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May 11, 2021

City of Newnan PLANNING COMMISSION

Agenda for May 11, 2021 Regular Planning Commission Meeting 7:00 PM, Richard A. Bolin Council Chambers, City Hall

TAB NUMBER AGENDA CATEGORY / ITEM

TAB # 1 Minutes of the March 9, 2021 Planning Commission Meeting

TAB # 2 37 LaGrange Street – Certificate of Appropriateness

TAB # 3 22 East Broad Street – Certificate of Appropriateness Request

Public Comments

Adjourn

Unless otherwise posted, all Planning Commission Meetings Are held in the:

Richard A. Bolin Council Chambers, City Hall 25 LaGrange Street, Newnan, Georgia 30263

Any questions prior to the meeting should be directed to the Planning and Zoning Department.

Phone: 770-254-2354 E-mail: tdunnavant@cityofnewnan.org

Planning Commission Meeting 03/09/2021

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CITY OF NEWNAN Planning Commission

Meeting Minutes

March 9, 2021 7:00 p.m.

Commissioners Present: Proctor Smith, Alton West, Robert Coggin, Fred Hamlin, Joe Crain, Jr. Commissioners Absent: Chris Hunt, Clay McEntire Others in Attendance: Tracy Dunnavant, Planning & Zoning Director Tina Fronebarger, Planning & Zoning Administrative Assistant Dean Smith, Planner Brad Sears, City Attorney CALL TO ORDER Chairman Smith called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. in the Richard A. Bolin Council Chambers. READING OF MINUTES Chairman Smith asked if everyone reviewed the minutes from the meeting on February 9, 2021. Commissioner Coggin motioned to approve the minutes. Commissioner Crain seconded the motion.

MOTION CARRIED (5-0)

Certificate of Appropriateness – 18 Berry Avenue: SKA Realty Services, LLC Chairman Smith opened the discussion on the certificate of appropriateness. Dean Smith explained the request was straightforward. He said the structure is currently under condemnation by the code enforcement officer and he believes it dates back to 2019 when they started the process. He said Kiran Artham with SKA Realty Services, LLC desires to tear the structure down to the foundation and rebuild. He added there was a fire that caused the damage. Dean Smith showed the elevations the applicant submitted and concluded by recommending approval of the request. Chairman Smith asked if they plan on salvaging the foundation. Dean Smith stated that after the applicant spoke with the Building Department, an analysis showed there wasn’t enough material to salvage. He said based on years of neglect, it will be easier and more economical to tear it down. Dean Smith mentioned they already have a demolition permit and work was suspended due to this process. Commissioner Crain motioned to approve the request. Commissioner Hamlin seconded the motion.

MOTION CARRIED (5-0) Public Hearing – Rezoning Request – 35.49+/- acres located on Newnan Crossing Bypass (A Portion of Tax Parcel # 087 5011 003): Newnan Leasing Associates II, LLP, an affiliate of Dominium Acquisitions, LLC (RZ2021-02)

Chairman Smith stated the next request is a rezoning request for 35.49 acres on Newnan Crossing Bypass. He explained the public hearing process and opened a public hearing. Tracy Dunnavant stated this is a request from George Rosenzweig on behalf of Newnan Leasing Associates LLP and it is

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to rezone 35.49+/- acres on Newnan Crossing Bypass. She stated the request is going from RS-15 to RMH for the development of 396 affordable apartment units. Dunnavant reviewed the staff report in full including the applicant information, overview of the request, standards, and summary of the standards (the development meets 6 of the 8 standards). She concluded by stating if the Commission elects to recommend approval of the request, staff would recommend the following conditions:

1. The project will be consistent with the plan, density, project data, amenities and architectural details as provided as part of the application.

2. The developer will install traffic mitigation measures as determined by a traffic study and approved by the City Engineer.

3. The developer shall provide and install street lighting along Newnan Crossing Bypass, adjacent to the parcel, in accordance with the lighting standards for a multi-lane urban corridor for the electric provider for the development.

