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NOTE: GwinnettForum will suspend Tuesday
publication for the next week. We will resume Tuesday publication
on June 12. Thank you for your understanding.--eeb
Homeowners,
association combine for re-zoning denial
By Roger Hagen
Special to GwinnettForum
(Editor's Note: The subdivision which is the
subject of this article was to be located off of Oleander Road,
which runs between Lake Lucerne Drive and Five Forks Trickum Road.
The writer lives directly across the Yellow River from the proposed
new subdivision.-eeb)
JUNE 2, 2006 -- Recently SUP (Special Use Permit) 06-043 was filed
by Ruby Forest Inc. with the County Planning Commission. The Planning
Department staff approved it under the guidelines of the new COS
(Conservation Subdivision Overlay) guidelines.
The developer, Ruby Forest Inc., claimed it was "conserving"
40 acres of land out of 93 in the tract which they had tried to
have rezoned. They presented a rather convincing document to the
Planning Commission. If you ever wonder why living in a development
with a Homeowners Association can be a good thing, keep reading.
Following Planning Commission guidelines, there was a community
meeting held between residents and the developer's legal representative,
Michael Sullivan. Unfortunately, the meeting did little in the way
of mediation. It started out informative and pleasant, but quickly
turned ugly as residents began shouting at Mr. Sullivan. This was
the last real attempt at any type of compromise. The next step was
the public hearing before the Planning Commission Meeting on April
18.
Each side was given 10 minutes to present arguments on the proposed
rezoning request. Mr. Sullivan referred to "mob rule"
repeatedly during the Planning Commission meeting, but did offer
to reduce the number of housing units to 158. The Planning Commission
staff had recommended 155. Mr. Sullivan then proceeded to quibble
over the difference of three units, complaining about the fact that
there were public hearings now, and had not been in the past and
also referred to the process as a political sham.
There were approximately 70-100 people wearing orange and maroon
shirts who stood in opposition to the request when the Commission
asked for a show of any opposition. Some members of the Commission
commented that they had never before seen so much opposition to
a rezoning request.
Jim Little from the Oleander HOA put together what I thought was
a well informed, logical opposition to the development proposal
with drawings, diagrams and photos of the area and its existing
traffic problems. The Planning Commission ended up granting both
sides an additional five minutes for their case. To their credit,
the Commission was clearly interested in trying to reach some kind
of compromise.
This allowed me to address the issue of no plan for increased demand
on the existing water feed or sewage treatment for the proposed
development. I felt this was irresponsible given that the development
itself sat right next to the Yellow River.
In the end, the voice of the majority of citizens was heard with
the Commission voting 5-2 vote to deny the proposal. Mr. Sullivan
called it mob rule. I call it living in a republic run by its citizens.
A group of homeowners and their respective Associations managed
to organize opposition to what was seen as irresponsible development.
The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners agreed with their 5-0
vote for denial of SUP 06-043 on April 25, 2006.
ELLIOTT
BRACK
Get out and enjoy the Seven Natural Wonders
of Georgia
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
GwinnettForum.com
JUNE 2, 2006 -- You've heard of the Seven Wonders of the World,
right? Some slick public relations person back in Grecian times
came up with the idea, perhaps to spur tourism. And since the known
world was primarily the Middle East and Mediterranean Sea area,
guess what? Yep, you got it: that's where these Wonders are located.
Brack |
Since that early time, we have seen other man-made and natural
places named as a "wonder." Mainly, it's boosterism.
Several years ago, we came up with a list of the Seven Natural
Wonders of Georgia. It's a good time to float that list again, in
hopes that it might produce some travel for a few people, and boost
our state economically at the same time.
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Editor's Note: this is re-printed
from the June 11, 2004 GwinnettForum. These Seven Wonders
still can stir your imagination for the depth of their beauty.
-eeb
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So, once again, here is our list of the Seven Wonders of Georgia:
1. Okefenokee Swamp. It's vast, it's on shaky ground,
and it's spooky. And it's the home of thousands of creatures,
including alligators big enough to swallow us. And it is amazing.
It's located near Waycross in deep South Georgia, and is headwaters
for the Suwanee River, which flows south into Florida from here.
