Archive for the 'Local Affairs' Category
Rural Charm, Brain Tumors and Private Property Rights
categories: Local Affairs, Milton Real Estate, Stuff I like to talk about
A Tree Grows in Milton
Actually three trees….and they are made of steel. Many of you may be aware of T-Mobile’s plans to locate three new cell towers in the city of Milton.
The locations and towers proposed are:
149′ Tower on 10 acres at 2880 Mountain Rd
154′ Tower on 26 acres at 14495 Hopewell Rd (Seven Gables Farm)
154′ Tower on 52 acres at 13340 New Providence Rd.
On January 13th there was an informational question and answer meeting held at Milton City Hall. There T-Mobile provided photos of the three locations with renderings of the towers in each photo. These renderings were made from balloon tests, to determine how visible each tower would be from various vantage points. Since that meeting there has been some uproar about how citizens of Milton can stop this from happening. Groups want city officials to deny T-Mobile and the property owners a permit to install the towers, pressuring them with future votes. They dispute T-Mobile’s business case that coverage is lacking or simply suggest that T-Mobile customers can just switch to a different carrier.
The Issues
There are 2 main concerns that residents have with the cell towers, the first of which is that the towers will ruin the rural charm and pastoral views of our fledgling city. On a search of cell towers within a 4 mile radius of my community, a cell tower search site revealed that their are 26 tower locations. It surprised me that there are that many, I can think of 2 that I have seen. I guess they blend in or I just don’t pay attention to them. I know of one behind the Union restaurant on Providence Rd. that is made to look like a pine tree. It doesn’t look like a real tree, of course, but looks better than a silver metal pole.
The other concern some have are the unknown dangers of radiation from the antennas. A quick Google search will reveal websites that say there has not been enough research to be conclusive but we risk health effects ranging from reduced immune system competence and mood swings to brain tumors and leukemia. With over 4 billion cell phone users in the world and over 270 million cell phones in the US; dangers from an antenna a quarter of a mile away seem infinitesimal at best, especially when seemingly everyone in the world is running around with their phone pressed to the side of their heads. I don’t know of anyone planning to get rid of their cell phone, do you?
Don’t Tread on Me
The one issue that hasn’t seem to come up though is private property rights. The owners of the three sites have the right, as property owners, to: rent, sell, mortgage or develop their property - as long as it is within the constraints of zoning restrictions. Just like, thankfully, all Milton residents have the right to voice their concerns at the council meetings. We have a process and by-and-large it seems to work. My concern is that if the City Council votes to deny the permit simply because some people don’t like the towers, then the Milton City Council Members would be voting against private property rights . In my mind, that is theft. The property owner who had the rights to develop or profit from their land is now prevented from doing so, in spite of meeting the zoning laws that are in effect.
What comes next? Then any group of homeowners can get together to have that horse-farm get rid of their horses because the manure stinks. That small business owner that grows orchids on his agricultural land might have to cease and desist because his greenhouses aren’t ascetically pleasing to some. I’m sorry private property owner, but I don’t want you to sell your land to a developer to build more homes - I like the rural charm of your pastures. Oh, but don’t let your horse manure pile up or it will offend me. Never mind the fact that you were here years before my home was built and changed the rural view from your house.
Even though I think that we’ll all get used to the towers being there - just like we have with the hundreds of other towers that surround us, I agree that a cell tower is not an attractive addition to the landscape. We should be working to make the towers that do go in as unobtrusive as possible. If that means making it look like a tree, then we should be pushing T-Mobile to do that. But I hope we didn’t become the City of Milton so we can take away private property rights.
“The right of property is the guardian of every other right, and to deprive a people of this, is in fact to deprive them of their liberty.” Arthur Lee, “An Appeal to the Justice and Interests of the People of Great Britain, in the Present Dispute with America” (1775)
Posted by Bob Strader | Currently 3 Comments »
New Bethany High School Plans Introduced
categories: Alpharetta Real Estate, Local Affairs, Local Information, Milton Real Estate, Schools
If you didn’t have a chance to attend the community meeting last week to review the proposed site plans for a new high school in Milton, you will want to review the information below. This is a first draft, not a final proposal, that was shown to the community by the architects, CGLS Architects, and by Fulton County Schools. CGLS is the same firm that designed the new Johns Creek High School and due to the short time-frame that they have to finalize a design for the new high school, they will be working with something along the lines of the Johns Creek High School plans.