Chairman Smith asked the applicant to come forward. George Rosenzweig came forward stating he represents Dominium. He mentioned the project the Commission previously approved for Dominium on Lower Fayetteville Road and the Bypass. He said the company is here to discuss Dominium’s next project in Newnan. Rosenzweig said Newnan Pointe is an affordable multi-family living development. He mentioned that everyone has heard the discussion in the community regarding apartments. Rosenzweig stated apartments are an important part of the housing mix, but they need to be in the right location. He showed the proposed site and said it seems to be a very good location. Rosenzweig reviewed the site plan and discussed the amenities. He said the exterior design is also exciting as it is a combination of stacked stone, brick, and hardy plank siding. Rosenzweig said the development will have pleasing streetscapes, an outside area providing a sense of community, and modern interiors throughout. He added Dominium designs and holds their projects in their portfolio for 15 years, builds a quality product, and is committed to the community with the affordable senior complex that has already been approved. Rosenzweig stated the City needs this for affordable employee housing. He said we are creating the jobs but pricing out the employees. Rosenzweig said this product is different as it is under section 42 of the internal revenue code and isn’t section 8 subsidized housing. He added it is tax credit housing where the developer passes the credit along on the rent which is scaled based on income. He said the resident income range will be between $35,000 to $50,000. Rosenzweig added the program is managed by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs. Rosenzweig mentioned the Bleakly housing study that concluded that 49% of Newnan renters were housing burdened. He said there is a need for housing that is not being met by luxury apartments and the plan identified this interstate infill area as an area for apartments. Rosenzweig said before the applicant submitted the application, they commissioned Bleakly to do another study in 2021, which concluded that Newnan is still affordable crossed housing challenged with more than half of the employees at Newnan Hospital commuting to work. He said if the labor force can’t afford to live here and has to choose between commuting 45 minutes or work closer to home, they are going to work closer to home. Rosenzweig said these are the people who would be living in Newnan Pointe. He mentioned that Dominium’s average rent will be 30% below market rate. Rosenzweig said of the product being delivered, you have luxury apartments, condos, and hundreds of townhomes. He added not one of the pipeline products is affordable employee housing. Rosenzweig said the Planning Department did an excellent job with their report, but clean industrial doesn’t exist in the zoning ordinance. He mentioned the Springs and Ashlynn Ridge was in the clean industrial area as well. Rosenzweig said affordable multi-family housing is still missing and not in the pipeline. He said as far as he is concerned, they met all the standards and concluded by stating this is a golden opportunity for the City. Chairman Smith asked if anyone else would like to speak in favor of the request as there are two minutes remaining. With no one coming forward, he asked if anyone would like to speak in opposition of the request. With no one coming forward, he closed the public hearing.

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Commissioner Coggin and Dunnavant discussed the bedroom pricing range. Commissioner West thanked Rosenzweig for the presentation, agreed with the price points, and mentioned a lot of communities struggle with finding that sweet spot as far as rents are concerned. He mentioned he lives here but works in LaGrange and that people want to live in the community that they work in, but a lot of times they are not able to find a home in their price range. Commissioner West said he knows Newnan is classified as the City of Homes and asked what the percentage of homeownership verses rental is in the City. Dunnavant said she didn’t have the exact number but she knows they have more homeowners than rental. Chairman Smith asked if the numbers have shifted with Dunnavant stating yes, but we still have more homeownership. Chairman Smith mentioned the affordable housing tax code and asked if those requirements had a sunset clause. Sean Rinehart came forward stating there is a 15-year tax credit period, then a 15-year extended use period. He said with Dominium, they would be a long-term owner, operator, and manager of these apartments and they intend to own them for the full 15-year term. He added at the end of the term, they would do an extensive rehab and own it for another 15 years. Chairman Smith asked if the classification would be operated as an affordable multi-family after the first 15 years. Rinehart stated at that time, they would need to reapply to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs to get a new set of tax credits to perform the rehab and then the 15-year extension would start. Chairman Smith stated there is no guarantee that they would get approval to operate for another 15 years with Rinehart stating the approval is non-competitive and it would be a matter of timing on the application being that they are the existing owners. Chairman Smith asked if they would be willing to commit beyond the original 15-year period. Rinehart committed to being affordable for 15 years with a possible 15-year extended period as it is with the Ashlynn Ridge project. Commissioner Hamlin clarified by asking if they are committed to the full 30 years. Rinehart stated they want to and that is typically how they run all of their programs but there are a lot of dynamics at play that must be considered when committing to a full 30 years. He mentioned the crisis of 2008 and 2009 and how having an affordability requirement for 30 years sometimes does not make economical sense. Rinehart said they cannot commit to 30 years, but would commit to a 15-year term of affordability and the extended 15-year use period as mandated by the Georgia DCA. He added they would agree to the same conditions as Ashlynn Ridge. Commissioner West mentioned DCA and the tax credit program and asked if it was the 4% tax credit. Rinehart stated that is absolutely correct and described the tax credit process. Commissioner Hamlin clarified that they would have to do something to that project to improve it for that next 15-year cycle if they wanted to keep the tax credits. Rinehart stated that is correct. Dunnavant stated she looked in the census facts and there were 54.5% owner occupied units from 2015 to 2019. Commissioner Smith stated there is no question that we needed affordable housing and there is multi-family already in the area. He said his concern is the proportion of multi-family in this particular area. Chairman Smith said the corridor has changed and hasn’t developed the way it was originally intended. He said that there are other options that is more than RS-15 or less than multi-family. Commissioner Smith asked if the RMH zoning designation is the right designation for the property. Commissioner Hamlin stated his concern was the density and its impact on the school system and traffic. He mentioned that he saw it would be 540 kids across the school system, which is like adding a new elementary school. Commissioner Hamlin said it would be adding to school system that is already overburdened. Commissioner Hamlin asked with the current zoning, how many new students would be added. Dunnavant stated that it would depend on the number of houses being proposed. Rosenzweig came forward stating Bleakly put statistic in their report based on the national average and Dominium’s prior experiences and concluded that the amount the school system put in is on the high side as it assumed that all these affordable apartments are going to have 1.4 children per apartment. He added that after all sales tax and other taxes are paid, this project will pay for itself in terms of schools. Rosenzweig said you already have villas, townhomes, cottages, and so forth. He said what you don’t have is affordable apartments. Commissioner Hamlin stated that Chairman Smith