2. Stone Mountain. We are all familiar with it, located
partially within Gwinnett. This massive rock granite dome rises
650 feet above the plain. Walk around the mountain and it's seven
miles. A Confederate memorial carved into the rock was completed
in 1970.
3. Tallulah Gorge. It plunges 1,200 feet deep from Highway
441 south of Clayton, and includes a series of waterfalls. Land
around the site is now a state park, with several viewing locations.
Under the highway bridge is a dam which held back water which
gave Georgia some of its early electric power.
4. Providence Canyon. In southwest Georgia, near Lumpkin,
the Canyon is a study in nature's way of erosion. It's been called
Georgia's Little Grand Canyon, as water has eroded the soft soil
to a depth of more than 100 feet. The multi-colored layers can
be clearly seen in the 1,109 acre network of gorges.
5. Amicalola Falls. Near Dawsonville, this is the highest
waterfall in Georgia, dropping 729 feet. It is aptly named from
the Indian word for "tumbling water." It is now one
of the most popular state parks, and the beginning of the approach
trail to the start of the Appalachian Trail.
6. Warm Springs. Near Pine Mountain in Meriwether County,
about 100 miles from Gwinnett, the 88 degree temperature water
has soothed Indians, locals, and even a popular president of the
United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who built a retreat
nearby. The waters bubble up from some 2,800 feet underground.
7. Coastal Islands: These peaceful barrier islands of
Georgia are a major wildlife habitat, stretching miles inland
and are a chain of islands over 100 miles long. The area is wonderful
to visit, or to live on, and ever so pleasant. Giant water oaks,
often hanging with moss, amid the tall pines, stretches of marshgrass,
all amid the ever-changing pattern of life in a tidal environment
add up to a superb marvel of nature.
That's our list. As you travel this state, visit them. We bet you
will be awed.
ABOUT
OUR SPONSORS
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public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com
to you at no cost to readers. Today sponsor is the Philadelphia
College of Osteopathic Medicine, Georgia Campus. Georgia's newest
and Gwinnett County's only medical college, Georgia Campus-Philadelphia
College of Osteopathic Medicine (GA-PCOM), opened in August 2005
with 86 first year medical students enrolled. The College combines
the traditional course load of medical school with added emphasis
on the relationship between the body's structure and its function.
GA-PCOM, at 625 Old Peachtree Road, Suwanee, seeks to recruit and
educate medical students from Georgia and the surrounding states
and encourage them to remain in the region thereby helping improve
access to healthcare in medically underserved areas. Call 678-225-7532
for additional information.
For a list of other sponsors of this forum, go to: http://www.gwinnettforum.com/about/sponsors.htm
McLEMORE'S
WORLD
6/2: Fortune cookies
Another great cartoon from Bill McLemore:
FEEDBACK
6/2: Country of immigrants finds others want
to work here
Editor, the Forum:
There is no doubt that the United States is a country of immigrants.
Unless you are a Native American, you or your relatives came to
the United States from another country. My paternal grandparents
came from Ireland to escape the potato famine in the mid 1850s.
My maternal great grandparents emigrated from Scotland in the late
1800s. In both cases, they made the transition legally and quickly
assimilated into America.
They and all the hundreds of millions of others who sought a better
life here in America must be turning over in their graves at the
political correctness of the 21st Century that equates the criminal
behaviors of illegal aliens with the legal immigration that has
made our country great.
Stop for a moment and consider the situation. Illegal aliens violate
the sovereign borders of our country to get here.
Once here, they avail themselves to free medical services available
at not-for-profit hospitals. They send their children to free government
schools. They avail themselves to food stamps, welfare and the variety
of other social services. They work but pay no federal, state, local
or school taxes. In many cases, the majority of the money they earn
is sent back to Mexico to support a failing economy and corrupt
government. They drive on our streets unlicensed and uninsured.
They rewrite our National Anthem in Spanish and protest in our streets.
On top of all these indignations, their government has threatened
to sue our government if we rightly enforce our borders.
And we do nothing. Surely this is the death of common sense!
