The Stockbridge City Council denied a rezoning request for 7.35 acres off Spivey Road and Hwy. 138 for the purpose of a public self-storage facility. The vote came at its October 8 regular meeting.
Henry County Planning & Zoning officials recommended approval of the change from C-2 (general commercial) to C-3 (heavy commercial) but the city’s Planning Commission and staff disagreed with that assessment and recommended denial, assistant city manager Camilla Moore told council members.
A staff report noted the presence of adjacent properties zoned residential and developed with single-family homes. Two speakers representing separate residential neighborhoods totaling nearly 300 homes expressed their opposition to the request. The motion to deny passed 5-0.
In other business, the council voted to approve a $151,083 project regarding playground equipment at two separate city parks. According to a staff report, the city will solicit qualified contractors to provide the purchase of, set-up and removal/installation of Americans with Disabilities Act-approved equipment at Gardner Park on East Atlanta Road as well as Memorial Park on Jennings Way. The document approved by the council stipulated that the contractor must have at least ten years of experience in the playground equipment industry. The project is being funded by the city’s SPLOST revenue.
Roger Custin was appointed to the Downtown Development Authority. That vote came after the council’s executive session.
During public comment time, several council members welcomed new economic development director James Touchton to the city’s staff. He was officially appointed September 28 at a special called meeting. Touchton was previously the director of policy and government affairs for the Council for Quality Growth for more than six years, and he spent five years in the Georgia Senate Research Office as a senior policy analyst and advisor. Touchton received his undergraduate and master’s degrees from Kennesaw State University, where he remains active on several boards. In addition, he is the current president of the Board for Advance Atlanta and serves on the Town Center Alliance Advisory Board. He is a graduate of the Georgia Academy for Economic Development.
