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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes CC - 10/06/2014 - MINS 10 06 14 REG (Migrated from Optiview)Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, October 6, 20J4 at 6:00 pm Page I of 19 This summary is provided as a convenience and service to the public, media, and staff. It is not the intent to transcribe proceedings verbatim. Any reproduction of this summary must include this notice. Public comments are noted and heard by Council, but not quoted. This document includes limited presentation by Council and invited speakers in summary form. This is an official record of the Milton City Council Meeting proceedings. Official Meetings are audio and video recorded. The Regular Meeting of the Mayor and Council of the City of Milton was held on October 6, 2014 at 6:00 PM, Mayor Joe Lockwood presiding. INVOCATION Tass Welch, Community Christ Church, Milton, Georgia CALL TO ORDER Mayor Joe Lockwood called the meeting to order. ROLLCALL Councilmembers Present: Councilmember Thurman, Councilmember Kunz, Councilmember Lusk, Council member Hewitt, Council member Longoria and Councilmember Mohrig. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA (Agenda Item No. 14-275) Motion and Vote: Councilmember Hewitt moved to approve the Meeting Agenda with the following changes: • Add an Executive Session to discuss Land Acquisition. Councilmember Thurman seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously (7-0). Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, October 6, 2014 at 6:00 pm Page 2 of 19 PUBLIC COMMENT CONSENT AGENDA 1. Approval of the Acquisition of 0.01 0 AC of Construction and Maintenance Easement at 12760 Binningham Highway from Crabapple First Baptist Church, Inc. for a Combined Purchase Price of$875.00. (Agenda Item No. 14-276) (Carter Lucas, Public Works Director) 2. Approval of the Acquisition of 0.182 AC of Right of Way and 0.045 AC of Construction and Maintenance Easement at 12645 Birmingham Highway from Red Bam Crabapple, LLC for a Combined Purchase Price of$145,000. (Agenda Item No. 14-277) (Carter Lucas, Public Works Director) 3. Approval of an Agreement between the City of Milton and Local Life Publishing, LLC to Produce Milton Magazine. (Agenda Item No . 14-278) (Jason Wright, Communications Director) Motion and Vote: Councilmember Lusk moved to approve the Consent Agenda. Council member Kunz seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously (7-0). REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS (None) FIRST PRESENTA TION 1. Consideration of an Ordinance to Amend Chapter 34, Section 22 (b), to Add a New Chapter 34 , Section 22 (c) and to Amend Chapter 34, Section 22 (h) of the Milton City Code, Parks and Recreation Prohibited Acts. (Agenda Item No . 14-279) (Jim Cregge, Parks & Recreation Director) 2. Consideration of an Ordinance to Designate the Crabapple District as a Historic District; to Prescribe the Boundaries of Such Historic District; to Require a Certificate of Appropriateness from the City of Milton Historic Preservation Commission Prior to any Material Change in the Exterior Appearance of the Historic Property as Shown on the Official Zoning Map of the City; Repealing Conflicting Ordinances; To Provide for Severability; to Provide for an Effective Date; and for Other Purposes. (Agenda Item No. 14-280) (Joint Work Session Held on September J5, 2014) (Joint Public Hearing Held on September 22 , 2014) (Kathleen Field, Community Development Director) Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, October 6, 2014 at 6:00 pm Page 3 of 19 Motion and Vote: Councilmember Longoria moved to approve the First Presentation Items. Councilmember Mohrig seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously (7-0). PUBLIC HEARING SECOND PUBLIC HEARING 1. Consideration of a Resolution to Abandon of All Rights-of-way within the Crooked Creek Subdivision. (Agenda Item No . 14-251 ) (First Public Hearing Held on September 8,2014) (Carter Lucas, Public Works Director) Public Works Director, Carter Lucas Good Evening, Mayor and Council. This is the first of two related items tonight. The Public Hearing which is the second of two Public Hearings required under our code hearing the request for the Abandonment of the Rights-of-way within the Crooked Creek Subdivision and the second is the actual consideration of the Resolution to that effect. If no objections, I would like to do the presentation for the Public Hearing and provide some framework for the comments we may hear tonight. We received a request from the Homeowner's Association to Abandon All of the Rights-of-way within the Crooked Creek Subdivision. This is a 640 lot subdivision. It represents 24 streets within the city's street network and a total of 6.67 miles. Our initial Public Hearing was held on September 8, 2014. The requirement for the abandonment of any public right of way requires that the City Council makes a finding of one of the following with respect to the right-of-way in question: 1) That no substantial public purpose is served by it or 2) That it is removable from the municipal street system is in the best interest of the general public. Once that request is approved the roads must remain private for a period offive years before becoming eligible to resubmit for public status. And after that five year period, those streets would have to be brought back up to the current construction testing standards at that time. When we looked at this request, we looked at a number of different criteria when we were evaluating this through the process. We looked at the transportation impacts, the Capital Improvement Program impacts, impacts to the overall bike and pedestrian plan as well as the financial implications, both to the city and the neighborhood. One thing we looked at from the transportation component is what does the impact of abandoning these rights-of way and the potential for these rights-of-way to be gated impact the surrounding infrastructure? The HOA had commissioned a traffic study by Kimley-Horn to look at the number of pass through vehicles or the number of vehicles that may be misplaced is the roads were to be gated. They discovered that during the morning peak hour period from 7:00 to 9:00 am there were 13 vehicles northbound and 43 vehicles southbound. This information was inconsequential to us; however, the afternoon traffic was cause for concern. During the afternoon peak hours there were 323 vehicles going northbound through the neighborhood and 37 vehicles moving southbound. When we assessed the information by the hour, during the peak hour, 229 vehicles passed through the neighborhood. This information was used to see the kind of traffic issues we might encounter, if the neighborhood was gated, along other intersections in the surrounding area. Most of the traffic passing through the Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday , October 6, 2014 at 6:00 pm Page 4 of 19 neighborhood is northbound traffic. The study concluded that approximately 15% of the traffic in Crooked Creek was pass through traffic. From 2008 to present, we had roughly $100,000 in construction projects within the neighborhood. We also had a little over $133,000 in power bills. CH2M Hill project costs as well as costs incurred during our overall contract with Optech are not incl uded in this report. We do not have a mechanism to track those costs. The report in front of you shows capital projects contracted directly by the city. Since 2008, the city has spent a little over $232,000 in capital expenses within the subdivision. Looking £orward, we have anticipated mostly paving projects within the neighborhood