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and he are concerned about the development of the area and how many apartments they currently have in that area. Commissioner Crain stated he agrees there is a true need. He asked who governs the rent based on income and expressed concerns about abuse. Rinehart stated that the affordability is actually built into a land use restrictive covenant that runs with the property. He discussed the repercussions that would take place if not handled appropriately and mentioned that other companies come to Dominium for assistance when their apartments have issues. Commissioner Crain mentioned that Newnan is not the only community struggling with the affordable housing issue. He asked who is making sure that the people living in the apartments are the employees who work in Newnan. Commissioner Crain said he did not want to solve someone else’s problem. Rinehart said they will market to the workforce of employers who are already in the community, but added that the fair housing requirements will not allow them to deny an application based on where someone lives or works. He said their marketing would be in Newnan. Rinehart stated Newnan is on the brink of an affordable housing crisis and asked who would you like being your neighbor. Commissioner Coggin stated they can all agree that we need affordable housing but questioned whether this is this the right location. He said a couple of people are concerned about that. Rinehart stated that he understands but the one thing he wants to hit on is that there is no affordable housing at this location. He discussed the cost and viability of building a different product on the site. Rinehart stated the only thing that would work here is affordable housing. Rosenzweig mentioned the property is currently owned by Cates Family Partnership. He said theoretically, if you deny the rezoning, you would leave the owner with property that is unusable. Rosenzweig then asked where would you put the apartments. He added its next to all the medical jobs, the hospital, and the CTCA. Chairman Smith asked if anyone else had any questions for staff or the applicant. Commissioner West stated that he would rather see apartments there that is defined then some type of clean industrial use that doesn’t even have a definition in the Zoning Ordinance. Dunnavant stated that currently the City does not have a clean industrial zoning designation like RS-15 or CGN, but it does have clean industrial uses such as a call center or warehousing. She mentioned that they are currently working on the comprehensive plan review which will include an update to the future land use map. Commissioner Crain motioned that the Planning Commission recommend approving the rezoning request with the conditions suggested by staff and that the developer the developer would reapply after the conclusion of 15 years to extend the affordability requirements for an additional 15-year term. Commissioner Coggin seconded.

MOTION CARRIED (3-2) (Hamlin, Smith) Certificate of Appropriateness – 24 Jackson Street: 24 Jackson Properties, LLC and Christopher Brothers Chairman Smith opened the discussion on the certificate of appropriateness for 24 Jackson Street. Dean Smith explained the request is primarily for interior renovations; however, there is a component of the work, which entails the demolition of the existing porte-cochere and replacing it with a newer version. He reviewed the staff report in whole including the purpose, background information, and concluded by recommending approval of the request. Chairman Smith stated it looks pretty straightforward and asked if there were any questions for staff or the applicant. Hearing none, he asked for a motion. Commissioner Crain motioned to approve the request as submitted. Commissioner West seconded.

MOTION CARRIED (5-0)

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Request for Variation from the QDC Overlay Requirements – 300 Bullsboro Drive: Scott Allen (WOW sno, LLC) Dunnavant stated this application had been withdrawn. NEW BUSINESS Dunnavant explained that this afternoon Council approved a moratorium that includes all townhouse products, multi-family, duplexes, triplexes, and quadraplexes. She stated Council wants to look at the Comprehensive Plan and get a feel for where these types of housing products should be located. Dunnavant added the Commission could see rezoning applications for single-family as well as some annexations. She stated the moratorium is scheduled to last until the end of October unless Council decides to move forward before then. Commissioner Hamlin asked about the rezoning tonight. Dunnavant said they had already submitted prior to the moratorium, so they were allowed to go through the process. Dean Smith mentioned there not being anything for the April meeting as of yet. ADJOURN With no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:05 p.m. on a motion from Commissioner Coggin and seconded by Commissioner West.

MOTION CARRIED (5-0)

______________________________ Chairman Proctor Smith

City of Newnan, Georgia – Planning Commission

Date: May 11, 2021

Agenda Item: Certificate of Appropriateness – 37 Lagrange Street

Prepared by: Dean Smith, Planner

____________________________________________________________________________

Purpose: To consider a certificate of appropriateness application from STG Newnan, LLC to demolish a

structure at 37 Lagrange Street. This location is within the Downtown Design Overlay District (DDO)

which specifies that any demolition, where partial or complete demolition, must obtain a Certificate of

Appropriateness from the City’s Planning Commission.

Background: 37 Lagrange Street is one of three separate pieces of property that constituted several

buildings on the corner of Long Place and Lagrange Street.

Several of the structures located on the subject properties were damaged as a result of the March 25-26,

2021 Tornado. On April 13, 2021, Newnan City Council issued a resolution to establish a policy on

structures impacted by the tornado and severe storm. A part of that resolution divested authorization to

the City’s Planning & Zoning Department and Building Department to administratively permit demolition

of structures over 50+ years old. The majority of the structures on the subject properties met the criteria

to receive administrative approval for demolition and have, in fact been subsequently demolished;

however, one structure did not meet the criteria. The request now before the Planning Commission is to

consider granting authorization for the property owner to demolish the remaining structure that is located

at 37 Lagrange Street.

Options:

A. Approve the certificate of appropriateness for demolition of the structure at 37 Lagrange Street.

B. Approve the certificate of appropriateness with conditions.

C. Deny the certificate of appropriateness request.

Recommendation: Staff recommends Option A to approve the demolition request.

Attachments: Certificate of Appropriateness Application

Previous Discussions with Commission: None

Pre-Storm Instant Street View Photos of Subject Properties

City of Newnan, Georgia – Planning Commission

Date: May 11, 2021

Agenda Item: Certificate of Appropriateness Request –23 East Broad Street

Prepared and Presented by: Dean Smith, Planner

Purpose: To consider a certificate of appropriateness request from Scott Allen, WOW Sno, LLC,

pertaining to the installation of a new commercial structure building located at 23 East Broad Street,

Tax Parcel No.: N04-0010-013A.

Background: Scott Allen is applying for a Certificate of Appropriateness to build a new commercial

“Sno Cone” structure utilizing a shipping container. The Planning Commission must grant a certificate of

appropriateness since the property lies within the Downtown Design Overlay district (DDO).

The properties surrounding the site include a mixture of primarily retail and office uses. The lots that

comprise the block the subject site is located on are zoned Central Business District (CBD).

Issues for Consideration for a Certificate of Appropriateness:

In reviewing the request in terms of the rehabilitation standards that were adopted for development in

the Downtown Design Overlay district (DDO), staff addressed the following standards in terms of the

work proposed at 23 East Broad Street:

a) Building Orientation and Setback – The front elevation will face the north side of the

property. This is consistent with the existing structures that are adjacent to the site that area

also oriented the same direction. The Central Business District does not have any building

setback requirements; however, the proposed site plan illustrates the front of the building to be

set back several feet behind the front façade of adjacent buildings.

b) Directional Emphasis – The directional emphasis will be vertical.

c) Shape – The proposed flat roof is consistent with those of existing commercial buildings within

the area of influence.

d) Proportion – The proportions of the new building will be smaller than the dominant patterns of

proportion within the area of influence, with the exception of the existing small structure

already on the lot in question.

e) Rhythm – The new building’s design is unique; however, with its location being set back

several feet behind the adjacent buildings, the design should not disrupt existing rhythmic

patterns within the area of influence.

Options:

A. Approve the Certificate of Appropriateness as presented.

B. Approve the Certificate of Appropriateness with proffered conditions.

C. Deny the Certificate of Appropriateness request.

Recommendation:

After identifying the area of influence and the prevailing character of the existing development, the

proposed location of the new structure being offset away from the sidewalk and recessed into the lot,

should have little impact on the streetscape. While, the project does not meet all of the criteria

typically used when evaluating a Certificate of Appropriateness request, the project is unique and

presents an opportunity for the City to support a unique business model.

The nature of the project and the proposed location would support the City’s Vacant Lot Activation

initiative that is a part of the City of Newnan’s Main Street programs (see attached).

Attachments:

Applications and Supporting Materials

Photographs

Previous Discussions with the Commission: None