Two rezonings for proposed new hotels were approved October 14 by the Stockbridge City Council at its regular monthly meeting.

  A rezoning from C-2 (general commercial) to C-3 (heavy commercial district) for a 1.268-acre site on Country Club Drive is reportedly to pave the way for a Holiday Inn Express. According to a city staff report, the applicant proposes to develop a five-story hotel with 77 rooms, along with an outdoor pool, indoor fitness center, business center and small conference center for private business meetings.

  The applicant wants to develop the hotel primarily to serve his own needs, according to the report, because the company hosts numerous educational seminars and training sessions for health care representatives in the adjacent medical building to the west, at 160 Country Club Drive. The request was carried over from the council’s September meeting agenda. No one in the audience spoke in opposition to the project.

  A 3.545-acre tract at 2725 Patrick Henry Parkway is expected to be the site of a Tru-Hilton hotel. The rezoning is from C-2 (general commercial) to C-3 (heavy commercial district) and the applicant plans to develop a five-story structure with 98 rooms, an outdoor pool, an indoor fitness center, a business center, and a small conference room for private business meetings along Patrick Henry Parkway, according to a city staff report. The request was carried over from the council’s September meeting agenda. No one in the audience spoke in opposition to the project.

  In other business, a request to rezone 20.367 acres behind an adjacent to the Walmart retail complex on Hudson Bridge Road was withdrawn during the council’s Oct. 14 regular meeting. The proposal was for rezoning to MUND (mixed-use neighborhood residential district) to develop a mix of 138 townhomes and a couple of acres of commercial uses. A motion to table the request died for lack of a second, and during the public hearing a representative of the applicant informed city staff that he received a text message from the applicant asking to withdraw the request.

  The council voted unanimously to approve an ordinance amendment establishing interim standards for businesses impacted by the city’s current moratorium. Tire shops, vape shops, thrift or consignment shops and used appliance shops will be limited to three permits each unless the city’s population exceeds 30,000 residents, after which one new license can be permitted for every 5,000 residents above the 30,000 threshold. For the above business types as well as hair salon/barber shops, nail salons, pawn/lending shops, auto shops and tattoo shops, no new permits will be granted for a business within one mile of another existing business of the same type. The amended ordinance also specifies new guidelines for places of assembly and their proposed locations.

  Also approved was a bid award to Stewart Brothers, Inc. for $1,322,458.32 in roadway resurfacing work. That amount includes $291,306.61 in funding from a Georgia Department of Transportation grant as well as $381,151.71 from SPLOST revenue. The remaining $650,000 was previously approved to be taken from the city’s fund balance.

  The council approved an amendment to the city’s Gateway Beautification contract with CGL Facility Management, modifying the scope of services (Walt Stephens Road, Old Atlanta Road, Flippen Road, Davidson Parkway, East Atlanta Road) and increasing the overall estimated contract amount to $200,000 annually. Also approved was a $126,250 agreement with the Pond Company for construction program management on the city’s $2.1 million project to build a new public works administrative building. This is being funded by the city’s SPLOST revenue.

  An amendment of zoning conditions adopting design standards for the Jodeco Crossing site, which is zoned PTD (planned town development) was approved as well as an amendment to the boundaries of the Highway Overlay District, which now includes Patrick Henry Parkway, Country Club Drive, Flippen Road, Walt Stephens Road, Mt. Zion Parkway, and the Campground Road Extension.

  The council approved the purchase of a 2019 Ford Expedition from Legacy Ford for the fire marshal along with specific upgrades to be installed, with the total cost at $55,243.