The site is located at the corner of Bethany Bend and Cogburn, across from Kings Ridge, on a 64.48 acre site. Approximately 25 of those acres will remain undisturbed due to some wetlands, stream buffers which flow intermittently, and an existing pond that will remain intact. It will take 24 months to build and will be open for the 2012 school year.
There were quite a few residents in attendance and many questions were brought up (no shortage of opinions by any means!), some of which I’ll share with you, but first I’ll give you the short list of what is proposed:
Key Points of Interest
- Enrollment: 1,900
- School size: 327,640 sq. ft
- 600 - 700 parking spaces for cars, 24 for buses
- 600 seat performing arts theater
- 200 seat gymnasium w/ raised 3-lane running track
- 5 tennis courts
- Baseball field w/ batting cages
- Sports stadium which will accommodate 2500 home and 1200 visitor attendees
- Softball field
- A separate practice field
- A band practice area
Student Population and Redistricting
I had to chuckle at the first question from the crowd when a gentleman stood up and asked "where on that plan will the trailers go?". As you probably know, trailers are an issue at some of the schools in North Fulton and certainly not unique to schools all around Atlanta. This is a local sore subject I mentioned in an earlier post regarding redistricting and trailers at Cogburn Woods . The answer was reassuring, and hopefully accurate. When this school opens and pulls students who would have otherwise attended Milton or Alpharetta High Schools, there will be no requirement for trailers at any of these schools for some time to come.
The last question led into the next obvious question regarding redistricting and who will be allowed to remain at the other schools. The answer is rising 10th, 11th and 12th grade students can choose to remain at the High School they are already attending but parents will have to provide transportation to that school. Redistricting meetings will take place in the spring of 2011 and the final lines will be drawn by August 2011. Families impacted by the redistricting will be notified by that winter and the spring of 2012. Fulton County Schools has a Redistricting page on their website for additional information.
Other Questions from the community
Another big question had to do with potential access from Hwy 9 in order to minimize traffic on Bethany and Cogburn. A good question but with all commercial property along that side of the school property it isn’t an option. However, the plan does provide for an entrance off both Bethany and Cogburn for drop-off and pick-up which will ease traffic concerns on those roads.
From there the questions ranged from wanting the school to have a look and feel that will mirror our rural, equestrian community to a concern over the distance from the locker rooms to the softball field. With no vehicle access to the softball field, kids will have to carry their equipment too far. Hmmm… maybe the school should be a barn and the kids can ride horses to the stadium.Ok, I’m just kidding….
Some of the other questions or comments had to to with: The cafeteria being too small to feed that many children, why isn’t there a swimming pool, why isn’t it a 3-story building instead of a 2-story building, will the school be built by Americans or illegal aliens, how long will it take to acquire books for the library, will the sports programs and band programs be in place at the beginning or be built from scratch. I have to give Katie Reeves, our district representative from Fulton County Schools, credit for breathing common sense back into the conversation when the discussion would go a little astray. As she pointed out, the principle is hired one year out from opening. Teachers, staff, sports and band programs and operations will all be worked out in advance in order to have a fully prepared and operating school from day one.
What about Money?
With declining tax revenues a question was raised about building costs. Katie Reeves pointed out that while SPLOST revenues were down over $6 Million, building and material costs were down significantly and would "save the day" allowing for the school to be built within budget. We were assured that teacher and staff salaries were in the budget when a question was raised about hiring quality teaches in light of the recent teaching layoffs and staff cuts. Oddly this was the only question of the night regarding education…
It’s great that we have such overwhelming community involvement from local parents and certainly you can’t please everyone but I’m sure the school will be something we will all be proud to have our children attend. You can see the full presentation from that evening on the Fulton County Schools site. If you missed the meeting and have some ideas about what was discussed we would like to hear from you. Tell us what your thoughts or concerns are. Or better yet, what do you think we should name this school?
Posted by Bob Strader | Currently No Comments »
Shaping the Future Of Milton Town Center
categories: Crabapple, Local Affairs, Local Information, Milton Real Estate, Stuff I like to talk about
“We shape our buildings…thereafter, they shape us”. It may seem odd to open this post with a quote from Winston Churchill but it has a lot to do with what local developer J.T. Adams is trying to achieve with his proposed plans for a City of Milton Town Center and gives us some insight into his philosophy of how communities should be designed.
