City Council on Wednesday will vote on a conservation easement that – at no cost to the City – could conserve 6.7 acres along Birmingham Road from future development.

This is one of several items on the agenda for the February 19 meeting, which is taking place mid-week because of the Presidents’ Day holiday. Starting at 6 p.m., people can attend in-person at City Hall’s Council Chambers or watch online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmQNPqtjr5o.

As is customary for a Regular Meeting, the corresponding agenda is divided into distinct sections that have their own ground-rules. In this case, those are:

• The CONSENT AGENDA, for routine matters that the are voted on collectively – so a single yes-no vote covering all items
• REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS, which is where you’ll find proclamations, presentations, and reports during which the Council can give direction and cannot take conclusive votes
• NEW BUSINESS, the home for items appearing for the first time on a Council agenda that can be discussed and decisively voted upon

Below are summaries of every item on the February 19 agenda.

• Approval of the February 3, 2025, Regular City Council Meeting Minutes.

  The Council will vote on approving the “minutes,” or official written record, from its most recent Regular Meeting on February 3. On this evening, the Council extended a moratorium on certain permit and other applications for the Deerfield area, with the extra time allowing for potential City Code changes to work through the public meeting process. Two other items were approved pertaining to Milton joining a new North Fulton Emergency Medical Response Oversight Committee to ensure quality ambulance service. For a full recap of this meeting, click HERE: https://www.miltonga.gov/Home/Components/News/News/2809/1351.

   

• Approval of the February 10, 2025, Joint Work Session of the City Council and Planning Commission Meeting Minutes.

  This February 10 meeting was a special joint Work Session involving Milton’s Planning Commission as well as the City Council. The lone topic was Deerfield, including potential changes to the City Code to align with a vision for that area’s future. With contributions from citizens and other key stakeholders, the City is developing a dynamic Deerfield Implementation Plan outlining the ideal look, feel, uses, and features for this section of southeastern Milton. To watch this meeting, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y608adNwd-M.

   

• Approval of a Services Agreement with ProLogics ITS, LLC to Install Emergency Equipment in New Police Vehicles.

  With approval of this item, experts from ProLogics ITS will supply and install valuable emergency equipment on four new Milton Police patrol vehicles.

   

• Approval of a Professional Services Agreement between the City of Milton and Geo-Hydro Engineers, Inc. for Preliminary Subsurface Exploration and Geotechnical Engineering Evaluation at 300 Deerfield Parkway.

  Last year, the City purchased 24.4 acres off Deerfield Parkway in southeastern Milton with the intent of transforming that property into an active park. This is an agreement for experts from Geo-Hydro Engineers to conduct machine-drilled soil test borings at select locales to estimate how much rock would need to be removed to develop this park. This will be important in the concept development and cost estimation phases of this project.

   

• Approval of a Revised Purchase Agreement for 0.457 Acres of Temporary Construction Easement at 13450 Cogburn Road (North Park) from City of Alpharetta for the Big Creek Greenway Extension Project PI 0015078. Purchase Agreement previously approved on May 6, 2024.

  Last May, the City agreed to the purchase of property in North Park (from the City of Alpharetta) for right-of-way and easements needed for the Big Creek Greenway Extension. The project will make it possible for pedestrians to go safely and efficiently back-and-forth between parts of Milton and the Big Creek Greenway, a run of trails between Roswell and Forsyth County.

  The revised purchase agreement on Wednesday’s agenda would not change how much Milton will pay for these 0.457 acres. It would change the entire area to a temporary easement; however, Milton would be responsible for maintaining the future multi-use path/sidewalk on this property.

   

   

  REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS

• Proclamation Recognizing Arbor Day 2025 and Milton as a Tree City USA.

  Arbor Day is an annual opportunity to celebrate trees and the many ways they contribute to our environment and quality of life. In Georgia, it is celebrated in late February – near the end of prime tree planting season in our region. The City of Milton will have its Arbor Day event from 10 to 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, February 22, at Mayfield Park. All are welcome to enjoy complimentary warm drinks and snacks, listen to a tree-themed story, build a pine cone birdfeeder, and help plant five new trees by the intersection of Mayfield Road and Baldwin Drive. For more information, check out https://www.miltonga.gov/Home/Components/News/News/2817/1351/.

  This family-friendly event occurs days after Milton was recognized as a Tree City USA for the 16^th consecutive year. Milton satisfied several criteria to earn this distinction, which also reflects our community’s longstanding commitment and deep appreciation of trees. You can learn more about this honor at https://www.miltonga.gov/Home/Components/News/News/2825/1351/.

   

• Deerfield Implementation Plan Update

The City has been working for months to create a Deerfield Implementation Plan – a dynamic, detailed, community-driven vision for the future of a section of southeastern Milton that includes what’s in and around Highway 9, Windward Parkway, Webb Road, Deerfield Parkway, and Morris Road. This effort has involved assessing this district and the surrounding market, gathering input from citizens, talking at length with other key stakeholders, and working with City leaders to craft a guiding document to help make Deerfield a thriving, vibrant, uniquely Milton destination for years to come.

On February 10, members of the project team presented and gathered constructive feedback at a joint meeting of the City Council and Planning Commission. The hope is to keep up the momentum from that productive meeting with further discussions on Wednesday. After this, City staff may have even more valuable direction on what next steps to take in terms of what goes into the Deerfield Implementation Plan as well as potential corresponding text amendment changes to the City Code.

For more about this pivotal project, visit www.miltonga.gov/Deerfield.

• 2200 Birmingham Road. Conservation Easement for a Sending Site Property in the City’s Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) Program.

Milton’s Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) program allows for the protection of larger lots that could be homes to farms, wildlife habitats, or conservation land. The idea is to voluntarily redirect future growth from areas where Milton wants reduced development to ones that are designated for development. The City doesn’t take ownership and isn’t involved in any monetary exchange. Rather, the TDR “sending site” remains under private ownership permanently limiting future development (including subdivisions for neighborhoods). To qualify, a property must be at least 5 acres, be zoned AG-1 or T-2, and have certain natural or agricultural features. You can learn more about TDRs at https://www.miltonga.gov/government/community-development/land-conservation/transfer-of-development-rights-program.

This agenda item refers to a 6.7-acre property off Birmingham Road that contains a barn, riding area, small greenhouse, and home included in the Georgia Historic Resources Survey.  If the City Council approves the conservation easement for this “sending site,” its owner will have TDR credits that can be transferred to developers to allow some increased density in areas covered under the Deerfield or Crabapple Form-Based Codes.