during the next five years and with today's construction rates the total of those projects are estimated to be about $232,000. Our master plan includes Creek Club Drive as a key component in our pedestrian and bicycle plan. Our bicycle community relies heavily on Creek Club Drive to get to some of the less travelled roads within Milton. The HOA has indicated that each home in the neighborhood would be charged an additional $540 per year. For 640 homes, the additional fee would generate $345,600. That amount exceeds what the city has spent on maintenance of the neighborhood during the past five years and also exceeds the amount that the city has anticipated spending during the next five years. The City of Milton Code of Ordinances states that the Department of Public Works will not support the abandonment of any road that connects two or more collector roads without sufficient documentation that the abandonment will not negatively affect the surrounding roadways. From a Public Works standpoint, we find it very difficult to support the loss of the Creek Club Drive connection. It would have a definite impact on surrounding roads and intersections. The Ordinance requires 67% for subdivisions of 91 lots or more. A petition has been submitted with 434 affirmative votes or 67.8%. The staff report recommends denial of the application. Councilmember Longoria Since I live in the Crooked Creek subdivision, I will recuse myself from any discussion or vote on this Issue. Carl Westmoreland, 3343 Peachtree Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30326 I have been representing the Crooked Creek Homeowners Association as they have gone through this process. In addition to the increase in annual dues, the association has submitted financial statements to the city. Creek Club Drive was never intended to be a cut through roadway. It has three 4-way stops, 81 driveways, site distance issues due to hills and curves, etc. As Mr. Lucas indicated, we hired Kimley­ Home to conduct a traffic study. Their findings were consistent with the survey that the city conducted. We found that it took on average 7.5 minutes to travel from Hwy. 9 to Francis Road via Creek Club Drive. It took 7 minutes if you traveled on Hwy. 9 to the Francis Road intersection. If you traveled on Bethany Bend to Cogburn Road to Francis it took 8 minutes. As you can see, there is only a thirty second swing either way on each of these routes. In addition, any bicyclist who would like to travel on Creek Club Drive is welcome to check in with the gate attendant and ride their bike through the neighborhood. Steve Tipton, 920 Autumn Close, Milton, Georgia 30004 I am the President of the Crooked Creek HOA and a 13 year resident of the community. My wife and I raised our family in the Crooked Creek neighborhood which became a part of Milton in 2006. A month ago, I stood before you to discuss this initiative which we have been working on for the past few years. When we first started discussing this proposal, we had a huge network of support from most of the neighbors. However, we were not able to proceed because the procedures that were established through Fulton County made it virtually impossible. We have been able to pursue our goal through the procedures that the City of Milton has put in place. We are here today to ask for your vote to privatize our roads. I want to thank Carter Lucas and his staff. They have been very helpful. I would also like to Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, October 6,2014 at 6:00 pm Page 5 of 19 thank Chris Lagerbloom and the Mayor and Council for their leadership. We have done everything that the city has asked us to do. We have researched everything from how does the mailman get through the gate to buses, waste haulers, etc. We are fortunate that we are not the first gated community in the United States. There are thousands of examples to follow. We have conducted six town hall meetings to thoroughly discuss this and listen to opposition. We have conducted road studies, engineering studies, easements, etc. The Crooked Creek Subdivision is on rock solid financial stability. Not only do we have additional income that will be assessed to each homeowner arumally, but we have a reserve in the bank of over $1 million. State Bank in Alpharetta is our bank. We have been approved for the loan that would be needed to do some of the capital work that would be involved with gating. We want to gate our community for the safety of our children, to reduce crime, for road improvement, and most of all to reduce cut through traffic. We are here tonight to ask for your approval to gate our community. Steven Smith, 380 Majestic Cove, Milton, Georgia 30004 My family and I have lived in Crooked Creek for 14 years. I have served on the HOA for five years of that time. I spearheaded the development to include the permitting, financing, and construction of our amenity area that we improved in 2008. I would like to thank Chris Lagerbloom and his staff for helping us to complete that project. The mission statement for Crooked Creek is to improve our quality of life and improve the property value of our homes. That is one of the reasons we completed the $3.5 million amenity area. We feel that gating our community will also uphold our mission statement. After reading the Public Works Department report regarding our request to gate, it seems to me that it focuses more on keeping Creek Club Drive a thoroughfare for the city. It doesn't seem to put enough emphasis on safety. Crooked Creek consists of roughly 12% of the population of Milton. We have approximately 1,800 residents which includes a lot of children who are at risk from a safety standpoint with the amount of cut through traffic. We are asking for your approval to gate our neighborhood for the safety of our residents. Thank you. Scott Stachowski, 3154 Chipping Wood Court, Milton, Georgia 30004 My family and I have lived in Crooked Creek for 17 years. Seventeen years ago, Crooked Creek was just another subdivision in our quiet world. Some of you may even remember that it was a dead end road. It ended at the lake. It wasn't a cut through road. Through analysis, over 1,000 cars travel through Crooked Creek each day in which most of the cars are cut through traffic. Creek Club Drive was never intended to be a feeder road to connect Milton to Forsyth County. We are asking for your support tonight to give us the ability to gate our community. Mark Meckes, 14585 Creek Club Drive, Milton, Georgia 30004 I have been a resident of Crooked Creek for 15 years. I have been involved in most of the gating initiatives, speed bumps, speed reduction, traffic calming and everything else that we have tried to do to reduce traffic in our neighborhood. One of the things the traffic study did not indicate was speed. I live on Creek Club Drive north of the lake at the bottom of the hill so I probably have more speeders in my area than maybe anyone else. Speed was included in the 2008 study. The speed limit is 25 mph. The study concluded that the average speed was 40 mph. Some of the cars were clocked at 68 mph. I am asking for your approval to gate our community mainly from a safety standpoint. Thank you for your time. Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, October 6, 20 J4 at 6:00 pm Page 6 of J 9 City Clerk Gordon read the following public comments into the record: Bruce and Denise Dixon, 14340 Morning Mountain Way, Milton, Georgia 30004 We are for gating of the Crooked Creek Community and abandonment of the roads by the city. Pam Moore, 205 Crystalaire Court, Milton, Georgia 30004 My name is Pam Moore, and I am a homeowner at Crooked Creek in the city of Milton. I am requesting the City Council members approve the "Consideration of a Resolution to Abandon of All Rights of way within the Crooked Creek Subdivision"! I have lived in Crooked Creek since 2006 and very proud to be a resident of Milton. I am in favor and in support of this consideration because of several concerns: • Significant increase in traffic cut through from Highway 9 to St. Francis Road since 2006 and throughout the day. • Increase in crime inside the Crooked Creek subdivision and in the surrounding areas. When I decided to build my home in 2006, I chose Crooked Creek for several reasons. I am a single parent raising two wonderful sons. The school system in this area is one of the best in Atlanta and in the state. The businesses, shops, medical offices, etc., are some of the finest without having to travel to another city. With the increase in development for Milton, comes the increase in traffic and other concerns like crime. I am all for growth and development but also protecting and preserving what we have today. I have lived in a gated community in Ft. Worth, Texas for 5 years, prior to relocating to Crooked Creek. I have experienced and witnessed the value that comes in living in a gated community. I feel the positives outweigh any perceived negativity associated with a Gated Community. Therefore, I will ask the City Council again to approve of the consideration of a resolution to abandon of all rights of way within the Crooked Creek Subdivision. Thank you in advance for listening and to obtain your support. Paul Pelaez, 14500 Morning Mountain Way, Milton, Georgia 30004 I support the privatization of the roads within the Crooked Creek Subdivision. Jan Jacobs, 3264 Chipping Wood Court, Milton, Georgia 30004 I am in support and just wanted my name read into the record. Tim Becker, 15625 Canterbury Chase, Milton, Georgia 30004 I have lived in Milton for 20 years. I have many friends and acquaintances in Crooked Creek. I would like to commend the Mayor and council especially for identifying and remediating traffic congestion in Milton. However, despite your best efforts the traffic congestion is still a serious problem and it is a growing problem. I think that gating Crooked Creek will only make matters worse. It will take us backwards and undo some of the good work that has been done. It is important to recognize that the flow of traffic through Crooked Creek is actually a symptom of a much bigger problem. And, that is congestion at the intersections that are both north and south of Crooked Creek on Highway 9. The solution is to solve the congestion at the intersections; not to address the symptom which is the flow of traffic through Crooked Creek. In fact, by addressing the symptom we will actually make the problem worse at those intersections. There will be additional costs involved for all citizens of Milton. Gating will push more cars on the roadways which will need sooner improvements. Gating will also affect the quality of life for citizens who use Crooked Creek as a cut through because their commute time will increase. We need to think about all the residents of Milton and not just the 12% that live in Crooked Creek. One third of Crooked Creek voted against gating. Creek Club Drive has been a public road for almost 20 years. The people who bought houses on that road knew it was a public road and that the city Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, October 6, 2014 at 6 :00 pm Page 7 of 19 was growing and, therefore, traffic would increase. Safety is more of an emotional issue than a rational one. I have full confidence in our police force. The police have many measures they can use such as speed bumps, stop signs, increased patrol, etc. This is also a law enforcement issue and it should be treated as such. There are low cost and less intrusive measures that can be taken. Also, I don't think that the crime in Crooked Creek is higher than anywhere else in Milton . I'm not sure that it can be attributed to the drive through traffic. The big issue is property values and I think we need to be careful that we don 't make a vote where we enrich a very small minority of people and then we socialize the cost of those benefits across all the citizens of Milton. If you do vote to approve this measure, I would urge you to at least pass along the full cost of it. Thank you for considering my comments and for your fine leadership and service. Russell Wynne, 14480 Creek Club Drive, Milton, Georgia 30004 I am a resident of Crooked Creek. I would like to thank you, our councilmembers and Mayor. I would also like to thank our HOA for their hard work in maintaining a beautiful place for me to live even though I am in opposition to gating the neighborhood. I am very frustrated with the process that was used to gain support within the community. I don't believe the voting process was open to negative comments. Only a positive viewpoint was able to be presented to our community. Only a "yes" vote was solicited. If you weren't in favor of gating, the message was given not to do anything. When some of us wanted to share information with the HOA at large, we were not given access to the HOA mailing list. So, sharing of information with a different point of view was severely hampered and limited. Additionally, the voting was originally scheduled to end in December, however, there were not enough votes gathered for it, so they continued the voting through February. In January, the HOA asked people who were in favor of gating to solicit votes door to door. The pressure campaign continued until nearly March. "No" votes were not an option. Opposing viewpoints were not allowed to be circulated in the same way that the "pro-gating" information was distributed. Gating will not stop or improve the speeding within the community. The residents of Crooked Creek are the speeders. There are better solutions for speeding such as speed bumps, etc. It won't remove unsafe drivers from our streets. The problem is the residents. There was a rollover accident right in front of my house a couple of months ago. About 11 :00 p.m., a young lady hit a car across the street from my house and rolled her SUv. She lives just down the street from me and was arrested for DUI. It won't change the traffic inside the community. We heard that the change in cut-through traffic during peak periods will be 200-300 cars. When you look at the overall traffic in the community it is not even a significant impact. While I recognize and want to support safety measures within my community, I disagree with the approach of gating our community. I disagree with some of the other claims as well. We have seen some good representation of costs that it will be to our community, however, what has not been discussed is the additional improvements that are planned that will also cost on an annual basis above and beyond just maintaining our roads such as the initial installation of the gate and maintaining that as well as hiring full-time people to guard the gate. My primary frustration is that I don't believe that the process was conducted in a fully open and fair manner. Had it been conducted in an open and fair manner and the residents still voted for gating, I would not be here tonight. Thank you for your time. Jerold Bryant, 14785 Creek Club Drive, Milton, Georgia 30004 I want to thank everyone who has come to talk to you today. I have several things I would like to mention. I am very concerned about the way a lot of things have happened. My family and I live at the very front of Francis Road. We are one of two families that will be directly affected by placing a gate in our yard. So, I want you to just imagine someone comes up to you and says, "I am