Another way to look at it would from the perspective of James Kunstler. An outspoken critic of suburban sprawl, his view that “…public spaces should be inspired centers of civic life and the physical manifestation of the common good. Instead, he argues, what we have in America is a nation of places not worth caring about”. Public spaces should have an active and permeable outer edge where people go in-and-out. In-and-out of shops, stores, restaurants. These are places where people want to be, where they are drawn to.
A little over 3 years ago the City of Milton was born and much has happened with the local real estate market and development over that time. There are more than a few subdivision graveyards out there and while no one is benefiting from the downturn, the development and density in the area would be drastically different had this downturn not happened.
So, the question is, how do we plan to move forward while keeping the City’s Vision Statement in mind, “..embracing our small town life while preserving and enhancing our rural character”. What J.T. Adams proposes, right in the heart of Crabapple, is to remove high density residential and put in its place a city center that would be part of a walkable community surrounded by dozens of unique shops, restaurants and well positioned parks with monuments, mature landscaping and water features. There is an opportunity to create something that would not only embody what I feel the City of Milton should be but to rival the small city centers around us, like Alpharetta and Roswell.
In this setting will exist the new Milton City Hall, a 250-seat performing arts center, a new public library, small outdoor ampitheater and a bed-and-breakfast / events center. All this rather than dozens of high-density townhomes and over-supplied residential properties.
While this plan hasn’t been formally presented to the city, it has been presented at some Town Hall Meetings. We have an opportunity to get involved, provide feedback and be a part of what the City of Milton could become. Please share what you think the City Of Milton should look like.
Posted by Bob Strader | Currently 2 Comments »
Alpharetta Scores Culinary Coup with Whole Foods; Johns Creek Welcomes Super H Mart
categories: Alpharetta Real Estate, Johns Creek Real Estate, Local Affairs
They say that you can measure a town by the quality of its restaurants – and there are some decent places to eat in Alpharetta and Roswell. For instance, I enjoy Pure Tacqueria in downtown Alpharetta and think they have the best quacamole around. Plus they give you a ton of it.
However, if you live in the Atlanta area and you’re planning on having “a nice night on the town” you’re most likely going to head to Buckhead. From Alpharetta, that is a short 20–minute drive down GA-400.
Atlanta in general measures pretty well on the restaurant scale. But if you want to measure suburban areas like North Fulton, I think you are better off considering the grocery stores rather than the restaurants. After all, with a family of five, my family spends more of our time and money at the grocery store than in restaurants.
I’ve previously written about grocery stores in North Fulton. We have a Trader Joes, Harry’s Farmers Market, Fresh Market, Whole Foods and the ubiquitous Krogers and Publixes. The new development is that Whole Foods is planning on opening another store in Alpharetta to anchor the new (under development) Prospect Park at Old Milton Parkway and GA-400.
The existing Whole Foods in Johns Creek is an awesome store, but it is a hike for residents of Roswell, Alpharetta and Milton to get there. The newly proposed store will be the largest Whole Foods store to date and will have SIX restaurants inside.
Whole Foods was not originally planned for Prospect Park and its inclusion has created some changes in the traffic design. The “curb cut” to allow turning lanes needs to be extended and there is some issue with the Georgia Department of Transportation about changing the curbing so close to GA-400. The issue will not likely be resolved until after the new year when a new DOT administrator takes over, but all of us food lovers hope the bureaucrats don’t block the grass fed beef. 
Johns Creek also has a great new grocery store called Super H Mart that caters to the growing Asian population in that area. Located at Abbotts Bridge and HWY 141, the Jones Creek store has been open since June and complements the other Super H Mart in nearby Duluth.
It is a great family field trip during the weekend to explore all the variety. First of all, they have a restaurant section inside for lunch where you can eat Japanese, Korean, Chinese or Thai. Plus there is a bakery for desert. But what is most fun is that you can try to figure out what dragon fruit is or what you’d do with a durian. Of course, you can get your dried anchovies and squid (you can even sample it if you want) and you can get your fresh fish prepared any one of eight ways while you wait. And don’t forget your 50 lb. bag of rice!
The location of these new groceries in North Fulton is just another indicator of the demographics and future growth potential of the area. Even in this current business cycle, where real estate has been set back; the future prospects for North Fulton are still positive as evidenced by the decisions of the grocery chains like this.
Believe me, Whole Foods does its research before going into a market and they look for a number of indicators including percentage of college educated people, which is a nice way of saying people who have money to spend. Businesses like Whole Foods (Texas based and rated by Fortune Magazine as the #5 best company to work for) and Super H Mart (New York based) survey the entire country when looking for expansion opportunities and they have chosen North Fulton.
