NOTE - Any called meeting can occur upon 24 hours notice. Agenda is posted on the lobby bulletin board, but not always on City web site
Council meeting agendas can change, so the Public needs to monitor all meetings despite the upcoming holidays and Spring break vacations. The Planning and Zoning Board of Appeals denied a variance request (5-0) by the owner of 35 Williams Street property on February 28, 2008. The owner has the option to appeal the decision to Superior Court within 30 days.
The City has retained a consulting company, POND, to help draft a comprehensive plan for the next 22 years. This plan involves ideas for future redevelopment areas within the city limits and around the city. The comprehensive plan is considered completed, and it will move for outside review by the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) via the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) in December 2007.
Public meetings have been held October 2007, but lightly attended by citizens. Not all citizens know the results and the need for citizen input on POND survey. See Links below to ISSUES SURVEY and MAP of 12 PROPOSED NORCROSS DISTRICTS
A comprehensive plan is a planning tool that many cities use to decide on land use, desired growth and what types of business developments are desired. It is up to each city to decide its rate of growth, or if it wishes to maintain conservatively.
The comprehensive plan will evolve into a new land use plan and new zoning ordiances. If new types of business developments are desired, creating new zoning ordinances can attract them. The City has zoning authority where overlay districts do not. In other words, the County Community Improvement District (CID) cannot perform zoning authority as effectively as the City of Norcross.
Editorial note: It is the opinion of the SHN editorial staff that the October 2007 Pond plan is very aggressive for redevelopment in our very small city. We acknowledge that this plan could be appropriate for a city the size of Marietta.
Of the 12 (twelve) zones, only 2 areas remain, as we know them today. Per the COMP Plan map, the remaining two zones are:
Downtown business district (number 07), specifically Main Street.
Note: It is not clear if South Peachtree will remain as is, it is designated in a "Gateway, number 2" district.
Neighborhood Preservation (number 04), Neighborhoods north of the railroad, located Holcomb Bridge to North Peachtree to Medlock Bridge Road, with the inner residential streets backing to Peachtree Industrial.
Note: Many other neighborhoods are planned to change. Read below.
The 10 redevelopment zones (by relative numbers on the map) are:
The most dramatic changes:
Number 1 along Atlantic Blvd, Jimmy Carter Peachtree Industrial Blvd (PIB), to Holcomb Bridge. Plans are for a large-scale Employment Center/Office Building with underground garage, 10+ stories, like Perimeter Center. New housing options behind new building to Holcomb Bridge, which means remove existing office/warehouses. A planned community for entire area.
Number 12 at Beaver Ruin, Indian Trail and I-85. Planned development with parking garage, could be very high-rise in excess of 20 stories. Access to I85 is a prime advantage.
Number 10 at Buchannan School building called Education/Recreation Center on the COMP map. Relocate that school, move in a technical college, and move in a YMCA. Offer single medium density and townhomes around the school.
More commercial/office, less dramatic changes but new heights allowed:
Number 2 Gateway areas - new commercial buildings larger in scale than downtown but smaller than the Number 1 and Number 12. Two to four stories high. Three gateway points - South Peachtree, Medlock Bridge and Holcomb Bridge/PIB.
Number 3 Medlock Bridge corridor to Norcross High School. Improve with more commercial buildings, four to five stories high. Remove existing strip center with the Tavern and shooting range.
Number 8 Reinvestment of Buford Hwy, the highway corridor and also surrounding areas that are currently low density residential. Mixed Use and Commercial planned.
Neighborhoods to change or "improve":
Number 5 in Holcomb Bridge is viewed as transitional mixed housing but not townhomes, continue infill by market demand. Current subdivision of Farmington Hills is considered in the number 5 district but it is not as preserved as the Number 4 district.
Number 5 Hopewell Woods, Holcomb Bridge to Langford Drive, plan to continue with new houses. Existing churches and parks to be considered.
Number 6 West Peachtree and Kelly St at RockTenn. Continue with Hedgewood development.
Number 4 uncertain if the corner of Reps Miller/North Peachtree will stay as is, the property that is not in city limits (triangular white area on the map) is very desired to be annexed.
Number 9 Sheffield Forest revitalization. Extent of plans not known.
Number 11 at Beaver Ruin before Pinnacle Point (currently apartments). Planned development with traditional housing, medium to high density, also with mixed use commercial.
Maintain these areas:
Number 4 Historic homes in North Peachtree, and maintain current low density homes along Sunset, Valley, the Dogwoods, Chastain Manor, Cochran Drive, the Oaks, Bishop Glen, Langford Close. Included are Townhomes across PIB on Medlock Bridge.
Number 7 Downtown Norcross on Main Street.
Note: South Peachtree is designated as a Gateway Number 2 area, uncertain status as how it will maintain or change.
