Jasper City Council extends moratorium on residential rezoning

City Council
City Council extends moratorium

PICKENS, Ga. — The Jasper City Council extended their moratorium on residential rezoning Monday evening. The moratorium, which will expire in June of this year, is the city’s latest move to tackle a growing concern over increased development in rural communities. Like many municipalities in the surrounding area, the City Council is already in the process of reviewing and proposing changes to the city’s zoning ordinances.

Resolution No. 2022-02, entitled Extension to Temporary Moratorium, was passed by the council on Feb. 7.  The resolution will extend the temporary moratorium adopted on Aug. 26, 2021 for an additional 90 days.

In part, the resolution reads:

“WHEREAS, The Jasper Water Plant and the Waste Water Treatment Plant are nearing their maximum permitted capacity, and the City Council has approved several extensive developments that will utilize further capacity at said plants;

WHEREAS, the City of Jasper, Georgia is experiencing extremely strong residential growth, and which necessitates review, study, and modification of residential densities and in order to adequately plan for and serve the residents of the City;

WHEREAS, The City Council of the City of Jasper, Georgia, in order to facilitate controlled residential growth within the City and to update the zoning ordinance, adopted on August 26, 2021 a temporary moratorium as to all rezonings, rezoning applications and building permits related to residential rezonings until March 1, 2022 to draft and enact modified residential provisions within the zoning ordinance;

WHEREAS, the complexity of drafting modified residential provisions and the development of a comprehensive plan of regulations necessitates a ninety (90) day extension to the moratorium.”

Speaking on the resolution, City Attorney David Syfan said, “This is just to give the committee additional time to be able to make any informed recommendation to the council for the needed changes.” Syfan also noted that the moratorium and review process should result in amendments to Jasper’s zoning ordinances. The newly extended moratorium will end June 1, 2022.

Other Business

Mayor Steve Lawrence was absent from the Feb. 7 meeting but attended virtually. Mayor Pro Tem Kirk Raffield, who led the meeting in the mayor’s absence, confirmed that Mayor Lawrence had tested positive for COVID-19.

The council also approved a purchase sale agreement between the City of Jasper and Jasper’s Downtown Development Authority. The agreement would transfer Perrow Park back into the city’s ownership. Ownership of the park, as City Manager Sonia Jammes explained, would allow the city “to demolish some of the structures on the property that are unsafe for our citizens.” Jasper’s City Attorney  also noted that the city will be obligated to pay off outstanding loans on the park property. A joint meeting between the city and the Jasper DDA will be held on Feb. 15, 2022 to authorize the purchase sale agreement.

New City of Jasper Fire Department and Certificate of Occupancy fee schedules were also approved by the council.

Larger size developments continue to draw concerns in region

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JASPER, Ga. – Expansion, Developments, Density, Population, Zoning, Regulations, Restrictions, and Urbanization have all been connected terms used in a hot topic across the region in recent days, especially in Pickens and Gilmer Counties.

Citizens have gone so far in Gilmer County as to protest larger developments and some have banded together in the Keep Gilmer Rural (KGR) group. Pickens County has also seen  citizens speak out against developments and subdivisions. Citizens are reaching out this weekend in concerns over what is reported as 270 apartments being developed just off of Highway 515. This development is currently moving through the governmental process and should be voted on by the Jasper City Council tomorrow, October 4, 2021.

But citizens aren’t waiting passively, instead voicing concerns to council members and to media outlets like FYN about issues of water and location.

The Jasper City Council has yet to post the agenda for the meeting, but FYN’s current understanding is that the item will be discussed at the meeting and voted on.

Developments

The KGR group organized a protest in Gilmer County before a Planning and Zoning Meeting debating over large developments in August 2021.

Gilmer residents having voiced concerns over developments, spoken in meetings and online, and even protested against the issue, saw the Gilmer Board of Commissioners look to changes for future developments of larger size. Those changes are on delayed implementation, but the Commissioners have gone through several monthly meetings and even special called meetings deliberating the issue and listening to repeated calls for action of certain issues from numerous different people.

Some citizens in Gilmer are even watching the Jasper City Council on this current issue to see the outcome of its close neighbor due to the similar issues with developments and citizens wanting to keep their county/city more “rural.” After the KGR Protest in Gilmer in August, several people online called for similar action in their areas, even commenting from Gilmer’s northern neighbor Fannin County.

Still others are commenting online about the populations of these counties and the need for something more. Some have spoken in meetings as well. Other comments call out people who are speaking at as people who move to these rural counties and are the same ones asking local leaders to “lock the doors behind them.”

While a Board of Commissioners does not affect or dictate ordinances within city limits and a City Council, likewise, does not dictate outside the city limits, the two entities of Gilmer’s BOC and Jasper’s City Council do operate on similar structures having zonings and developments like this go before a zoning board for recommendations before they give a final vote.

The Jasper City Council meeting will be held at City Hall at 6 p.m. tomorrow, October 4, 2021.

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