going to put a gate in your yard." They don't tell you how high that gate is going to be. They don't tell you how long that gate is going to be. And, after you have done your research because you used to be a surveyor, you --------------------------------- Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, October 6, 2014 at 6:00 pm Page 8 of 19 . found out that the gate was going to be on your property . You are about to sign away your right to your property. I think we have an excellent Homeowner's Association. I truly think there are other options that we can take than gating. Steve Tipton has done a great job explaining some things, but there is not one homeowner in this room that would want a gate placed in their front yard not knowing the details. I have hired an attorney to try to get that infOlmation and they would not give it to us. My attorney even said, "Something is wrong with this." The way that the vote went down, there was a problem. We did not have a voice. Let's think about it. Somebody is trying to put a gate in your front yard and you do not have a voice. Something is wrong. The studies were great. The HOA did exactly what they needed to do but where is the study that shows that a speed bump might be the best option. Where is the study that shows that cameras on the roads could help with safety? Where is the study that shows where the traffic truly is? There are other less expensive options other than gating. In the very beginning, I did not have a problem with gating. I used to be on the committee. Believe it or not, I saw this coming. I didn't understand how all of a sudden 100% required vote turned to 67.8% but, I'm not a politician. Somebody did some good work. But, if you really look at what happened, the people who were in opposition were silenced. The 100% vote was there for a reason. I am going to have my property and my view from my house taken away from me because that 100% piece was nullified. Think about how you would feel if someone came and took your front yard away from you. It is an easement but when you put a gate up this high. I have proof that shows that they don't take care of the area behind the gate. I already have issues with negligence on that area that I have reported to the HOA. Ever since 2006, when I first moved in, eleven years ago, I started complaining and only once during that time they have cut that area. There are other options other than a gate. Over the years, you have paid for the road and paid for the right for a throughway. Whenever there is an emergency, people are going to be backed-up trying to get out of the community. Another issue is that I live right by the gate. I will have to hear it open and close during all hours of the day and night. City Clerk Gordon read the following comments into the record: Dale Archer, 453 McGinnis Way, Milton, Georgia 30004 I am in opposition. Jill and Rich Coutu, 463 McGinnis Way, Milton, Georgia 30004 We are in opposition. Kevin McCreanor, 14610 Creek Club Drive, Milton, Georgia 30004 My family and I have lived in Crooked Creek for over 16 years which is about the same amount of time that Creek Club Drive has been paved from Francis Road to Hwy. 9. Shortly after we moved into our home, there was a declaration that cut through traffic was unbearable on Creek Club Drive. At the very first HOA meeting, the residents requested that the HOA approach Fulton County about gating the community. Fulton County said there were two reasons that the neighborhood could not be gated. The first reason was because the traffic would back up at the gates on Hwy. 9 and Francis Road. The second reason was that the neighborhood had to have 100% approval. So, the HOA conducted several traffic studies and asked Fulton County if they could install traffic calming devices such as speed bumps; Fulton County said, "No". Later, when the City of Milton was formed, the HOA worked with city staff. City staff said that if you declare this situation a safety issue then we can hel p you by putting in some stop signs, etc. and that should take care of the traffic problem. So, here we are today. A study has been Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council Monda y, October 6, 2014 at 6:00 pm Page 9 of 19 done on one day and four hours within that day which is supposed to give an accurate depiction of the situation. Now, 400 or so residents have petitioned that the Crooked Creek subdivision needs to have gates to be safe. I live on Creek Club Drive. I have yelled at people to slow down. I have even put signs in my yard asking people to slow down. I was told I had to take them down because they would affect the value of the homes . I think it is an insult to the City of Milton police department that our neighborhood needs to put up gates to be safe. Milton is one of the safest communities in the country. Gates are not needed to be a safe community. There has been talk that we might be saving $300,000 per year but I don't think anyone has researched how much the electricity for the lights will cost, the price of asphalt , etc. This does not appear to be an issue that all of the citizens of Milton are in favor of. It seems to be a very local issue that only a very few people in Crooked Creek are proposing. Thank you for your time. Michelle Thelen, 3380 Wolf Willow Close, Milton, Georgia 30004 I spoke to all of you about a month ago at the last meeting . The $345,000 ($540 per household per year) that they are proposing is not only for the road maintenance and lighting improvements it includes $136,000 in security and gating maintenance and $76,800 in loan payments leaving only $132,000 for the road maintenance and lighting. So, that paints a different picture. Our home is worth $480,000 and currently our HOA dues are approximately $137 per month, our lawn maintenance which is mandatory on our street is $154 per month; totaling $291 per month currently. This proposal will add another approximately $50 per month to my monthly dues taking it over $340 just to pull in my driveway. I think that is extreme. The proposal that the HOA board presented to all the neighbors about the facts of the gating had some issues. We found some facts that were inaccurate and proposed 16 changes to some things that were not completely true or accurate. The board changed 11 of 16 proposed changes that we made based on inaccurate information and they only made those changes after the vote was finalized. They did not email the new proposal to anyone who had already voted in case they wanted to change their minds. The changes were fairly significant. As a reminder, there were 200 plus people in our neighborhood that voted against the gating or didn ' t vote at all and are in opposition to this. That is a lot of people . In the original proposal , it was suggested that 3,000 of 4,200 cars were cutting through that was 70%. After we presented facts that were inaccurate based on their study in 2008, they reduced their facts to the 30% cut through. Now, with the latest study, we learned that it is only 15%; hardly worth a $1 million project of gating. Again, I proposed m y solution of speed bumps and increased police presence . It would cost a lot less and would prevent traffic from backing up on Highway 9 and put gates in front of people's houses and in their yards. I am opposed to the gating and I hope you will consider these facts. Thank you. Larry Winter, 3320 Compass Way, Milton, Georgia 30004 I have lived in Crooked Creek for eight years. I encourage Milton think about Milton's big picture and what the experts have said. Tonight, is not only about Crooked Creek but also about the thousands of Milton citizens and businesses that serve the Highway 9 