2007 Milton GA Municpal Election Hinged on Sewer and Development
categories: Milton Real Estate, Stuff I like to talk about
Every election has a few contentious issues and time and again it is the issue of sewer (and the related issue of development) that surfaces in Milton. Every candidate running this year said they were opposed to extending sewer into Milton, but that didn’t matter much to the voters. They clearly decided that one camp of candidates, lead by Julie Zahner Bailey, would do a better job protecting Milton against over development and dealing with the development that is needed.
Results of 2007 City of Milton Municipal Election
Last year it was a bunch of independent, unaffiliated individuals running for six seats. This year, in order to get the city council on a revolving schedule, only three seats up up for re-election. However, these three incumbents now had a record to run on – or against depending on your point of view.
What was interesting in this election was that no longer were we faced with selecting an individual from a pool of other unknown individuals. This time, the candidates self selected themselves into obvious camps. For a non-partisan election, it felt like there were definitely two parties: those “against the Mayor” and those “with the Mayor” for lack of a better taxonomy. The “against the Mayor” candidates were incumbents O’Brien, Mohrig and by association, Santi.
Candidates “with the Mayor” were incumbents Zahner-Bailey and by association with Zahner-Bailey, newbies Burt Hewitt and Alan Tart. More than anything though, this election was a referendum on Zahner-Bailey. She was clearly the target of the “against the Mayor” camp.
| District | Name | Votes | Pct |
|
2 |
Bailey (i) | 2,125 | 62% |
|
2 |
Santi |
1,322 | 38% |
|
4 |
Hewitt | 2,061 | 60% |
|
4 |
O’Brien (i) | 1,358 | 40% |
|
6 |
Tart | 1,875 | 55% |
|
6 |
Mohrig (i) | 1,525 | 45% |
With no doubt she has a polarizing approach and with no doubt she is stubborn and unbending in her beliefs. But also with no doubt, she has the best organized, best run, most professional campaign organization in the area. She is informed on the issues, whether you agree with her or not, she can communicate a position and she stays on topic. She has the best grass roots organization, too. Finally, she campaigns on the issues and not on personalities; she stays “positive” but defends herself when attacked. She has found a winning formula.
The results of this election speak volumes: It wasn’t even close. In an election where people said that Zahner-Bailey was in for the fight of her life, she won 62% of the vote. Although Hewitt and Tart didn’t win as widely, they still won handily and mostly have their association with Zahner Bailey to thank. Coat tails in a Milton municipal election? You betcha.
What does this have to do with Milton real estate, you ask?
Almost everything. The main campaign issue was, and will be for the foreseeable future, development (and its offshoot issue, traffic). Development has everything to do with real estate and housing.
Milton is different than any other area in North Fulton or the north side of Atlanta for that matter. The difference is density. Milton has scattered neighborhoods mixed with horse farms and some remaining agricultural land. The neighborhoods that are in Milton have large lots, one acre minimum. The reason for the large lots is that the area does not have sewer and Fulton County requires at least an acre for the septic system. This single fact has led to Milton’s distinction and is also the underlying source of all political and economic debates.
Because of the role of sewer – or the lack there of – in shaping the rural character of Milton, support or opposition to expanding sewer into Milton has become equated with being for or against development. The logic is simple: sewer allows developers to build higher density. The proof is everywhere. Look at any other suburban neighborhood, whether in Alpharetta, Roswell, Johns Creek or elsewhere in America. The standard is a quarter acre lot or even less in some places.
In Milton, you have to look no further than The Manor, which has a private sewer system, to see the result of a sewered subdivision. The Manor is a beautiful neighborhood with unbelievable houses and great amenities - and did I mention the Tom Watson golf course? However, the lots are smaller, the privacy less and the rural flavor minimized.
In some ways, though, sewer is a red herring. I can make a strong argument on environmental grounds that public sewer is better that private septic. For one, waste water is returned to the watershed not dispersed to the water table. In general septic was not designed for suburban use and even today its use on some projects / lots raises makes me wonder. Think about our building elementary schools, high schools and some new light commercial like at Birmingham Crossroads all on septic, let alone shoulder to shoulder homes in neighborhoods stacked next to each other.
The argument, though, is that the no sewer issue has effectively kept development at bay while zoning alone could not do that. What if Milton had a residential zoning requirement irrespective of sewer or septic that said residential lots had to be a minimum of one acre? Would that be strong enough to prevent higher density development? Intellectually you might say yes, but there is always the appeal for a variance and we all know that physical / structural barriers are harder to break than legislated ones.
I’m sure everyone has gone on a diet at some point. Did you empty the freezer of all the ice cream when you started? Was it easier to stay on your diet once you removed the temptation? Better yet, it is even easier to stay on the diet if you go to a “fat farm.” That creates a structural barrier between you and your refrigerator. Better yet, some people even have their stomachs stapled. Now that is a physical barrier! No sewer is the same for Milton. Do we have the collective will power to stay on a low density diet?
I’m a realtor and you’d think I might be unabashedly in favor of building more homes. That would give me more to sell right? But I also consider myself a thoughtful person (and a conservationist) and fundamentally believe in preserving – and growing – the value of what we have while thoughtfully building new to compliment the existing.
When I’m showing clients around Milton, for the most part, they all love it. “Gee, I love the hills.” “Gee, I love the trees.” “Gee, I love the open feel.” “Gee, I love the green space.”
I hesitate on the “I love the green space” because while Milton does have lots of trees and open spaces, those trees and open space are PRIVATE PROPERTY that you have the pleasure of enjoying. Those private individuals could sell their land to a developer tomorrow and we’d have the next neighborhood.
Milton does not have any PUBLIC space to speak of in the midst of all this “green space.” Unless some of that space is taken out of the private market it will one day be developed. Look at the east side of GA-400 for evidence. Milton doesn’t really have a park system, certainly nothing compared to Roswell or Alpharetta and until some true public open space is created, the no sewer ideology is what people believe is their best defense of what they have now.
I know that if allowed to run its course, one day, some day, every square inch of Milton will be developed save for the rogue horse owner somewhere who just refuses to sell. In the nine years my family has lived in what is now Milton, there are easily twice as many single family homes than when we moved here.
Is full development what we want? According to the election results: No. Milton is still unique in what it offers and has a huge opportunity to define its future. It is clear that people want to retain the rural flavor. It is unclear how we preserve it in a land of private property.
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Hi Kevin,
The People of Milton spoke up loud and clear against sewer coming in but mostly against those politicians that were bringing down our city by their dishonesty and political or financial gain - and as we say in the South - all the “ugliness”. Now we can finaly get on track with more important things like taking care of the community, our environment, our peace of mind and the People of Milton, in the most beautiful place to live in NW Fulton!! Thanks for you blog.
Best Regards,
Patti Silva
Hi Kevin,
I haven’t touched on the races yet, but, Milton will definitely be forced to face growing pains in years to come. Here is the quadary. One reason Milton is great is because of the horses and the lifestyle that belongs with that mentality. People WANT that type of place to live - until they get there and then they will want to forego the benefits of wonderful private greenspace and instead complain about the side effects of horses and the like. There was a recent write up in the AJC about this very issue. I hope that Milton can stay strong on this because if they don’t, higher density is sure to follow and the magnificent community will be no more.
Kevin,
I’m pretty certain that if I were in the market for Milton real estate, your blog would be one I would frequent. This article was very in-depth with a ton of pertinent information affecting Milton homeowners.