Stormwater blues
Good evening everyone,
Below is some info regarding the upcoming public reading and subsequent vote on the county’s stormwater ordinance. The following info comes via Charles Baugh and Lee Becker. Please attend the upcoming BOC meetings and/or write the Commissioners in support of countywide application of the ordinance. If you aren’t familiar with the issue, you can study the files available at the Friends of Barber Creek website (http://www.barbercreek.org/barbercreek/library.html). Given the rapid growth occuring in the county, a countywide ordinance is the only way to ensure proper protection measures are in place for our streams and rivers. The county actually has a very good history of implementing environmental protection standards that are beyond the State’s basic guidelines (e.g., 100 buffer on rivers for construction; 50-100 buffer on the flood plain). Let’s hope they keep such high standards for the stormwater issue as well.
My apologies for any duplicated posts.
Cheers,
Tony Glenn
President, Citizens for South Oconee County
-----Original Message-----
From: OconeesFuture@aol.com [mailto:OconeesFuture@aol.com]
Sent: Sunday, July 23, 2006 4:21 PM
To: GAONMND@aol.com
Subject: Stormwater Ordinance/ BOC Agenda 7/25/06
Citizens for Oconee's Future, Inc.
P. O. Box 1301
Watkinsville, GA 30677
Following is the agenda for The Tuesday Board of Commissioners meeting and several e mails from Lee Becker concerning the Stormwater Ordinance approval process. Note the Stormwater Ordinance will be discussed. This is an opportunity to tell the BOC of your concerns with the ordinance. Please attend and speak out. Write to the Board even if you cannot attend. The e mail addresses are in one of the e mails from Lee Becker. Lee has done an excellent job of following the stormwater ordinance process and keeping us informed. My thanks to him for doing that and making his e mails available to us.
The BOC has an opportunity to protect our resources, lets see if they choose to do so.
Charles Baugh
President
AGENDA
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
OF
OCONEE COUNTY, GEORGIA
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Commission Meeting Chambers
Oconee County Courthouse
7:00 p.m.
1. Consider confirmation of the 2006 Tax Millage Levy for county schools maintenance and operations.
2. Consider approval of the 2006 Tax Millage Levy for county government maintenance and operations.
3. Consider approval of Tax Digest Error and Release Order for 1996-2006. (Harriette Browning)
4. First Reading of Oconee County Stormwater Ordinance. (Amy Morrison)
5. Update on water supply and conservation efforts. (Gary Dodd)
6. Discuss potential change order for the Oconee County Community Complex, Youth Baseball Complex. (Don Oliver)
7. Review August 1, 2006 agenda.
8. Statements and Remarks from Citizens.
9. Executive Session to discuss land acquisition, personnel matters and/or potential litigation (if needed).
10. Adjourn.
E mail correspondence from Lee Becker follows:
Dear Friends,
The Stormwater Ordinance is the fourth item on the agenda for the Tuesday, July 25, meeting of the Oconee County Board of Commissioners. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at the Court House in Watkinsville.
Please attend the meeting and bring your neighbors.
The issue is simple. Developers do not want the ordinance as now written to pass. It will cost them money to build storm detention facilities and take away lots they will need for those facilities that could otherwise be used to build more houses.
The ordinance imposes state standards for stormwater facilities and control to filter out pollutants before they reach the county’s streams and to help prevent flooding.
In the end, the vote will be either to make developers richer and happier or to make our streams cleaner and safer.
A very small change in the existing ordinance will give the developers what they want. Section IIIE now says the Board of Commissioners SHALL compel developers to meet the state standards. Earlier, this section of the ordinance said the Board of Commissioners MAY compel developers to meet the state standards.
It is possible one of the Commissioners may make a motion to bring about this change. Don Norris, who is part of the development community, is a likely candidate to do this. The developers have asked for this change because they know they will have success in getting around the requirement if it is discretionary.
The four commissioners will have to agree to such a change. If it ends up as a two-to-two tie, Commission Chairman Melvin Davis will break the tie.
Davis is the one who instructed county officials to write MAY instead of SHALL in the first place. He allowed it to be changed to SHALL because so many people wrote and asked that the state standards be applied countywide. In an email to me, he has refused to commit to the current ordinance.
Please attend the meeting and speak. All you need to do is say you want the state standards to be applied county-wide because you want to protect our streams. Or you can say you want to make the changes to suit the developers.
The ordinance will be given its final reading and voted on at the Board of Commissioners meeting on August 1. That meeting also is at 7 p.m.
Citizens should be given a chance to speak at the July 25 meeting. Citizens may be given a chance to speak at the August 1 meeting.
Even if you plan to attend these meetings, also write to the members of the Commission. Here is the contact information.
Melvin Davis, mdavis@oconee.ga.us, chairman
Jim Luke, jluke@oconee.ga.us
Don Norris, dnorris@oconee.ga.us
Margaret Hale, mshale@oconee.ga.us
Chuck Horton, chorton@oconee.ga.us
This is a busy time of the year for all of us. Three of the six people who spoke at the Planning Commission meeting on July 17, myself included, will have to miss this meeting because of prior commitments we cannot break. I also must miss the August 1 meeting because of professional travel. So it is crucial that those who can attend do so. We need many more people than six to speak if we are to be successful. A full room is the ideal.