and Francis Road areas. Creek Club Drive has a substantial public purpose and its removal is not in the best interest of all the citizens of Milton. Please consider the opinion of the Public Works Director, follow the wording of the ordinance, and vote down this request for abandonment. Thank you . Kelvin Thompson, 14250 Morning Mountain Way, Milton, Georgia 30004 My wife and 1 live in the Crooked Creek subdivision. I built our home in Crooked Creek in 1996. moved in the weekend of the Olympics. We have been very pleased to be residents of Crooked Creek. I transferred to Milton from Ohio as an executive and Ken Horton, the owner of the property at the time, recruited me and wanted me to be a part of the subdivision. I looked at other subdivisions; some of Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, October 6, 2014 at 6:00 pm Page 10 of 19 them were gated. I chose not to live in a gated community. There was a reason for that decision. I had lived in a gated conununity in Ohio and I wanted my children to see what inclusion looks like. My son is now a 27 year old Magna Cum Laude graduate and is going to Cal Berkley. My daughter is a 24 year old critical care nurse. I have a 14 year old who will be educated in our schools. I have never had one safety issue in our conununity. We really do not have a safety issue in our neighborhood and your city officials have presented the facts to support that. What this is really about; they keep referring to quality of life, there is an elephant in the room that folks want to have it perceived that because you have a gated conununity that your home value all of a sudden goes up and that you are exclusive. Frankly, I am a golfer and tennis player and pretty good at both, however, I don't need my conununity to be gated to feel good about who I am. This country has a lot of issues and I am thankful we are a democratic society where we can express our opinions. I actually recruited a lot of my friends who live in the subdivision today. I would be disappointed if we gated the neighborhood to "improve the quality of life." We have already wasted money on some of the "improvements" that have been made. We added an "observation tower" with a fireplace so that we could feel comfortable drinking our beer and merlot. There is a lot better use of our resources and our time. You have seen the facts about safety and drive through traffic. Most of the kids who drive past me in their jeeps and pick-up trucks live in the subdivision. I know some of them. I call them by their names and tell them to slow down. These are not outsiders. These are people in our subdivision. I think you have heard some potential remedies for the speeding, etc. such as speed bumps, etc. I think those solutions should be considered. I recently read the article in the AJC about the Braves moving to Cobb County. There was a lack of transparency in that government transaction. In addition, there was a lack of transparency in the vote that took place for the gating of Crooked Creek. My neighbors, who like our subdivision, who voted yes are not really for this. They gave you a number, 67.8%, what did it take to approve it? 67%; so, who is the .8? There are some things going on in the background so I would just caution you. I love this community and I actually think our HOA do an okay job. I don't agree with some of the things they do but I have raised a family in that community and I am proud to be a resident of the city. We have great services. There are some things that they have not thought about, potential emergencies, acts of God, the allotment of the funds are not as clear cut as you saw. Just for the record, this is not a slam dunk. The community is not waiting outside these doors to say, "Great, we are gated." Frankly, ifl wanted to live in the Manor, the Country Club of the South, or St. Ives; I would have moved there. When my friends come to visit, I want to show them what inclusion looks like. Please consider some of the other remedies other than gating. Michael Martin, 1820 Highgrove Club Drive, Milton, Georgia 30004 I am deeply humbled by all the other speakers. We are seeing here tonight what America is all about. am against closing the road in Crooked Creek because I don't think it is right. That is the main reason. The other reason is because it is not necessary. If the people in Crooked Creek want more privacy there is a third solution and that is that you can close off the individual enclaves in Crooked Creek and not close off Crooked Creek Drive and, therefore, not inconvenience everyone else. City Clerk Gordon read the following comments into the record: Virginia Newman, 14280 Morning Mountain Way, Milton, Georgia 30004 Additional and unknown increases in HOA Fees puts a burden on families in the community. Many families have struggled over the last several years with loss of jobs and cuts in spending from residents also impacts the business community. There has not been a quorum since 2008 and, therefore, the conununity has not elected open seats on the board. Seats have been appointed based on their pro position on gating. There has been no transparency to the conununity. Residents who have attended the Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, October 6, 2014 at 6:00 pm Page 11 of 19 annual HOA meetings have requested the need for speed bumps/tables which has been put off by the board in pursuit of the gating project. Traffic studies have not been shared with the community and additional studies were put off. The majority of speeders in the neighborhood are residents. Gating would eliminate police patrolling and safety. Tom Ellison, 14680 Creek Club Drive, Milton, Georgia 30004 Abandonment of Roads in Crooked Creek -Major Concerns: The Crooked Creek HOA has developed an insufficient budget for the costs of road, utility, and infrastructure maintenance. With respect to roads, a 2013 study commissioned by the HOA and performed by an industry consultant determined that there are more than 125,000 square yards (SY) of paved roads in Crooked Creek with a then-current value of over $6,000,000. The assessed their average condition to be "fair" to "at risk" and recommended what they considered a conservative road reserve of $200,000 annually for proper maintenance. The budget proposed by the HOA and presented to the residents contains a road reserve of $112,000, which they indicated will be adequate to resurface 1I15 th of the roads every year. To annually repave 125,000 -715 = 8,333 SY for $112,000 would require an average cost of $13.44/S Y. This is at considerable odds with the opinion of the consultant that a replacement value typical of $48.00/SY is typical for this region. In fact, the Public Works Director budgeted about $173/SY for five streets in Crooked Creek in the 5-Year Capital Improvement Plan. The HOA gating budget contains no funds for the maintenance of other utilities or infrastructure such as storm pipes and drains, sidewalks, gutters, or curbs. No money is set aside for road improvements in the budget and inflation has been ignored. The budgetary plan to cover the expense of contracting for road salting or plowing for winter weather events is to draw the necessary funds from the road reserve. Creek Club Drive is routinely used by emergency vehicles in and around Crooked Creek -emergency response times may be adversely affected if access is granted. Traffic delays on Highway 9, particularly heading northbound from the Bethany Bend intersection, could well be increased as vehicles stack up waiting to make the left turn onto Creek Club Drive by those slowing to go through the gate or being stopped by the guard. In addition, intersections receiving displaced