City Council on Monday approved requested variances and a use permit – with conditions – to allow a barn to remain as is on the outside while serving as home to a bookbinding business within.

The barn is at 900 Pleasant Hollow Trail – a 3.32-acre property at the intersection of Providence Road – and has its own driveway entrance. Generally, properties that serve a commercial use must meet certain design and City Code guidelines; in this case, that could have involved requiring alterations to the barn’s exterior. Yet the applicant requested variances not to change what it looks like on the outside.

The Design Review Board and Planning Commission both recommended that those variances be approved, as did the City Council. Most of the discussion Monday night revolved around what requirements should be tied to the associated special use permit, with the intent of safeguarding neighbors while allowing the business creating custom books and other leather goods to operate.

These conditions, as approved Monday, included:

• Restricting the use to a defined “artist studio”
• Restricting the hours of operation to between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday
• Restricting the delivery hours to between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday
• Restricting the number of employees to four (one of whom lives on the property)
• Prohibiting members of the public or walk-in sales
• Prohibiting signage for the art studio

The applicants, Courtney Bartik and Andy Campbell, spoke explaining the arc of their business and hope to set it up in their “quintessential Milton barn … with a red metal roof.”

Afterwards, Councilmember Carol Cookerly commended the “very thorough” work of City staff to what she called a “reasonable request (and) good use of a large lot.”

Prior to the vote, Councilmember Doug Hene asked if all “unintended consequences” had been taken into account. Interim Community Development Director Diana Wheeler pointed to the critical condition specifying “no public access for sales or otherwise,” which would prohibit the barn from becoming a gathering spot.

AGREEMENTS RELATED TO MCPP AND LEGACY PARK UPGRADES

This vote came well into a meeting that began with six general public comments, one of them being an email read into the record. The City Council next approved the Consent Agenda, which included agreements with:

• Georgia Gunite & Pool Company to repair and reseal the City Pool (at Milton City Park and Preserve), resurface the entry to the baby pool/mushroom, and apply plaster patches to the baby pool
• Capital City Electrical to provide on-call expert electricians to address significant, time-sensitive issues affecting City facilities, parking areas, grounds, buildings, and other locales
• Moffatt & Nichol to provide conceptual design services for a project in the “active” portion of Milton City Park and Preserve as well as parking lot-related improvements at Legacy Park
• The National Center for Safety Initiatives to conduct advanced background screenings for those involved in City-affiliated recreational programming

REP. JONES ACCEPTS ‘CHAMPION OF GEORGIA’S CITIES’ AWARD

Then came a presentation of a “Champion of Georgia’s Cities” award by the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA) to Speaker Pro Tem Jan Jones, whose House District 47 includes Milton. Jim Thornton, the director of governmental relations for GMA (which represents all 536 Georgia cities), explained 10 such awards are given to State legislators at the end of every two-year term.

“Jan Jones is the epitome of understanding the importance of local decision-making and local control,” Thornton said, describing her as a “fierce advocate” who is “always accessible” and “always willing to listen.”

Jones spoke about how a representative democracy, while sometimes messy, was the best way for residents to voice concerns and for elected officials who know a community best to make the right decisions. That belief spurs her support of allowing cities to make choices for their own community, even amid the “drumbeat” by some on the federal and state level to assert authority over local governments.

“If the states take them over, if the feds take them over, you have almost no control,” Jones said. “[Milton’s representatives] do a far superior job.”

PROCLAMATIONS FOR CYBERSECURITY, FIRE PREVENTION

This was followed by four proclamations in which the City formally recognized various individuals and causes. 

• Milton Greenspace Advisory Committee members were celebrated for their critical roles in guiding City leaders in the acquisition of over 400 acres (utilizing funding from a $25 million voter-approved bond) for passive use including conservation, nature trails, and wildlife habitats.

  “I want to drive around 20, 30 years from now telling my grandkids what you all have done,” Mayor Peyton Jamison said.

   

• The City recognized October as Cybersecurity Awareness Month, promoting efforts to ensure the public knows about online threats and how they can protect themselves. The corresponding proclamation was accepted by Ananya Tadepalli, who studied in Milton schools and authored a children’s book called Cyberville Chronicles to educate young people about the importance of cybersecurity.

    

• Fire Prevention Week was declared in Milton, as it is elsewhere around the country, to encourage small steps that could make a big difference in protecting people and properties. You can learn about likeminded efforts run out of Milton Fire-Rescue’s Community Risk Reduction division at https://www.miltonga.gov/government/fire/community-risk-reduction-fire-marshal/.

    

  A group of Milton firefighters accepted the proclamation and posed for a picture holding a banner with this year’s Fire Prevention Week theme: “Smoke Alarms: Make Them Work for You.”

   

• The night’s final proclamation, for Community Planning Month, noted the importance of zoning, long-term planning, and all those involved in these efforts that intentionally help make Milton a unique place. Members of the City’s Planning Commission, Design Review Board, and Board of Zoning Appeals joined City staff in accepting the proclamation.

MILTONIZED PLAN FOR PRIVATE REVIEWERS, INSPECTORS

After a brief presentation by Finance Director Karen Ellis, the Council approved an alcohol beverage license for the new owner of the Exxon Food Mart at the intersection of Morris and Webb roads.

They later voted unanimously in support of an ordinance amendment adopting a program allowing for private plan reviewers and building inspectors in accordance with State law.  City staff took a “model” ordinance crafted by GMA and Miltonized it, explained Wheeler, the Interim Community Development Director.

The version adopted on Monday featured provisions such as only allowing licensed architects and engineers as well as qualified inspectors to operate in Milton. It also requires annual renewals and gives the City authority over overseeing building quality and issuing Certificates of Occupancy.

The next vote was to approve a resolution adopting the 2024 Capital Improvements Element Annual Update relating to the City’s collection of impact fees to pay for certain public improvements. (For more on this topic, go to www.miltonga.gov/impactfees.) This came after the Georgia Department of Community Affairs and Atlanta Regional Commission reviewed and approved Milton’s proposed update.

After a vote on the final settlement for two parcels needed for the Morris Road widening project, the Council approved a final plat for the final three (out of nine total) Braeburn Townhome lots along Heritage Walk in downtown Crabapple.

The last agenda item was an agreement for the City to get and maintain a stormwater easement connected to the Hopewell Road at Bethany Bend/Way project, with a property owner receiving $15,000 from the City contractor’s insurance company. 

The Council is next scheduled to convene for a Work Session on October 14.