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May 31,
2007
Dear
Friend, Neighbors and Milton
Citizens,
First let me wish all the youth, teachers,
administration and school volunteers of our
community a happy first week of summer break and a
great start to what is sure to be a terrific
season. Please plan on being safe and
finding a way to be engaged with your community
this summer.
There has
been much activity and news since the last
release. Our fire department has been
successfully deployed with the official transition
taking place Friday, May 18th. Things went
smoothly and our Milton fire department is fully
in place, our three fire stations having gotten a
great top to bottom cleaning by our firefighters
and the new fire engines are in place ready to
address the needs of the citizens. Read more about the Milton
Firestations.
Beyond public safety deployment, there
have been new rezonings from the Crabapple area
that have come before the Planning Commission with
more due, opportunities for you to weigh in on
transportation as well as recent changes to the
Milton City charter. You may have read about these
charter changes in recent articles in the local
newspapers. To ensure everyone is up to
speed on all of these issues and more, please
scroll down in this release to learn more about
all of these topics and how they impact your
community and your quality of life.
I
consider it an honor and a privilege to represent
you. I take my responsibilities seriously
and hope you will join me in ensuring this unique
and wonderful place now called Milton remains a
place we can all be very proud for years to
come. | |
City of Milton Meeting Reminders,
Agendas and Actions
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Tuesday, June 5th 6pm - Board
of Ethics Special Called Meeting
Tuesday, June
5th 6pm - Design Review Board Meeting, click here for the
agenda.
Thursday, June 7th 7pm - City Council
Meeting
Tuesday, June 26th 7pm - Planning
Commission Meeting
Action minutes from May 22nd
Planning Commission Meeting,
click here
Action minutes from
May 17th Council Meeting click here.
Public input is welcome on any item for which you
have opinions. Public comments are taken at the
beginning of the meetings or when a specific agenda
comes forth. And, you can email your opinions to
Mayor, Council and staff. Use this link to see how best to send your
opinions. |
May 22nd - Planning Commission
Results
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On the rezoning front, a
request went before the Planning Commission this past
Tuesday, May 22. The rezoning case is in
Crabapple. The applicant is requesting 12,000 square
feet of commercial/retail density in addition to 31 high
density condominiums and town homes. Staff
recommended denial and the Planning Commission
recommended a deferral. Use this link to view Staff analysis, see
page 36 This case will return to the Planning
Commission on Tuesday, June 26th.
Meanwhile, please note, a second rezoning case
in Crabapple on Mayfield Road, will proceed to the
Planning Commission on the same date, Tuesday June 26th
for its' first public hearing. In this second
rezoning case the applicant is requesting:
To
rezone from AG-1 (Agricultural) to MIX (Mixed Use) to
develop 18,825 square feet of Office within 5 buildings
which includes the historic house and to develop 10
residential units within 3 buildings. The applicant is
also requesting a concurrent variance to reduce portions
of the side and rear buffer and improvement setback to a
10-foot landscape strip. |
Changes to the City of Milton
Charter
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Also in the news is the
issue of the recent charter changes put forth by our
state legislator. The City of Milton Mayor, Joe
Lockwood, and Council were not involved in the charter
changes and there was no formal discussion with the
Milton elected officials. We were notified of the
charter changes only after they were approved by the
House and Senate.
I think
it is unfortunate that
it was not brought before the Mayor, Council and the
public as it circumvented the
premise of
open,
local governance. Numerous articles have been
written about this current issue. Links to the articles
can be found below to ensure you have access to the
articles found in the AJC and the Milton Herald. There
also is a link to an editorial written by Hatcher Hurd
that questions why the Georgia Assembly and State
Legislators are still engaged in the running of the City
of Milton. These articles and the editorial is
worth a read.
To be clear, I am on
record as not supporting the charter changes for several
reasons including the fact that the local governing body
was not included in the discussions, and because the
charter changes remove certain authority of our Mayor. I
believe the local governing body should have been
engaged in formal discussions of our charter before they
were brought forward and approved. To do anything else
runs counter to local governance and allowing the
elected governing body to do its' job. At a minimum,
there should have been open, transparent dialogue on
these changes that directly impact our local
government.
AJC Article - May 17th
AJC Article - May 24th
Milton Herald - May 22nd
Milton Herald Editorial - May
21st |
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I hope you find all of this
information helpful. I believe in
helping to ensure the citizens of Milton are apprised of
the facts and of what is transpiring locally in your
community on all issues.
Community voice is more important now
than ever. I encourage each of you to
take an active part in the new City of
Milton. This is your community and
the only way to ensure your opinions are represented is
to communicate them to the Mayor, the full Council and
staff and to attend public hearings and provide your
input on specific agenda items. After
all, this is your city and your community.
Please help to protect, preserve and
appropriately plan for our future.
Again, thank you for your support and your
input. Let me hear from you regarding any
questions or comments.
Every voice matters so please
stay involved and engaged.
Thank you for caring
about our community.
Take care,
Julie
Zahner Bailey
Milton City Council
770-664-5529
(home)
404-310-6344 (cell)
No City of Milton funds were
used for this newsletter.
Paid for by Friends of Julie
Zahner Bailey
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