-- Patrick Malone, Snellville
Dear Pat: Hold on, friend. While some of what
you say may be true, many illegals either pay taxes, or else there
are employed illegally, and that employer pays no Social Security,
either. Are these employers not violating the law, and at the
same time, directly contributing to the flow of immigrants into
this country? This is not a simple question, of course, but employment
of illegals is surely a two-way street. -eeb
6/2: Amazed at hostility
of Georgia DOT toward commuter rail
Editor, the Forum:
I never cease to be amazed at the hostility of the Georgia DOT and
its puppets in the Legislature against commuter rail. The cheap
shot at the end of the legislative session trying to freeze all
action on the proposed Lovejoy route (and any future routes) when
the Legislature had already approved funding, not once but twice,
is beyond contempt. No doubt this action was taken at the request
of the DOT.
I've previously encountered the open hostility of the Georgia DOT.
A few years ago I attended a breakfast meeting where the DOT was
to discuss the relocation of a couple of intersections here in Loganville.
I was asked to attend the meeting on behalf of the congregation
of the church that I attend, as we will be impacted by the relocation
when/if it takes place.
As I said, the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the highway
changes, but the DOT representative ended up with a tirade against
commuter rail, which was not even on the agenda and had nothing
to do with the subject at hand.
Among the things he said were that, in spite of the fact that commuter
rail had consumed some-odd amount of money (don't remember the figure,
but it was apparently money used for feasibility studies), rail
transport carried "only five percent" of the commuters.
Also, he made dire predictions of trains "blazing through Winder
and Lawrenceville at 80 miles per hour."
At this point I stood up and stopped him, telling him that I was
a former railroader and I knew that the track speed (maximum allowable
speed) on the Atlanta-Athens line was only 60 mph, and that they
had allowed the Silver Comet, when it was running, only 75 mph.
The commuter trains would be either slowing to or accelerating from
a stop and would likely not be exceeding 40 mph or so within the
limits of these cities. I suggested that he confine his remarks
to subjects on which he was knowledgeable, railroading obviously
not being one of these.
He complied, and said nothing else about commuter rail.
And by the way, we have no commuter trains in the state of Georgia,
and according to his figures, we're hauling five percent of the
commuters. Can you imagine what we could do if we actually had commuter
trains?
-- Robert H. Hanson, Loganville
UPCOMING
County needs poll workers for 2006 elections
Gwinnett County needs dedicated citizens to serve as poll workers
at upcoming elections on July 18, August 8, November 7, and December
5. With 150 precincts, it takes several thousand poll workers to
staff an election, according to Elections Supervisor Lynn Ledford.
"We especially need poll workers at seven precincts located
in Norcross, Duluth, Buford, Dacula and Lawrenceville," Ledford
said, "but there are openings for clerks countywide. Poll officials
must be legal U.S. citizens, residents of Gwinnett County, at least
18 years old, and with no felony convictions or mental incompetence
adjudications.
Application forms are available online at www.gwinnettcounty.com
under Departments then Elections, or in person at the Elections
office on the third floor of the Gwinnett Justice and Administration
Center at 75 Langley Drive in Lawrenceville. Or those interested
could contact Elections Associate Robin White at (770) 822-8787
or by email at Robin.White@gwinnettcounty.com
with questions.
Poll managers are paid $250 for their service, while assistant
managers earn $165 and clerks get $110. All poll workers must report
to their polls by 6 a.m. on election day and work the whole day.
Poll managers and an assistant must deliver the votes to Lawrenceville
in person that evening. Meals are not provided.
NOTABLE
County water main repair could save thousands
For the past few weeks, residents in the western part of the County
may have noticed work crews poking around hydrants and meters along
streets and highways. They're out there for a good reason - as part
of the Department of Water Resources (DWR) leak detection survey
project. The survey called "Project Saving Water, Saving Money"
needed a clear picture of where leaks from the drinking water system
are occurring. Two crews are moving across Gwinnett using special
equipment to "listen" for leaks. Within the first six
weeks of the survey (through the end of April), they've found a
quite a few.
While most of the leaks have been fairly small, one found in northwest
Gwinnett was leaking nearly 18,000 gallons a day into a nearby storm
drain. At that rate, it would take less than two months for a million
gallons of water to flow out of the system. The leak was repaired
upon its discovery.