My stomach and I are glad they did.
Posted by Kevin Warmath | Currently 1 Comment »
Roswell Coasting — Downhill. Redevelopment Remains Divisive Issue
categories: Local Affairs, Roswell Real Estate
I had a fourth grade teach who used to say to all us pre-pubescent know-it-alls in the class: “The only way to coast is downhill.” As much as I hated that teacher’s proddings, I think she would be gratified to know that I still remember that singular lesson over thirty years later.
The same is true of the City of Roswell. It is coasting, and the only way to coast is downhill.
No Gripe = No Change
Roswell Mayor Jere Wood spoke at our brokerage today and essentially his message was that most Roswell citizens are content with their situation in life. Roswell has always ranked high on those magazine surveys of “Best Places to Live in the U.S.” and also boasts the 18th lowest crime rate as measured by some sort of FBI crime statistic. Roswell is one of only fifty cities in the U.S. with a AAA bond rating. But that is all marketing.
Mayor Wood recounted several anecdotal stories about the will of the citizenry. Most telling was his story of attending a neighborhood meeting regarding the Roswell East project to have the residents tell him that they liked things just they way they were. They liked the level of service they received. They liked their lifestyle. They felt safe, and they didn’t want their property to appreciate too much because they would have to pay more property tax!
Wood said that at that point he knew the Roswell East project was dead. Without some sort of civil malady, no change was going to occur. “Change is hard when people are happy with what they have.” So, Roswell coasts on.
The Mayor, for his part, is not a coaster. He recognizes that many changes need to be made to address the aging of the city. However, he seemed resigned to the fact that the citizenry is not ready for it yet. He said that eventually “market forces” would take care of it.
Perhaps things haven’t gotten bad enough yet – and there is certainly no political will on the City Council to beat the market forces to the punch. Wood stopped short, though, of throwing the City Council under the proverbial bus as much as the rifts between Council and Mayor are well publicized. Wood took the high road and simply stated that the Council merely represents the opinion of the governed and that the people of Roswell are split on what to do about growth and aging related issues.
We Ain’t Getting Any Younger, Baby!
The biggest issue, besides traffic congestion, of course, is the decline of Roswell’s apartment buildings and shopping centers. This is evident with any drive down Roswell Road (Highway 9) or Holcomb Bridge Road (Highway 92). Many of these properties are now 30+ years old and many haven’t been maintained. Many are vacant. At this point they are the home of a more transient population, which in turn puts more strain on City police services and the Fulton County School System. Ester Jackson Elementary School has a student population turnover of 50% EACH YEAR.
There is some talk of redevelopment of the Frasier Street Apartments, which are the oldest in Roswell, but that is probably a year out and the property is still being assembled. The City has a plan for Roswell Square designed by Lew Oliver, who I’ve written about before here. The plan would include an 80 room hotel, parking garage and some condos. But other than that, there is little action on the redevelopment front and never has been.
This is mainly because redevelopment would likely mean mixed use development, which people seem to want. However, to support mixed use, densities would have to be twenty units per acre and City Council is not willing to entertain that high of a density. Right now, densities are about 6–8 units per acre. The fear is that higher density equates to more traffic and congestion. The alternative is that development occurs further and further north into Cherokee, Forsyth and Dawson counties, which means – you guessed it – MORE CONGESTION.
So, Roswell continues to coast along. Sure, Roswell is a nice place to live and it certainly has the best parks and recreation system around. But Roswell does feel old now, as one of my colleagues politely pointed out to the Mayor - and not because Roswell has a nice historic district. It feels old in the bad way, particularly compared to Alpharetta, Johns Creek and Cumming where there is so much shiny and new. Roswell can continue to coast, but it will only be downhill.
Posted by Kevin Warmath | Currently 2 Comments »
2008 Planned to be BIG Year for Alpharetta
categories: Alpharetta Real Estate, Local Affairs
As we all get ready to celebrate the start of 2007, Alpharetta has its eyes on a bigger prize: two-thousand and EIGHT! 2008 will not only be the sesquicentennial for Alpharetta but it will also be the year that three major new developments are planned to be completed.
These three developments will shape the next chapter in Alpharetta’s history and further establish Alpharetta as a destination city in north Fulton County.
The three new developments are Prospect Park, Encore Park and the Alpharetta City Center.
