Below is my recap of the latest Council Meeting with my thoughts, which don't represent the Mayor or the rest of the Council.
Click here to find the agenda and video for this month's Council meetings.
Announcements and Presentations
3715 Longview Drive Informational Presentation
The owner of this property is proposing to build a synagogue, and the official public hearing will take place next month. However, the scheduled date falls on a Jewish holiday, so the applicant presented their proposal at this month's Work Session as a reasonable accommodation.
For those who recall, the Council rejected the previous application six months ago. After the required six-month cool-off period, the applicant has resubmitted their plans, which include significant changes. I’ll provide more details on this next month.
Code Enforcement Annual Update
William Robbins, Code Enforcement Director, provided the Annual Update on Code Enforcement. Last year, the team handled over 4,000 cases, and I am incredibly proud of all their hard work and dedication.
Chamblee Police Department Promotions
Chief Dieppa recognized CPD officers who received promotions this past year. Congrats to all and thank you for your service!
Council Dog of the Month
Volunteer of the Year
The Community Engagement Department presented Gloria Dunklin with the Volunteer of the Year Award. Dunklin is a Senior Army instructor for Chamblee High School's JROTC. Each year, she coordinates 30 cadets to help with setting up the Taste of Chamblee. Thank you for all you do for the city.
Public Hearings - Non-Zoning
HB581 Statewide Floating Homestead Exemption Opt-Out Resolution
We PASSED a resolution to opt out of HB581, a decision that will help protect Chamblee's quality of life. If we had not opted out, this legislation would have negatively impacted our city's revenue, making it difficult to maintain the level of services and programs that our residents value and enjoy. I want to note that everyone who reached out to me was in favor of opting out, and I’m glad we could make this decision in the best interest of our community.
Public Hearings
2828 NE Expwy – Dumpster Variance Application
The applicant requested a variance to enclose and place their dumpster in the front of their property. Council unanimously voted to APPROVE the variance.
UDO Taproom Amendment
The City Manager presented a change to the UDO that would allow taprooms in other types of zoning. It was passed by consent and moved to 1st ready at the regular session.
Ordinances - 2nd Read
Nuisance Commerical Property Ordinance
The Nuisance Commerical Property Ordinance had its 2nd read and Council unanimously voted to APPROVE the ordinance as presented.
This will amend our UDO to define a "nuisance commercial property" to mean any commercial real property where unlawful commercial activity has occurred and continues to occur for more than 10 days after the owner of the property has received written notice from the city of the unlawful activity.
The nuisance commercial property provision allows for a process in which the property owner and the business owner are held directly responsible for unlawful activities. Further, it outlines a notification process on behalf of the city to the property owner, not just the business owner, of illegal activities. This provides an opportunity for the property owner to remedy the activity.
Staff Action Items
2025 Discover Chamblee Appointments
Congrats to Anishah Pradhan and Councilman Paul Stovall who were appointed to the Discover Chamblee board!
4133 Longview Drive
This was an interesting application because it was the first time I encountered these types of waivers. The applicant divided the property and built a new home, which triggered our threshold for adding streetscape elements to Longview. The applicant requested a waiver since no other part of Longview has this type of streetscape. Another unusual aspect was that there wasn't a public hearing, as they were only requesting waivers, not variances. This was another first for me. The Council APPROVED all three waivers.
GO Bond Validation Resolution
Council APPROVED the adoption of the GO Bond Validation Resolution to validate the results of the November 2024 general obligation parks bond referendum which passed with ~80% of the vote.
Please send me your questions, comments, or concerns.
Email: Jfurst@chambleega.gov
Mobile: 770-901-1121
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