traffic could add to general area congestion. The validity of many the petition signature obtained: the petition was positioned similarly to an attendance sign-in sheet for the series of meetings held by the HOA Board to make their gating presentation, confusing many residents. The information presented in these meetings and posted on the community website -by an HOA Board 100% in favor of gating -was often incomplete or erroneous, leading residents to make their decision without all available facts. Glaring examples include: the inability of police to issue traffic violations on privatized roads; that the installation of traffic-calming devices would not be done by the City of Milton and was prohibited because the roads are public; that possibly 3,000 vehicles per day use Creek Club Drive as a cut-through between Highway 9 and Francis Road. Residents who didn't sign the petition at one of the meetings were solicited door-to-door by "Street Captains" in favor of gating (in some instances, on mUltiple occasions). Many residents who signed the petition as far back as early December, 2013 may have moved or changed their minds. A lack of neutrality by the HOA Board to date throughout the road abandonment process. There has been a coordinated effort of suppression, censorship, and delay in distributing to all property owners information opposed to privatizing the roads. This effort includes permitting acknowledged deficient or false information to persist without correcting the record and communicating those corrections to all residents; disabling forum discussion sections on the community website; refusing to distribute information contrary to gating through the community email system; responding very slowly to questions asked about gating; communicating pertinent pavement condition and traffic studies only upon request; veiled defamation threats to gating opponents. In short, the HOA Board neither encouraged nor allowed essentially any form of discussion in opposition to their publically stated goal of gating Crooked Creek. Minor concerns: Increased speeding in the neighborhood. The Crooked Creek HOA Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, October 6, 2014 at 6:00 pm Page 12 of 19 commissioned a study by Kimley-Horn dated May 23, 2014 which concluded that cut through traffic on Creek Club Drive is minimal during most hours of the day and only reaches a notable level during the afternoon rush hour in the northbound direction. In fact, over the course of the day , no more than 10% of all vehicles that travel on Creek Club Drive are cutting through between Highway 9 and Francis Road. This leads to the conclusion that 90% of traffic is neighborhood residents. With the elimination of the threat of a ticket and/or other consequences for a moving violation on privatized roads, it remains to be seen if vehicles will respect posted speed limits or observe stop signs. There will be less regular Milton police patrols once gates are installed. It is a natural assumption that deployment of police personnel in public areas as opposed to private neighborhoods is more practical and to the greater benefit of the community as a whole. MFD (Maria Dailey) 14495 Eighteenth Fairway, Milton, Georgia 30004 Because there is vandalism within the neighborhood like $20 ,000 damage to the golf course between 12:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. with a golf cart which occurred on 9/25/14. Have been an owner for ten years; do not want the expense. Mayor Lockwood It is good to hear everyone's comments regarding this issue. It makes it tough because I understand the points that are being made on both sides of the issue. One thing I would like to say , however, is that the law changing from 100% to 67% was a state law. I will be the first to agree that 100% is unrealistic. I felt early on that a super-majority would be fair. We, the mayor and council, are not voting on the gating of Crooked Creek. We are only voting on the possible abandonment of the roads. If it were to pass that doesn 't necessarily mean that the gating is a definite. There are other things that have to be worked out within the neighborhood such as easements and traffic issues. As far as the city is concerned, the neighborhood will be absorbing the costs of this decision. However, we are not here to decide whether that decision is right or wrong. ZONING AGENDA (None) UNFINISHED BUSINESS (None) Motion and Vote: Councilmember Kunz moved to first discuss Agenda Item No . 14-251 under New Business and then discuss Agenda item No. 14-281. Councilmember Lusk seconded the motion. The motion passed (5-0). Councilmember Hewitt was absent for the vote. Councilmember Longoria recused himself from the vote. NEW BUSINESS 1. Consideration of a Resol ution Authorizing the Offering for Sale of Transferable Development Rights in Certain City-Owned Property ; Authorizing the Imposition of a Conservation Easement and/or Public Access Easement on Said City Property; and for Other Purposes. (Agenda Item No. 14-281) (Kathleen Field, Community Development Director) Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, October 6, 2014 at 6:00 pm Page 13 of 19 Kathleen Field I would like to start the presentation by giving you some background information in terms of what precipitated this request for TDRs. We have an Assisted Living Facility developer who would like to build an Assisted Living Facility on the southwest comer of Webb Road and Highway 9. Based on the density yields for what would be an 89 room facility, he is short approximately 21,000 square feet. To achieve the required density, because the location is in the Deerfield Form Based Code area, he has the ability to purchase Transfer Development Rights to make up for the density shortage that he is currently allowed. He approached the city requesting TDRs. He needs 2.33 TDRs. We discussed with him the potential sale of some of the city's TDRs. As you know, we acquired some TDRs through our acquisition of park land for the Bell Memorial Park area. City Attorney Jarrard The city's TDR program allows a parcel of property in Milton that would have certain development rights that we can, therefore, strip away those development rights from the property and they can, therefore, be reduced by way of a formula into credits and they can then be transferred or sold to a receiving site where they can be applied to enhance the development on that site. The price for those TDRs is to be negotiated between the TDR buyer and seller. The city's TDR ordinance contemplates that city owned property purchased after the enactment of the city's TDR program may be used as a sending site. The funds that the city will acquire from this sale can be earmarked for further conservation efforts. Councilmember Thurman My hope is that we can put the funds that we acquire from this sale into a fund that we can use to preserve more green space within the city. I hope that we can continue to purchase TDRs and preserve open/green space as much as possible. Is that a possibility? City Attorney Jarrard Yes, that is something that can be set up and those funds can be earmarked. Councilmember Thurman I would like for the proceeds from the sale of TDRs to go to a separate fund that is recognized as preserving green space/conservation fund. Councilmember Lusk Will this sale go out in an auction format? City Attorney Jarrard We will conduct a sealed bid with a reserve. Councilmember Longoria I did not like the TDR process from the beginning but it passed so I am willing to do whatever needs to be done. Does the developer in question have any other options other than pursuing the TDR program? Kathleen Field You cannot grant a variance