City Council continues to hit home

     The members of the Georgia College chapter of Zeta Tau Alpha received disappointing news over spring break when they found out their house has been denied for a special group use zoning which would exempt them from the definition of family ordinance scheduled to go into effect this November.
     For freshman member Dani Stevens, this means a change of plans for her living situation for the 2008-2009 school year.
     “I was supposed to live there next year. There are six bedrooms and somewhere around 15 girls living there now,” Stevens said. “A lot of people are going to have to move out. I am really disappointed.”
     The motion was denied at the March 25 City Council meeting where a hearing was held. The owner of the property, Robert Binion, was present to speak on behalf of the motion.
     According to Zoning Administrator Mervin Graham, houses that have been split up into apartment before the passage of the movement fall into a protective grandfather clause. Examples of this are a home on Montgomery Street owned by Frank Heal and the brick apartment building on West McIntosh Street. These buildings will not have to conform to the definition of family ordinance.
     On the other hand, the house that is currently occupied by Delta Zeta members does fall under the ordinance and the sorority must reduce the number of tenants living in the Montgomery Street house to three.
     Future District 4 City Council candidate Phil Joiner gave his opinion on the issue.
     “The enforcement of this law, in theory, is a good idea. Historic preservation is important. It is important to not turn anything into a big slum. However, the implementation of it has been flat out unfair,” Joiner said. “It seems to me that Mr. Binion has a fair argument for a group of tenants who have caused zero problems and are probably ideal tenants. The government needs to look at these things on a case-by-case basis.
     This issue is being felt in all corners of the city. As Graham pointed out, this ordinance affects all areas not just the historic district.
     Zeta Tau Alpha members are meeting this week to update members and reach a decision on how to deal with this blow. As November approaches, there will be more and more people who begin to feel the effects of this ordinance.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Apr 4 2008. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry