Showing posts with label Garvis Sams. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Garvis Sams. Show all posts
Monday, July 2, 2012
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Planning Commission voted 3-0 to deny request for rezoning.
The City of Kennesaw Planning Commission met Thursday, May 3, 2012 and addressed items A-D in the 2 hour long meeting.
Item D was the request for Rezoning of the Mack Dobbs Properties, LLC to allow the Cruchelow Jewelry and Loan, an admitted Pawn Shop, to remain in the Venturi mall despite it being listed as an excluded type of business per the 2004 restrictions on business types that Venturi agreed to in order to have his property rezoned from residential to business.
Kennesaw Zoning Administrator Mr. Simmons spoke and gave a complete review of both the 2004 City Council decision and summarized the City error in letting the Pawn Shop get a business license. He stated that the Zoning Department did NOT recommend the requested change and asked that the Planning Commission deny the request by Sams/Venturi.
Mr. Sams, the same zoning lawyer representing Venturi in 2004, spoke to 30 minutes but did not manage to explain why he had agreed to exclude Pawn Shops 8 years ago and was suddenly now in favor of them. Mr. Venturi spoke for 3 minutes.
5 people spoke in the public comments section, 4 against the Rezoning Request and 1 in favor.
When I spoke I mentioned that it was understandable that Mr. Venturi would want the shop to remain as he had a 60 month lease with the Cruchelow's and over the 5 years of the lease it would result in rentals of approx. $300,000. I further pointed out that area residents felt that they were being 'stabbed in the back' by this reconsideration of the zoning to allow the Pawn Shop to remain.
Attorney Mr. Sams had earlier mentioned that there was a petition presented to the City with approx 160 names of people in favor of the Pawn Shop remaining. Later Mr. Simmons provided this petition to one of the speakers who were against the shop and both he and I looked at it briefly while other people spoke. We both noted that some of the handwriting seemed similar and also that there were a lot of people listing out of area addresses (Marietta) who would not be impacted by the Pawn Shop.
The vote was taken and it was 3-0 to deny the request for rezoning of the mall to allow Pawn Shops. The next meeting on this topic will be May 16th at 6 pm in the City Hall Council Chambers.
My Opinion:
On May 3rd we did get 2 small but significant 'wins', with the Zoning Department recommendation not to change the zoning and with the Planning Commission voting 3-0 to defeat the request to make the change, the issue is still not decided and area residents should not become complacent and assume that the matter is now resolved.
We still must have the City Council make a decision as to either enforcing the zoning, giving in to the property owner or making some middle of the road decision which would allow the shop to remain for the term of the 5 year lease.
One of the main items for the City will be the possible cost of litigation if they decide to remove the pawn shop. I am sure that the City Attorney has (or will) inform the Council on what to expect if they decide to go forward and require the pawn shop to close.
With recent litigation costing the City 1.8 million for a discrimination suit settlement*, it may be that they will be reluctant to embark on a course which almost surely will result in a civil suit for the City. Continued public pressure is the only way to make sure that our initial tentative gains are not thrown out by the reluctance of the City Council to make a firm decision to uphold the 2004 agreement.
If readers think that the matter is now over and stop attending Council meetings and no longer contact Council members, then we risk having the Council give in and grant a variance allowing the pawn shop to remain in the mall. Keep up the contacts with the City Council and also attend the meetings, if you do not then our initial gains will mean nothing and the threats of the Venturi/Cruchelow lawyers to sue will have swayed the Council into a compromise that will allow the pawn shop to remain.
* details at: http://mdjonline.com/view/full_story/3269184/article-Kennesaw-doles-out--1-8M-for-racial-suit
Kennesaw Zoning Administrator Mr. Simmons spoke and gave a complete review of both the 2004 City Council decision and summarized the City error in letting the Pawn Shop get a business license. He stated that the Zoning Department did NOT recommend the requested change and asked that the Planning Commission deny the request by Sams/Venturi.Mr. Sams, the same zoning lawyer representing Venturi in 2004, spoke to 30 minutes but did not manage to explain why he had agreed to exclude Pawn Shops 8 years ago and was suddenly now in favor of them. Mr. Venturi spoke for 3 minutes.
5 people spoke in the public comments section, 4 against the Rezoning Request and 1 in favor.
When I spoke I mentioned that it was understandable that Mr. Venturi would want the shop to remain as he had a 60 month lease with the Cruchelow's and over the 5 years of the lease it would result in rentals of approx. $300,000. I further pointed out that area residents felt that they were being 'stabbed in the back' by this reconsideration of the zoning to allow the Pawn Shop to remain.
