Turnout sparse for public forum
BY SUZANNE LOUDAMY Staff writer

Troup City Council member Barbara Barton and incoming councilmember Sonny Seldon look over the proposed zoning map at Tuesday's town hall meeting.

Only four Troup citizens attended a town hall meeting held by the Troup City Council on Tuesday night. The purpose of this meeting was to receive citizen input on upcoming zoning ordinances, to respond to their questions and to gather ideas or questions for further consideration or later response.

"This council is not looking at zoning to dictate what people can do (with their property)," Mayor John Whitsell said. "We want to provide protection to our citizens' property.

Whitsell added that this is something that is long overdue in Troup. It has been talked about by this council and councils in the past and it is time for action.

"Troup is one of only a handful of cities its size that does not have a zoning ordinance in place," Whitsell said.

City Administrator Russ Obar explained to the small but attentive audience the various classifications on the proposed map and how they would be described in the ordinance.

"This map was drawn using what currently exists, for the most part," Obar said. "This is not the finished product. It's just a place to start."

Obar and council member Carole Wilson both expressed an interest in asking City Attorney Blake Armstrong to include a historical district to the list of designated areas.

"We not only have a unique downtown that should be considered historic, but there are also some won- derful old homes that should be included," Wilson said. "How do we protect those without being so strict that people can't make changes they want to make?"

Obar explained that could be addressed as Armstrong works through the appropriate wording in the ordinance. A suggestion was also made that Obar and Armstrong contact other cities with similar designated areas and ask how they worded their ordinances.

Mayor Whitsell asked the four attendees if they saw this move as a positive thing for the city. All of them gave an affirmative response.

The question came up asking if someone was to ask for a variance, who would make that decision. The mayor answered that in an ideal situation they would have a zoning board, but that would probably not be the case. Challenges to a particular zoning issue would be brought to the council.

The town hall meeting was closed and the council workshop was opened.

Armstrong told the council that he could take the current sample ordinance, the map and the input tonight and start work on a draft document. He requested that the council take the time individually and as a group to go through and make notes of areas they saw as a particular need.

The suggestion was also made that the council's next workshop meeting be a "mobile meeting" so that they can travel as a group and make some determinations in the field as to what might need to be noted and addressed in the ordinance and report that information back to Armstrong.

The special workshop meeting was called for March 31. The council will leave from City Hall at 4 p.m. While they will be riding on a small bus, it is a public meeting and the public may attend.