Prospect Park
Prospect Park is a $1Billion development in the northwest corner of the GA-400 and Old Milton Parkway intersection. The developer, Thomas Enterprises, had broken ground and dirt work is underway. Planned for the site are 750,000 sq ft of high-end retail, a “life style center” a.k.a. spa, and designer boutiques. The total retail will be about half of what NorthPoint Mall currently has.
Also included will be The Stanbury, a 140 room Georgian Revival style six-star hotel, the only one in the country. There will be 80 additional condos, starting at $1.5 million and there could be a second, less high-brow hotel.
The whole mixed use complex will have two towers, one 10 stories and the other 6 stories.
Encore Park
The second development is Encore Park, which is the amphitheater planned as the northern home of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. It is being planned by Cousins Development and will seat 12,000 people, twice what Chastain currently seats and may potentially have skyboxes.
There is also a Multi-Use Facility in the plans for smaller concerts, gallery showings and stag productions. This project is still in planning, though; and the public private partnership has not been solidified to start work.
Alpharetta City Center
The trifecta will be a new Alpharetta government complex. The existing City Hall will be razed and the entire block in the middle Alpharetta will be redeveloped with an acre-sized plaza and 53,000 sq ft of office space to consolidate all city offices.
Included in the development will also be 60,000 sq ft of street-level retail, not as high-end as Prospect Park, and 150 residential condos priced in the $200’s and $300’s. Two parking structures will round out the project.
Currently, the City is waiting for resolution of issues surrounding the Tax Allocation District before work can start, but that is expected to be resolved favorably in the very near term.
All three projects are expected (hoped??) to be completed by sometime in 2008. Parts of Westside Parkway will be completed as part of Prospect Park and will be completed in 2007. When everything is finished, many of the amenities that you now travel to Atlanta, Cobb County or New York City ;-> will now be available within your zip code, making Alpharetta a destination not only for work, but also for recreation, relaxation and shopping.
Posted by Kevin Warmath | Currently No Comments »
Voters Finally Have Their Say
categories: Johns Creek Real Estate, Local Affairs, Milton Real Estate
The Cities of Johns Creek and Milton finally have elected officials. Mike Bodker is Mayor of Johns Creek and Joe Lockwood is Mayor of Milton. Most people are just relieve that it is over.
It is not exactly news that Bodker is mayor since he was unopposed. However, in Milton, there was a heated race for mayor which turned out to be quite lopsided with Lockwood taking 59% of the vote. About 6,600 people voted in the Milton mayoral contest.
Most of the council races in Johns Creek were trouncings. There will be two runoffs for the Post 2 and Post 4 seats.
In Milton, three seats were contested. There will be runoffs in Districts 3 and 4. In District 2, Julie Baily just barely won a clean major to keep for having a runoff for that seat too.
For complete election results, see www.fultonelections.com.
The first Milton City Council meeting is scheduled for November 14 at 6PM at Milton High School. The new Milton City Hall will be located on Deerfield Parkway off Windward Parkway. All the property on the north side of Windward and west of GA-400 is in Milton.
Just a couple of closing notes on the election as we await the final runoffs: It was great to see all the conscientious candidates who had removed by today all the campaign signs along the roads and intersections.
I also always find voting interesting because it is one of the few times that the “old” and the “new” mix. I’ve lived in Milton for eight years and don’t consider myself a newcomer any more. However, in line to vote with me was a woman who has lived here for 26 years and before that lived in Roswell when there were only 4000 people in Roswell.
Most of the oldtimers seemed resigned to the changes that are taking place. You can’t keep development at bay forever. I overheard one older citizen say to his contemporary: “Yeah, I get offers on my land all the time…one of these days someone is going to make me an offer that I take.”
Oh, the challenges…the work has just begun. City Councils, we now have better control of our destiny. This is what we wanted; let’s not screw it up.
And by the way…can we fix the traffic problems? That is another blog post I suppose.
Posted by Kevin Warmath | Currently No Comments »
List of Candidates for Milton Mayor and City Council
categories: Local Affairs
Just for the record, because I haven’t been able to find it posted officially anywhere else, here is the list of candidates for elected office in Milton. The election is November 7. Here is a map of the council districts for reference.
| MAYOR | |
| DISTRICT 1 | |
| DISTRICT 2 | |
| DISTRICT 3 | |
| DISTRICT 4 | |
| DISTRICT 5 | |
| DISTRICT 6 | |
Posted by Kevin Warmath | Currently 2 Comments »