for density but you can rezone . ------------------- Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, October 6, 2014 at 6:00 pm Page 14 of 19 Councilmember Longoria Getting a market price for something that there is no demand for is very difficult. If we only have one person looking for a TDR, you are not getting a competitive bid. Can we wait on this TDR request until there is actually a TDR demand? Councilmember Mohrig My concern is that we intended to have TDRs used for preserving green space are we really accomplishing that with this transaction versus conducting a transaction with someone who really does have green space within the city. This land is already park land/green space. Laura Rencher, 1060 Birmingham Road, Milton, Georgia 30004 The last time I spoke before the council was in August and I made my opposition known about the sale of city owned park land because it simply provides a developer density; it doesn't really save any land. When I initially heard about the transaction, I was pleased that the program was actually going to begin. Then I heard that no one was interested in selling any land, so the Community Development Department decided to sell land that is part of Bell Memorial Park. I was not surprised that there was very little interest in the program because there has been little to no attempt to cultivate community interest since the initial rollout. So, I called the city and offered my land and explained that this would be a great opportunity to educate the community and let everyone see an example of a neighbor who was willing to conserve their land. If my land wouldn't work, I was confident that I could find another landowner who would be willing to participate. As the president of Preserve Rural Milton, I have the pulse of the community interested in land conservation. Despite my enthusiastic conversation with a city planner, no one ever called me back to follow-up. So, here we are six months later, no land has been conserved with TDRs and we have a transaction up for discussion that completely undermines the purpose of the TDR program which is to conserve land. A program that is intended for land conservation will continue to provide density increases and no land conservation. The transaction being considered tonight does not have any land preservation value yet the developer will get a higher density. Furthermore, the ordinance makes it appear that the Community Development Department will continue to use city owned land for TDRs. I have done research on this type of transaction and it is not done. There is no record of any other city doing this type of transaction anywhere in the country and that is because it doesn't save land. The TDR program is about saving land and green space and this transaction does not do that. It is a little more understandable when you refer to saving the money received from this transaction and buying land/green space with those funds in the future but there are lots of other ways to do that. I really think we should let this program which is designed to save green space; save green space. City park land is already saved and that is very obvious. The community thinks it is very obvious as well. It is difficult to understand the purpose of this transaction. I would like to share an example of an appropriate use of a TDR transaction for land conservation. My neighbor, Jim Bell, is considering putting up some of his land for sale. He loves the woods and green pastures but financial pressure and the real estate boom made it imprudent to put his land on the market. Neither one of us want to see the land developed so we began to work on a plan to preserve it using conservation easements. Our plan is a perfect example of how these three TDRs could have been used to save beautiful land in the rural part of the city. This land is actually at risk for development. The three TDRs in this transaction would not have paid for this whole public use conservation area but it could be a start. The city could have chosen to pick up the difference through an additional purchase of developmental rights. I presented this at the Crabapple Fest last weekend and Jim is very open to it. It is a proposed passive recreation park on his property. I think it would be fairly inexpensive. I got a tremendous amount of community support for this. It is an 18 acre park that would go around the perimeter of this property. Ten acres is already preserved as a green Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, October 6, 2014 at 6:00 pm Page 15 of 19 cemetery. So, we would only have about eight acres of conservation easements that you would need to purchase with public access. We are thinking somewhere in the $400,000 range to have an 18 acre passive recreation park and a wildlife sanctuary. Given the opportunity , I probably could have come up with this idea six months ago but here it is right now. I certainly hope that you will consider that there are a lot of creative ways to use these TDRs and use conservation easements. You need to learn more about this and understand that this is the way we are going to save the city through conservation easements. But, putting them on park land is not the way. We are way too pressured in development to be wasting them on parkland. I'm sure I could find other people to do TDRs, Jim could find a few; Laurel already has people lined up to do TDR transactions. It just takes proper education outreach to the community. It is an easy program to sell. Councilmember Mohrig Could we please get an update from Laurel as far as what we have done in the area of looking at TDRs and the green space initiative? City Manager Lagerbloom Yes, we will schedule a time for her to give you an update. Motion and Vote: Council member Kunz made a motion to defer Agenda Item No. 14-281 to the October 20, 2014 Regular City Council Meeting in order to find people interested in being a part of an open space TDR sending site designation and submitting an application in accordance with the City'S policies. Councilmember Lusk seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously (7-0). 2. Consideration of a Resolution to Abandon of All Rights of way within the Crooked Creek Subdivision. (Agenda Item No. 14-251) RESOLUTION NO. 14-10-314 (First Public Hearing Held on September 8,2014) (Second Public Hearing Held on October 6,2014) (Carter Lucas, Public Works Direclor) Carter Lucas, Public Works Director Having heard the comments from the community , I was very impressed from both sides and appreciate their participation in this process. Our ordinance states, "It is here by the expressed declaration of the governing authority of the City of Milton that obtaining documented support from the community that an abandonment application is supported by a certain percentage of those affected. It is material though not a dispositive component in determining whether or not the abandonment serves the public interest. So, what that means is the abandonment process, and the petition, and the comments you have heard regarding the petition of that process; there is only one component that you have to consider in this resolution. At the end of the day, state law governs what we have to look at regarding any abandonment of a public road. You have to find that one road that has either ceased being used by the public or that the removal of the street from the municipal street system is in the best public interest. The Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, October 6, 2014 at 6:00 pm Page 16 of 19 abandonment process and the petItlOn process and the percentages that we have outlined In our ordinance are only one component of that decision making