial Officer Henry Bucci. City Manager Jeff Moon said the city will consider raising water rates soon;
• approved, 5-0, a mutual aid agreement for fire service with the City of Mountain Park; and
• approved, 5-0, the purchase of two salt spreaders, at $19,834, to replace ones the city had mechanical trouble with during recent winter storms.
