Possible Vote On Sembler Project

DeKalb County Development Department will meet June 18 to discuss and possibly vote on Sembler’s request for a 100 percent waiver of property taxes for the next 20 years on most of the acreage of the 54-acre development known as “Town Brookhaven.”

DeKalb County Cuts Development Department

DeKalb County laid off 60 Development Department employees due to budget shortfalls.  The Department is left with 45 employees.

Cobb County Approves Development Incentives

Cobb County recently approved a six month incentive program to spur residential and commercial construction and reduce its inventory of vacant lot.  From now until December 31, any builder can defer payment of all permit fees, including sewer tap fees and inspection fees, until the issuance of a certificate of occupancy on the home or building.  Land disturbance permits and permits for additions are not included in the deferral program. 

You can learn more about the program here.

Statewide Voluntary Remediation Program Act

On June 1, the new Georgia Voluntary Remediation Program Act, O.C.G.A. § 12-8-100, et seq., became effective.  The Act establishes a Voluntary Remediation Program (VRP) intended to encourage “voluntary, timely and cost-effective” investigation and remediation of properties impacted by the release of hazardous substances. 

 Unlike the Georgia Hazardous Site Response Act (HSRA), which requires cleanup of soil and groundwater contamination to established levels, VRP adopts a risk-based approach under which cleanup standards are determined on a site-specific basis taking into account factors such as potential exposure and groundwater impacts.

You can find the Act here.

Roswell Chickens Can Stay

Roswell Municipal Court Judge Maurice Hilliard invalidates the City ban on backyard chickens for being “too vague and ambiguous for enforcement.”  Andrew Wordes a/k/a The Chicken Outlaw can keep his pet chickens on Alpine Drive.

DeKalb County Pulls Plug on Military School

AJC reports that DeKalb County pulled the plug on the proposed military school simply stating that the plan was “not feasible”.