DWR Engineer George Kaffezakis, who is heading up the project, said,
"Essentially, we're trying to increase the level of service
to our customers. A leak here or there may not seem like a big deal,
but it adds up and ultimately we all pay for it. Plus we still have
to focus on water conservation. The state allows Gwinnett to withdraw
only so much water from Lake Lanier, so it just makes sense not
to waste it. We'll also be better prepared for future droughts."
Project Saving Water, Saving Money offers other benefits as well.
It's helping DWR verify the accuracy of its existing maps of the
water distribution system and will prepare the department for future
repairs. The survey also fits the Metropolitan North Georgia Water
Planning District (MNGWPD) water conservation goals. The MNGWPD
expects all 16 metro Atlanta counties comprising the district to
conduct this type of study. Gwinnett will be one of the first to
evaluate its entire system as a single project.
Project Saving Water, Saving Money will continue until mid-2007.
By the end of it, the crews will have checked more than 3,300 miles
of pipe, 34,000 valves, and 36,000 hydrants. DWR will set priorities
for repairing the leaks based on the results of the survey. Higher
priority leaks may be repaired while the survey is going on. Leaks
don't just affect pipes, they also take their toll on the treatment
plants and pumps that send the water into the distribution system.
Fixing leaks helps reduce equipment maintenance and keeps plants
at their current capacity longer. DWR estimates that finding and
fixing the leaks could result in savings of $100,000 to $300,000
in treatment costs per year.
A dedicated phone line has been set up for the duration of the
project. Residents with questions or concerns can call (678) 376-7155.
They can also find additional information on the project on the
County's website at www.gwinnettcounty.com.
RECOMMENDATION
- An invitation: What
Web sites, books or restaurants have you enjoyed? Send us your
best recent visit to a restaurant or most recent book you have
read along with a short paragraph as to why you liked it, plus
what book you plan to read next. --eeb
GEORGIA
TIDBIT
Third parties played pivotal role in Georgia
since 1948
Since World War II, third
parties in Georgia have played pivotal roles in elections. In
1948, the pro-segregation States' Rights Democratic "Dixiecrat"
Party nominee Strom Thurmond received 20.3 percent of the vote in
Georgia in his bid for U.S. president.
Thurmond garnered a higher percentage of votes in Georgia than
in any of the other eight states in which he appeared on the ballot
as the Dixiecrat Party nominee, although his vote percentages were
higher in the four states (Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina,
and Louisiana) where he was the nominee of the Democratic Party.
In 1968, George Wallace won four states, including Georgia, as
the presidential nominee of the American Party. Wallace also won
his home state of Alabama as the nominee of the Democratic Party.
He won Georgia's electoral votes with a plurality (42.8 percent)
of the vote.
In 1980, independent presidential candidate John Anderson nearly
failed to qualify for the ballot in Georgia. Anderson received 6.6
percent of the national vote in the 1980 presidential election but
only 2.3 percent in Georgia.
After a period of inactivity, third parties emerged as political
players in Georgia politics during the 1990s, as the state electorate
became more evenly divided between the Democratic and Republican
parties. In 1992 and 1996, the U.S. Senate candidates of the pro-civil
liberties and free market Libertarian Party received enough votes
to prevent the leading major party candidates from receiving a majority
of the vote. In fact, the three percent Libertarian vote for U.S.
Senate in 1992 forced Democrat Wyche Fowler and Republican Paul
Coverdell into Georgia's first general-election runoff for statewide
office.
After the 1992 election, the Georgia legislature passed a law lowering
the vote-percentage threshold required for the top candidate to
avoid a general election runoff from 50 to 45. This change in the
law allowed Democrat Max Cleland to avoid a general-election runoff
for U.S. Senate in 1996, even though he received less than 50 percent
of the vote because of the presence of a Libertarian on the ballot.
The Libertarian Party has retained political-body status in every
general election since 1988. The Reform Party earned political body
status in 1996 because of Ross Perot's 6.4 percent of the vote for
president in Georgia, but the party failed to receive enough votes
in the 1998 elections to retain the status
THOUGHT
OF THE DAY
Hundred years ago,
Americans were doing what we do today
"Too many people spend money they haven't earned, to buy things
they don't want, to impress people they don't like."
-- Will Rogers, via David Earl Tyre, Jesup.
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