Commission To Vote
On Riparian Buffers

It took a state mandate to do it, but the Athens-Clarke County Commission will finally cast a vote on one provision of the development ordinance that will back up the county's comprehensive land use plan.
In order to meet a state imposed deadline, the Commission will decide the width of riparian buffers on Athens-Clarke waterways at its October 3 voting session.
There seems no doubt that the Commission will stick to the 100-foot state minimum buffer on larger rivers, such as the Middle and North Oconee. At issue are buffers on perennial lakes and streams.
Buffers were originally set at no less than 75 feet in the new development ordinance, but Commissioners are now considering buffers on those waterways as narrow as 25 feet - the least allowed by state law.
Adopting the state standard could prove a futile and costly exercise. There is speculation that the state legislature will soon raise the Georgia requirement to 50 feet, and new federal regulations are expected to force municipalities to clean up tainted water.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently reported that a group of Atlanta-area business leaders has formed the Clean Water Initiative, a task force to lobby Governor Roy Barnes to overhaul Georgia water management practices. Recognizing clean water as essential to both quality of life and economic prosperity, the group is calling for the state Environmental Protection Division to improve its record of protecting waterways, and for more regulatory control at the state level.
Water experts say that wide, undisturbed buffers are the most efficient, effective and inexpensive means to keep waterways clean. A report submitted to the ACC Commission, authored by UGA Institute of Ecology personnel, details scientific data on the relationship between buffer width and water quality. The Institute of Ecology, along with the ACC Planning Commission, has recommended the ACC Commission adopt buffers of at least 50 feet, with a maximum of another 50 feet added based on the slope of a stream's bank.
The North Oconee River Greenway Commission has endorsed a 75-foot buffer on perennial streams, and 50 feet on smaller creeks. In addition, the committee wants a field survey requirement to determine the presence of streams. It says the Athens-Clarke environmental areas map is incomplete and cannot be relied upon to protect most small streams or streams that dry up in the summer (intermittents).
The Athens Grow Green Coalition, a conglomerate of local environmental and neighborhood groups, also supports a field survey provision. The Coalition wants riparian buffers of no less than 75 feet on perennial waters.
Several Commissioners, prompted by complaints from some Realtors® and property owners, contend that wider buffers will infringe on individual property rights. But buffer proponents point out that the effects of water pollution extend beyond property lines. Lost in the property rights debate, they say, is the fact that water degradation actually imposes a financial burden on downstream property owners, as well as the government - with no compensation from the polluter.
Worried landowners might also note that the new development ordinance imposes no new restrictions on agricultural use within riparian buffers. And the ordinance permits single-family homes to be built on parcels of two acres or larger "regardless of... other restrictions," as long as septic tank drain fields are not placed within the buffer.
In many cases, buffer width is irrelevant, as much of the affected acreage lies within the 100 year flood plain. Though building in the flood plain is not often considered worthwhile, a change to the development ordinance now allows it to be filled and developed. It can also be used as a parking lot or yard. These uses have the potential of causing severe environmental damage - another reason, buffer advocates say, for protecting riparian areas.

Foxes To Serve As
Henhouse Advisors

An Athens-Clarke County Commission work team has completed a draft proposal for an advisory committee to help implement the county's new development ordinance.
The Commission work team, formed to help resolve policy issues within the ordinance, met on Monday, September 18, at the Planning Department office at 120 W. Dougherty Street.
The advisory committee, the work team proposal says, will "be established after adoption [of the development ordinance] in order to facilitate community input."
The Commissioners propose that Mayor Doc Eldridge appoint advisory committee members "in similar proportion of community representatives as on the [development ordinance] Steering Committee."
The draft suggests an advisory committee consisting of four government officials, two members from the "development community," one from "the realtor [sic] community," and one member from "the neighborhood association community."
The development regulations work team is made up of ACC Commissioners Linda Ford, Ken Jordan and Harry Sims, and is advised by ACC Attorney Ernie DePascale and ACC planning staff. Any decisions made by the work team are subject to approval by the full Commission.
Former ACC Manager Al Crace had attended previous meetings before he resigned his post on Friday, September 15. Deputy Manager Bob Snipes, Crace's interim replacement, did not attend the most recent meeting.
Mayor Doc Eldridge, who put together the work team, has been absent from its last two sessions. Eldridge says Crace's pending resignation and a Georgia Chamber of Commerce event in Atlanta kept him away.
"It was my intent to be a part, but not necessarily a driving part, of that committee to let them work through those issues," Eldridge says, "since they are the ones that are going to be voting on it."
In other business, the Commissioners revisited the issue of riparian buffers on rivers and streams. ACC Senior Planner Bruce Lonnee provided statistics on how much acreage would be affected by 25, 50, and 75 foot buffers; Laurie Fowler, from the UGA Institute of Ecology, presented the group with a University report documenting the importance of buffers in maintaining water quality.
The Institute of Ecology has recommended a 50 foot minimum buffer with a maximum of another 50 feet added based on the slope of a stream's bank.
To comply with a state-mandated deadline, the Commission must decide on the buffers at its October 3 voting session (see article this page).
The work team settled, temporarily at least, on three options for multi-family rental duplexes in RG (Residential General) zones, including single-family structures which have been divided into separate units.
One option would allow landlords to rent each unit as currently permitted for as long as they own it. Upon change of ownership, a five-year amnesty permitting current use would apply. After that period, the property would return to RS (Residential Single) status. Each unit could still be leased to as many as two unrelated occupants, and duplexes could continue to be rented as such.
Another possible provision would permit "grandfathering" some structures after the five-year grace period; the third option would factor in an amortization schedule to allow owners to recoup any investment before rezoning their properties.
At press time, the development regulations work team was set to meet again on Monday September 25. As of this writing, no other meetings have been scheduled.
The full Commission, along with Mayor Eldridge, will convene for a development ordinance work session on September 28. It will not meet again to discuss the regulations until November 16.
Eldridge says the seven-week gap in meetings is due to scheduling conflicts and the need for the Commission to address other issues. "There are some things that have been put off, waiting and waiting and waiting on the land use plan, that we've got to the point now where we've got to pay some attention to them."
Nevertheless, Eldridge says, the Commissioners hope to vote on the ordinance no later than December 5.
"It is everybody's desire to get this thing completed before there is a new Commission seated," Eldridge says.
In January, there will be at least one new Commissioner. Ken Jordan is retiring, and John Barrow and Marilyn Farmer face challengers in the November election.

Brad Aaron