Attorney Mr. Sams had earlier mentioned that there was a petition presented to the City with approx 160 names of people in favor of the Pawn Shop remaining. Later Mr. Simmons provided this petition to one of the speakers who were against the shop and both he and I looked at it briefly while other people spoke. We both noted that some of the handwriting seemed similar and also that there were a lot of people listing out of area addresses (Marietta) who would not be impacted by the Pawn Shop.
The vote was taken and it was 3-0 to deny the request for rezoning of the mall to allow Pawn Shops. The next meeting on this topic will be May 16th at 6 pm in the City Hall Council Chambers.
My Opinion:
On May 3rd we did get 2 small but significant 'wins', with the Zoning Department recommendation not to change the zoning and with the Planning Commission voting 3-0 to defeat the request to make the change, the issue is still not decided and area residents should not become complacent and assume that the matter is now resolved.
We still must have the City Council make a decision as to either enforcing the zoning, giving in to the property owner or making some middle of the road decision which would allow the shop to remain for the term of the 5 year lease.
One of the main items for the City will be the possible cost of litigation if they decide to remove the pawn shop. I am sure that the City Attorney has (or will) inform the Council on what to expect if they decide to go forward and require the pawn shop to close.
With recent litigation costing the City 1.8 million for a discrimination suit settlement*, it may be that they will be reluctant to embark on a course which almost surely will result in a civil suit for the City. Continued public pressure is the only way to make sure that our initial tentative gains are not thrown out by the reluctance of the City Council to make a firm decision to uphold the 2004 agreement.
If readers think that the matter is now over and stop attending Council meetings and no longer contact Council members, then we risk having the Council give in and grant a variance allowing the pawn shop to remain in the mall. Keep up the contacts with the City Council and also attend the meetings, if you do not then our initial gains will mean nothing and the threats of the Venturi/Cruchelow lawyers to sue will have swayed the Council into a compromise that will allow the pawn shop to remain.
* details at: http://mdjonline.com/view/full_story/3269184/article-Kennesaw-doles-out--1-8M-for-racial-suit
Thursday, March 15, 2012
FYI: Marietta Daily Journal Article
Misc: Both the ABC and CBS Stations in Atlanta have run segments on the issue and the Marietta Daily Journal and the internet site www.patch.com have articles on this.
Pawnshop has neighbors seeing red in Kennesaw
KENNESAW — Some Kennesaw residents are livid that the city allowed a pawnshop to open in a shopping center near their neighborhood, despite a 2004 agreement that would keep certain kinds of businesses out of the area.
Bill Harris said he and his neighbors in the Summer Stream subdivision off Mack Dobbs Road reached an agreement with the city in 2004 about what kinds of businesses would be allowed in a new shopping center next to their neighborhood.
But in September, city officials approved a business license for Cruchelow Jewelry & Loan in the Mack Dobbs Point shopping center on North Cobb Parkway at Mack Dobbs Road, exactly the type of business residents wanted kept out.
In his website devoted to the issue, www.kennesawpawnproblems.blogspot.com Harris writes that he and other residents found out in the fall of 2004 about plans to rezone the 2.9-acre development from residential to business.
Meetings were organized with developer Celestino Venturi by nearby residents to stop the rezoning, but an agreement was eventually reached with city officials to prohibit certain types of businesses in the new development, such as adult bookstores, massage parlors and pawnshops.
“Residents concerns were at that point more towards just what would go on that parcel, which was next to the northern end of our development,” Harris wrote. “We had expressed our opinions to Mr. Venturi and some of us attended the October 4, 2004, Kennesaw City Council meeting where quite a lot of time was devoted to the zoning change. In fact, of the 33 pages of minutes of that meeting, 14 pages had to do with the zoning change.
“Mr. Venturi and his Marietta land use/zoning attorney Mr. Garvis Sams gave assurances that many types of undesirable businesses would not be built on this property. The assurances were both written and oral and were in great detail incorporated into the minutes of the meeting.”
According to minutes from the city council’s Sept. 19 meeting, city finance director Gina Auld recommended the City Council approve a pawn and precious metal license for Cruchelow Jewelry & Loan, submitted by John and Serena Cruchelow. Mayor Mark Mathews called for a vote on the application, which was approved unanimously, according to the minutes. The license was approved in December.
City officials acknowledge making a mistake in approving the license.
“It’s just one of those things that was an oversight by our zoning department, and we’re trying to work through it,” Mathews said Wednesday. “We’ve been in contact with (Bill Harris) multiple times, as well as the business owner and others. We’re trying to work through it as best we can and see what options are out there.”
City Manager Steve Kennedy said the city is evaluating options regarding the pawnshop, which opened this year.
“One would be to have them move,” he said. “Another one would be to do a temporary revision to the zoning stipulations from 2004, that would allow the pawn shop to be there for just this one time and any future applications would not be honored, and other combinations of suggestions.”
