Monthly Archives: September 2013

Alpharetta City Council Agenda September 23, 2013

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I apologize if this doesn’t view well. I know there is a great deal of interest in Monday night’s council agenda so I am trying to publish this post from my IPhone. If there are any changes necessary I will make them here as quickly as possible.

Alpharetta City Council Meeting
September 23, 2013 7:30 PM
Location: Alpharetta City Hall – Council Chambers

I. CALL TO ORDER

II. ROLL CALL

III. PLEDGE TO THE FLAG

IV. WORKSHOP
A. City Center Update – Bob Regus and Mike Hall
V. PUBLIC HEARING
A. Community Development – Richard McLeod & Kathi Cook
1. V-13-13 Jeff Aughey/Parkerwood Way
Consideration of a variance to the rear setback line for an outdoor fireplace and other structures. The property is located at 100 Parkerwood Way and legally described as being located in Land Lot 272, 1st District, 1st Section, Fulton County, Georgia.
2. MP-13-03/CU-13-08 North Point Commons Bowling Alley
Consideration of a request to amend the North Point Commons master plan in order to permit a bowling alley as a permitted use. The property is located on the south side of North Point Parkway between Haynes Bridge and Georgia Lane and legally described as being located in Land Lots 755, 796, 1st District, 2nd Section, Fulton County, Georgia.
3. PH-13-10 Islamic Center of North Fulton
Consideration of a request to amend previous conditions of zoning in order to permit the construction of a 7,900 square foot community hall and mosque. The property is located on the south side of Rucker Road and legally described as being located in Land Lot 1275, 2nd District, 2nd Section, Fulton County, Georgia.
4. PH-13-09 Unified Development Code
Consideration of amendments to the Unified Development Code in order to amend addressing and bond requirements.
VI. BUSINESS MEETING
A. Grants Administration – Amanda Day
1. Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Letter of Interest (Tabled 9-16-13)
B. Economic Development – Peter Tokar
1. Opportunity Zone Contract – Joe Young
VII. PUBLIC COMMENTS

VIII. REPORTS

IX. ADJOURNMENT

Alpharetta City Council Agenda September 16, 2013

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City Council did not meet this week but the agenda for next week has been published and it is posted below for your review. I have not had an opportunity to read all the supporting materials yet but if you have questions please let me know in the comment section and I will do my best to get you an answer.

Two items that stand out as being particularly important for the future of Alpharetta are the presentation by MARTA during the workshop and the discussion of private development opportunities within the City Center project. I hope you can join us for those discussions.

Update 9/16/2013 9:30 a.m. Please note that the agenda for tonight’s meeting was updated late Friday to include an additional New Business item. Unforeseen changes to the LOST agreement require Alpharetta City Council to revisit changes to the original agreement previously approved. The change was publicly announced Friday but I am just now getting it updated here.

City of Alpharetta

Council Meeting for September 16, 2013

City Hall Council Chambers

7:30 PM

  1. I.              CALL TO ORDER
  2. II.            ROLL CALL
  3. III.           PLEDGE TO THE FLAG
  4. IV.           PROCLAMATION
    1.     Constitution Week
  5. V.            CONSENT AGENDA
    1.     Public Hearing and Council Meeting Minutes
      1. Meeting of 08/26/2013
      2. Meeting of 09/03/2013
    2.     Monthly Financial Management Report
      1. Month Ending 08/31/2013
  6. VI.           WORKSHOP
    1.     City Center Update
    2.     MARTA Briefing on Connect 400 Transit Initiative
  7. VII.         NEW BUSINESS
    1.     Administration
      1. Resolution: Local Option Sales Tax Distribution
    2.     Grants Administration
      1. Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Letter of Interest
    3.     Community Development
      1. Discussion of RFQ: City Center Private Development Opportunity
    4.     Public Safety
      1. Public Safety Ammunition Purchase
      2. Crime-Free Multi-Family Housing Initiative
    5.     Recreation and Parks
      1. Purchase of Two (2) Pickup Trucks for Recreation and Parks
      2. Purchase of Various Pieces of Equipment for Parks
    6.     Information Technology
      1. CISCO SmartNet Data Equipment Maintenance 2014
      2. CISCO SmartNet Voice Equipment Maintenance 2014
  8. VIII.        PUBLIC COMMENTS
  9. IX.           REPORTS
  10. X.            ADJOURN TO EXECUTIVE SESSION

City of Alpharetta

Executive Session Agenda for September 16, 2013

City Hall Council Chambers

Immediately Following Council Meeting

  1. I.              PERSONNEL
  2. II.            REAL ESTATE
  3. III.           ADJOURNMENT

MARTA recommends 4 heavy rail stations in Alpharetta

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A few weeks ago I saw a post on Twitter from a local news reporter who wrote that MARTA was planning to recommend four heavy rail stations in Alpharetta. That was the first I had heard of such a plan so I immediately contacted Mayor Belle Isle and the rest of Alpharetta’s City Council to see if any of them were aware of the recommendation. Not a single one of us had even heard of MARTA’s intentions much less been consulted on the matter.

So on August 12, 2013 I attended a meeting of MARTA’s Planning and External Relations Committee in Atlanta. At that meeting MARTA’s staff did indeed recommend extending a heavy rail line more than 11 miles along GA 400 through Sandy Springs, Roswell and Alpharetta. This plan called for putting four train stations in Alpharetta including one each at Mansell Road, Northpoint Mall, Old Milton Parkway and one on Windward Parkway which would serve as the end of line regional station.

This is not the first time a MARTA train station has been proposed for Alpharetta nor will it be the last. Traffic is consistently the number one complaint of Alpharetta residents and since we all pay a 1% sales tax to support MARTA it would be nice if we could find some way to get a better return on that money. So I welcome an open and honest discussion of how MARTA can better serve Alpharetta.

Unfortunately MARTA’s Connect 400 initiative has been woefully inadequate in seeking input from actual residents of Alpharetta. The recommendation was based solely on 30 interviews with unidentified “stakeholders” and an online survey consisting of 136 responses to an email that went out to unidentified business interests, local officials and interest groups last December.

Clearly MARTA’s staff made no effort to include Alpharetta’s mayor or city council and in fact I have yet to determine if even one Alpharetta resident was sampled in the research. And as you might expect from such a small, statistically insignificant sample the recommendation is the least practical and most unlikely to be implemented even under the best of circumstances. In an effort to raise awareness of this process I am submitting for your review the presentation which was given at  MARTA’s August 12th meeting. Please click this link to review the full 12 page Powerpoint presentation: GA 400 Briefing Presentation

Transportation is a crucial issue for us all and this process could affect the future of Alpharetta forever so I ask you to please take a moment to review the information and let me know your thoughts on this matter. MARTA is also planning to host an informational meeting about this recommendation on September 26th from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Alpharetta City Hall. It is imperative that the people most affected by this process speak up before a final determination is made. Please make the time to join us at that meeting.