Thanks
Lee
Becker
lbbecker@mindspring.com
Below is some info regarding the upcoming public reading and subsequent vote on the county’s stormwater ordinance. The following info comes via Charles Baugh and Lee Becker. Please attend the upcoming BOC meetings and/or write the Commissioners in support of countywide application of the ordinance. If you aren’t familiar with the issue, you can study the files available at the Friends of Barber Creek website (http://www.barbercreek.org/barbercreek/library.html). Given the rapid growth occuring in the county, a countywide ordinance is the only way to ensure proper protection measures are in place for our streams and rivers. The county actually has a very good history of implementing environmental protection standards that are beyond the State’s basic guidelines (e.g., 100 buffer on rivers for construction; 50-100 buffer on the flood plain). Let’s hope they keep such high standards for the stormwater issue as well.
My apologies for any duplicated posts.
Cheers,
Tony Glenn
President, Citizens for South Oconee County
-----Original Message-----
From: OconeesFuture@aol.com [mailto:OconeesFuture@aol.com]
Sent: Sunday, July 23, 2006 4:21 PM
To: GAONMND@aol.com
Subject: Stormwater Ordinance/ BOC Agenda 7/25/06
Citizens for Oconee's Future, Inc.
P. O. Box 1301
Watkinsville, GA 30677
Following is the agenda for The Tuesday Board of Commissioners meeting and several e mails from Lee Becker concerning the Stormwater Ordinance approval process. Note the Stormwater Ordinance will be discussed. This is an opportunity to tell the BOC of your concerns with the ordinance. Please attend and speak out. Write to the Board even if you cannot attend. The e mail addresses are in one of the e mails from Lee Becker. Lee has done an excellent job of following the stormwater ordinance process and keeping us informed. My thanks to him for doing that and making his e mails available to us.
The BOC has an opportunity to protect our resources, lets see if they choose to do so.
Charles Baugh
President
AGENDA
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
OF
OCONEE COUNTY, GEORGIA
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Commission Meeting Chambers
Oconee County Courthouse
7:00 p.m.
1. Consider confirmation of the 2006 Tax Millage Levy for county schools maintenance and operations.
2. Consider approval of the 2006 Tax Millage Levy for county government maintenance and operations.
3. Consider approval of Tax Digest Error and Release Order for 1996-2006. (Harriette Browning)
4. First Reading of Oconee County Stormwater Ordinance. (Amy Morrison)
5. Update on water supply and conservation efforts. (Gary Dodd)
6. Discuss potential change order for the Oconee County Community Complex, Youth Baseball Complex. (Don Oliver)
7. Review August 1, 2006 agenda.
8. Statements and Remarks from Citizens.
9. Executive Session to discuss land acquisition, personnel matters and/or potential litigation (if needed).
10. Adjourn.
E mail correspondence from Lee Becker follows:
Dear Friends,
The Stormwater Ordinance is the fourth item on the agenda for the Tuesday, July 25, meeting of the Oconee County Board of Commissioners. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at the Court House in Watkinsville.
Please attend the meeting and bring your neighbors.
The issue is simple. Developers do not want the ordinance as now written to pass. It will cost them money to build storm detention facilities and take away lots they will need for those facilities that could otherwise be used to build more houses.
The ordinance imposes state standards for stormwater facilities and control to filter out pollutants before they reach the county’s streams and to help prevent flooding.
In the end, the vote will be either to make developers richer and happier or to make our streams cleaner and safer.
A very small change in the existing ordinance will give the developers what they want. Section IIIE now says the Board of Commissioners SHALL compel developers to meet the state standards. Earlier, this section of the ordinance said the Board of Commissioners MAY compel developers to meet the state standards.
It is possible one of the Commissioners may make a motion to bring about this change. Don Norris, who is part of the development community, is a likely candidate to do this. The developers have asked for this change because they know they will have success in getting around the requirement if it is discretionary.
The four commissioners will have to agree to such a change. If it ends up as a two-to-two tie, Commission Chairman Melvin Davis will break the tie.
Davis is the one who instructed county officials to write MAY instead of SHALL in the first place. He allowed it to be changed to SHALL because so many people wrote and asked that the state standards be applied countywide. In an email to me, he has refused to commit to the current ordinance.
Please attend the meeting and speak. All you need to do is say you want the state standards to be applied county-wide because you want to protect our streams. Or you can say you want to make the changes to suit the developers.
The ordinance will be given its final reading and voted on at the Board of Commissioners meeting on August 1. That meeting also is at 7 p.m.
Citizens should be given a chance to speak at the July 25 meeting. Citizens may be given a chance to speak at the August 1 meeting.
Even if you plan to attend these meetings, also write to the members of the Commission. Here is the contact information.
Melvin Davis, mdavis@oconee.ga.us, chairman
Jim Luke, jluke@oconee.ga.us
Don Norris, dnorris@oconee.ga.us
Margaret Hale, mshale@oconee.ga.us
Chuck Horton, chorton@oconee.ga.us
This is a busy time of the year for all of us. Three of the six people who spoke at the Planning Commission meeting on July 17, myself included, will have to miss this meeting because of prior commitments we cannot break. I also must miss the August 1 meeting because of professional travel. So it is crucial that those who can attend do so. We need many more people than six to speak if we are to be successful. A full room is the ideal.
Thanks
Lee
Becker
lbbecker@mindspring.com
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