A tax service, a children’s consignment store, a nail spa, a battery store and an AT&T store occupy other storefronts in the shopping center
On March 8, Kennedy and city zoning administrator Darryl Simmons met with Harris to explain that the zoning approval to allow the pawn store was processed in error by the city’s planning and zoning staff. They said they would look into meeting with other area residents to answer questions and receive feedback regarding the matter.
A date for that meeting has not been set, according to the city.
“The worst answer for area residents is if they just give them a variance and allow them to remain,” Harris said. “The next business that wants to locate there and is blocked from doing it would then be able to say, correctly, ‘Well you gave them a variance to remain, and we want one also.’ So perhaps we end up with some adult book store or massage parlor because the city decided to let this pawn shop slide.”
Business owner John Cruchelow did not comment when questioned by the Journal about whether he knew of the prior agreement between residents and the city regarding the property.
Venturi, the developer, said he preferred to abstain from making any public comments until he meets with city officials to discuss future plans for his property.
Read more: The Marietta Daily Journal - Pawnshop has neighbors seeing red in Kennesaw
Pawnshop has neighbors seeing red in Kennesaw
March 15, 2012 12:24 AM |
Cruchelow Jewelry & Loan, which is located in the Mack Dobbs Point shopping complex at the corner of Cobb Parkway and Mack Dobbs Road, was recently granted a pawnshop license erroneously.
Photo by Jon-Michael Sullivan
Photo by Jon-Michael Sullivan
Bill Harris said he and his neighbors in the Summer Stream subdivision off Mack Dobbs Road reached an agreement with the city in 2004 about what kinds of businesses would be allowed in a new shopping center next to their neighborhood.
But in September, city officials approved a business license for Cruchelow Jewelry & Loan in the Mack Dobbs Point shopping center on North Cobb Parkway at Mack Dobbs Road, exactly the type of business residents wanted kept out.
In his website devoted to the issue, www.kennesawpawnproblems.blogspot.com Harris writes that he and other residents found out in the fall of 2004 about plans to rezone the 2.9-acre development from residential to business.
Meetings were organized with developer Celestino Venturi by nearby residents to stop the rezoning, but an agreement was eventually reached with city officials to prohibit certain types of businesses in the new development, such as adult bookstores, massage parlors and pawnshops.
“Residents concerns were at that point more towards just what would go on that parcel, which was next to the northern end of our development,” Harris wrote. “We had expressed our opinions to Mr. Venturi and some of us attended the October 4, 2004, Kennesaw City Council meeting where quite a lot of time was devoted to the zoning change. In fact, of the 33 pages of minutes of that meeting, 14 pages had to do with the zoning change.
“Mr. Venturi and his Marietta land use/zoning attorney Mr. Garvis Sams gave assurances that many types of undesirable businesses would not be built on this property. The assurances were both written and oral and were in great detail incorporated into the minutes of the meeting.”
According to minutes from the city council’s Sept. 19 meeting, city finance director Gina Auld recommended the City Council approve a pawn and precious metal license for Cruchelow Jewelry & Loan, submitted by John and Serena Cruchelow. Mayor Mark Mathews called for a vote on the application, which was approved unanimously, according to the minutes. The license was approved in December.
City officials acknowledge making a mistake in approving the license.
“It’s just one of those things that was an oversight by our zoning department, and we’re trying to work through it,” Mathews said Wednesday. “We’ve been in contact with (Bill Harris) multiple times, as well as the business owner and others. We’re trying to work through it as best we can and see what options are out there.”
City Manager Steve Kennedy said the city is evaluating options regarding the pawnshop, which opened this year.
“One would be to have them move,” he said. “Another one would be to do a temporary revision to the zoning stipulations from 2004, that would allow the pawn shop to be there for just this one time and any future applications would not be honored, and other combinations of suggestions.”
A tax service, a children’s consignment store, a nail spa, a battery store and an AT&T store occupy other storefronts in the shopping center
On March 8, Kennedy and city zoning administrator Darryl Simmons met with Harris to explain that the zoning approval to allow the pawn store was processed in error by the city’s planning and zoning staff. They said they would look into meeting with other area residents to answer questions and receive feedback regarding the matter.
A date for that meeting has not been set, according to the city.
“The worst answer for area residents is if they just give them a variance and allow them to remain,” Harris said. “The next business that wants to locate there and is blocked from doing it would then be able to say, correctly, ‘Well you gave them a variance to remain, and we want one also.’ So perhaps we end up with some adult book store or massage parlor because the city decided to let this pawn shop slide.”
Business owner John Cruchelow did not comment when questioned by the Journal about whether he knew of the prior agreement between residents and the city regarding the property.
Venturi, the developer, said he preferred to abstain from making any public comments until he meets with city officials to discuss future plans for his property.
Read more: The Marietta Daily Journal - Pawnshop has neighbors seeing red in Kennesaw
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