Letter to the Editor

Why Did Milton Give OK to Cram Homes on Sliver of Land?

Southfield residents believe zoning approval goes against everything they thought Milton stood for.

On January 23, the Milton City Council unanimously approved rezoning a small parcel of land on the east side of Hopewell Road, just north of Vaughn Road, from AG-1 (agricultural) to NUP (neighborhood unit plan). This development of 24 homes (original plan was for 29) will be squeezed on a sliver of land of less than 7 acres located between a 130-unit retirement community currently under construction at Hopewell and Vaughn, the established Southfield neighborhood and the busy Hopewell Road. This was approved despite the City of Milton’s Planning Commission unanimous recommendation, after a one-hour public discussion, to reject both the rezoning and petition for a variance on setbacks at its December 19 meeting. In fact, that Planning …

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City Starts Year Considering New Residential Developments

The Alpharetta Planning Commission also will hold a hearing on a golf driving range.

CORRECTION: Lot sizes in the Cromen-Ferguson property development would be on lots a minimum of 9,000 square feet. The houses would not be that size. Two new residential developments are being proposed before the Alpharetta Planning Commission during its first meeting of 2013 on Thursday. A developer wants to rezone 13 acres of agricultural property so single-family homes on lots of at least 9,000 square feet. The rezoning to CUP requires an amendment to the city's Comprehensive Land Use Plan from low density to medium density residential. It will also require variances to the minimum acreage required. The Cromen Ferguson property is at 480 and 610 Rucker Road, and has operated as a training, horseback riding lesson and horse show stable …

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Bob Pepalis

11:03 am on Monday, December 31, 2012

Thanks to a Patch user for the gentle correction offered on my original version of the story, which seemed to say the houses would be 9,000 square feet at a minimum, not the lot sizes!   more ›

Alpharetta Hire Forces Woodstock To Begin Search For New Director

Richard McLeod accepted a position with the city of Alpharetta, which will leave Woodstock without a Community Development director.

Woodstock is in the market for a new Community Development director. Richard McLeod earlier this announced he's resigning from the post in Woodstock to take the same position with the city of Alpharetta. McLeod will start with Alpharetta on Nov. 5. McLeod replaces Diana Wheeler, who resigned from the post earlier this year. City Manager Jeff Moon said he's also sad to see McLeod leave the city. "I am happy for Richard for the opportunity that this gives him both personally and professionally," he added. "I am sad for us from the standpoint that anytime you lose an employee of Richard’s ability, experience and tenure with the city, it is hard to replace them." Moon added the city has an "excellent" relationship with the city of Alpharetta…

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Letter to the Editor

Alpharetta Resident Doesn't See Guarantees from Avalon

In her letter to City Council, Elizabeth Hooper says she doesn't see any guarantees that the developer will commit to what's needed for the "Wow" factor.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Elizabeth Hooper sent this letter to Alpharetta City Council, and prepared her own comparison of what she knows about Avalon to Americana at Brand and Santana Row. Dear City Council Members, I am urging you to heed the recommendations made by the Planning Commission at their April 5th meeting regarding the Avalon proposal. I am specifically referring to the requirement that NAP purchase developer rental zoning rights to cover their planned 250 rental units. My concerns are as follows; 1) The Planning Commissioners feel that it is their responsibility to uphold the 2030 Comprehensive Plan goal of an 85% “for sale” to 15% “for rent” housing ratio. The majority of citizens in our city want to maintain the lower density housing …

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Mark Toro

11:47 am on Monday, April 23, 2012

Thank you. I look forward to meeting you.   more ›

Will Alpharetta Make Avalon Too Costly to Build?

North American Properties' Mark Toro says the 83-acre mixed use development can't be built under the recommended conditions, but he's happy the application has moved forward.

Avalon can't be built with the conditions recommended by the Alpharetta Planning Commission, according to Mark Toro, managing partner of North American Properties in Atlanta. But Toro said he was glad the application to amend the Prospect Park master plan had moved forward after the vote at City Hall. It is scheduled to be heard by City Council on April 23. Planning Commissioner Nancy Bristol took the lead on how the board approached the conditions suggested by Community Development staff on which North American Properties didn't agree. The biggest was allowing any rental units on the mixed-use development. Avalon is planned to have 132 for sale units–mostly townhomes–and 250 rental units, all of which would be above the retail. Planning …

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Apartments Remain a Problem with Avalon for Alpharetta

Alpharetta Planning Commissioners don't want to set a precedent by approving for rent units on the property along Old Milton Parkway, but want to find a way to OK the project.

Alpharetta Planning Commissioners may want to move the Avalon project forward, but they don't want to open the doors to other projects getting apartments approved. The recommending board held a special workshop meeting Monday, March 26 to discuss the project. It had held a public hearing on March 1, but the members tabled it to give themselves more time to study the proposal. In its master plan amendment request, North American Properties asked for 382 residential units, much less than the 782 condos Thomas Enterprises got approved for Prospect Park in the master plan. But Avalon includes 250 rental units in its plans. The Planning Commissioners spent almost two hours discussing problems they had with the developer's application, including…

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Mark Toro

6:55 am on Thursday, April 5, 2012

1. The song is "Sweet Disposition" 2. We will just recruit two better drivers for the computer simulation. :-)   more ›

Alpharetta Planning Commission Puts Off Avalon Vote

North American Properties' general manager says this delay puts the October 2013 opening in jeopardy.

After more than three hours of a public hearing on Avalon, the development seeking to fill the empty space left when Prospect Park tanked, the Alpharetta Planning Commission put off making any decision for at least a month. Mark Toro of North American Properties said, "I'm terribly disappointed that they chose to table it because... we're not going to be able to tell them anything 30 days from now that we couldn't tell them tonight. "What it means is it crunches our schedule to start and to open in October of 2013," he said. Planning Commissioner Francis Kung'u made the motion to table the decision, saying there was too much information to digest at the time. His motion included a proposal for two Planning Commission workshops before the …

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UPDATED: Goodwill Says No Plans for Thrift Store By Alpharetta Subdivision

The developer who wants permission to build a thrift store has no agreement with Goodwill, the organization's marketing vice president said.

UPDATED 3:30 p.m.: The marketing officer for Goodwill in Georgia said the company has no plans for a store at 495 North Main Street, and the property owner didn't have permission to use the Goodwill name. Jim Caponigro said, "The only proposal that we have that's near Alpharetta is a store that we are building from the groun up, which is a LEED certified store on the corner of Winkler and McFarland. But that's as close to Alpharetta as any plans that we have." The marketing vice president made it even clearer on Goodwill's future in the city. "We are not looking at any other Alpharetta properties," Caponigro said. *********** A Duluth developer hopes to convince the Alpharetta Planning Commission that six acres of commercially zoned …

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Windward, Planning Commission Teach Amana Academy a Lesson

The 2,400 homeowners and their HOAs aren't to be ignored if you want to make changes to the community.

Amana Academy's leaders got a little schooling themselves when they tried to get the Windward master plan changed so they could move the Fulton County charter school into an office building off Edison Drive. The charter school's board of directors and its attorney contacted the Windward Business Association and got its backing. Since the site is within the business section of Windward, they didn't think talking to homeowners or their associations was necessary. They learned differently at the Alpharetta Planning Commission on July 7, as that board taught them you don't ignore the 2,400-home Windward community or its mandatory and voluntary homeowners' associations, the Windward Community Services Association (WCSA) and the Windward …

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Planning Commisson Recommends Denial of Affordable Senior Housing Complex

The city's restriction on how much rental housing can be in the city prevents approval, though planning commissioners want senior housing issues addressed.

An application to build a seniors only, affordable apartment complex along Webb Bridge Road next to GA 400 was recommended for denial by the Alpharetta Planning Commission Thursday night based on the city's limit of 15 percent rental units compared to 85 percent for sale residential homes. Planning commissioners want the whole issue of affordable senior housing addressed by City Council, but worried about the consequences of setting a precedence on this application. The applicant, however, was restricted by a state timetable that allows applications for the funding method through tax credits only at one time a year, starting on June 23. That put planning commissioners in a bind, some of whom would rather have tabled the application until …

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