process. Mayor Lockwood Ken, what is your opinion on meeting the legality of this abandonment? City Attorney Jarrard The law changed from stating that "the road serves no substantial public purpose" to "or, its removal from the municipal street system is otherwise in the best public interest." In my opinion, this change in the law is the factor that has allowed the City of Milton to be able to consider this abandonment. Because, prior to that change in the law, legally I could not see how that road could be viewed as not serving any substantial public purpose. And, to Mr. Lucas's point, even though the percentages and petition, etc. are part of the procedures mandated in the ordinance, at the end of the day, the decision is made by you, the Mayor and council. Councilmember Hewitt It was mentioned that if we approve the abandonment of this road, the neighborhood still has to agree upon gating and work through other issues to make that happen. If they cannot agree on gating, the neighborhood is still responsible for the roads, street lights, etc. in the community for the next five years before they can even think about relinquishing it back to the city. Correct? City Attorney Jarrard Yes, that is correct. City Manager Lagerbloom Yes, that is correct. Councilmember Hewitt Does the neighborhood have all those agreements in place? Jerold Bryant We have not signed away any right-of-way. Our bank has not approved anything for something to be developed in front of our house as far as a gate or anything like that. That has not been agreed upon. Steve Tipton All of the easements that we are required to build this have been acquired and we are done with that process. In the case of Mr. Bryant's property, we redesigned the entrance in the back of the neighborhood so there is no gate in his yard. There is no gate intruding onto his property and the way his house looks now is exactly the way his house will look after the gates are put up. Those designs were changed because of the objections he had about taking some of his yard which was about 18 inches on the front. So, we made a change. We redesigned the entrance. In addition, we have all of the other easements that are required to build the gates. Councilmember Lusk If the neighborhood wanted traffic calming devices such as speed bumps. Who would pay for them and would the city approve them? Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, October 6, 2014 at 6 :00 pm Page 17 of 19 Carter Lucas Yes , under certain conditions we would approve those types of traffic calming devices and the cost would be split 50/50 between the city and the Crooked Creek HOA. Some of the issues within Crooked Creek are the horizontal and vertical geometry of the roads and so we would have to find areas that we could safely install those measures. Whether or not you could install speed bumps along the entire length of Creek Club Drive; I do not know . That is not something that has been specifically looked at since I have worked for the city. Councilmember Mohrig If the abandonment of the road is approved , would the city be actively involved in the gating of the community in regards to the ingress and egress of the gates? Carter Lucas Yes, these are two separate but related issues. The gates, entrances, and trafficlroad improvements associated with the gates would go through an administrative review process subject to approval and accordance with our rules and regulations for gating. Motion and Vote: Councilmember Thunnan moved to approve Agenda Item No . 14-251. Councilmember Kunz seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously (6-0). Council member Longoria recused himself from the vote. 3. Consideration of a Contribution Agreement by and between the North Fulton Regional Radio System Authority (NFRRSA) and the City of Milton, Georgia. (Agenda Item No. 14-282) (Chris Lagerbloom, City Manager) Chris Lagerbloom, City Manager This request is brought forward at the request of the NFRRSA. It allows for something to continue since the authority was fonned . This is a contribution agreement and the original contri bution agreement that we approved was not with the authority because the authority did not exist at that time. This essentially cleans up a funding arrangement because of the authority being created . Every city that is part of the NFRRSA is considering approving this same agreement. Motion and Vote: Council member Mohrig moved to approve Agenda Item No. 14-282. Councilmember Kunz seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously (7-0). Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday , October 6, 20 I 4 at 6:00 pm Page 18 of 19 MAYOR AND COUNCIL REPORTS STAFF REPORTS EXECUTIVE SESSION Motion and Vote: Councilmember Kunz moved to go into Executive Session to discuss Land Acquisition at 9:06 p.m. Councilmember Mohrig seconded the motion . The motion passed unanimously (7-0). RECONVENE Motion and Vote: Councilmember Lusk moved to reconvene the Regular Meeting at 9 : 17 p .m. Council member Mohrig seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimousl y (7-0). ADJOURNMENT (Agenda Item No. 14-283) Motion and Vote: Councilmember Lusk moved to adjourn the Regular Meeting at 9: 18 p .m. Councilmember Mohrig seconded the motion . The motion passed unanimously (7-0). After no further discussion the Regular Council Meeting adjourned at 9 : 18 p .m. Date Approved: November 17 , 2014. Sudie AM Gordon , City Clerk Joe Lockwood, Mayor STATE OF GEORGIA ) ) AFFIDA VIT RE: CLOSURE OF COUNTY OF FULTON ) OPEN MEETINGS ) CITY OF MILTON ) Personally appeared before the undersigned officer, duly authorized under the laws of the State of Georgia to administer oaths, JOE LOCKWOOD, who in his capacity as Mayor and the person presiding over a Council meeting of the CITY OF MILTON, and after being first du Iy sworn, certifies under oath and states to the best of his knowledge and belief the following: At a Regularly Scheduled City Council Meeting held on October 6,2014, at 6:00 PM the Council voted to go into closed session and exclude the public from all or a portion of its meeting. The legal exceptions applicable to the exempt matters addressed during such closed meeting are as follows: [Check or initial as appropriate] 1. X discussion or voting to authorize negotiations to purchase, dispose of, or lease property; authorizing the ordering of an appraisal related to the acquisition or disposal of real estate; entering into contract to purchase, to dispose of, or lease property subject to approval in a subsequent public vote; or entering into an option to purchase, dispose of, or lease real estate subject to approval in a subsequent public vote pursuant to O.C.G.A, 50-14-3(b)(1 )(B-E); 2. discussing or deliberating upon the appointment, employment, compensation, hiring, disciplinary action or dismissal, or periodic evaluation or rating of a public officer or employee or interviewing applicants for the executive head of the city with the vote on any such matter coming in public pursuant to O.CG.A. 50-14-3(b)(2); 3. attorney/client privilege in order to consult and meet with legal counsel pertaining to pending or potential litigation, settlement, claims, administrative proceedings or other judicial actions brought or to be brought by or against the agency or any officer or employee or in which the agency or any officer or employee may be directly involved, pursuant to O.CG.A. 50-14-2(1). 4. other (explanation): I certify that the subject matter of the closed meeting or the closea portion of the meeting was devoted to matters of official business or policy, with the exceptions provided by law as set forth above. 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