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Milton denies Ga. 141 landscape business
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October 26, 2009
Milton — A months-long question as to whether a landscaping business on Arnold Mill Road would be allowed to continue operations was answered succinctly Oct. 19, with a majority of council voting no.
Frank Schaffer's The Landscape Group Inc., had been operating for more than 18 months on Arnold Mill Road without a proper use permit before it was discovered in October 2008 by a Milton code enforcement officer. Schaffer said in earlier interviews he assumed everything had transferred over since moving from Roswell in 2006.
It had not, and he needed to get a new permit in order to legally own a landscaping business in Milton. The case first came to council for a vote in March and had been deferred every month since so Schaffer could provide city planners with an accurate site plan they could use to determine whether his business met the requirements for the permit.
As interim Community Development Director Tom Wilson said during the hearing, it did not.
The problem was that the site needed a reduction in buffers — strips of land and vegetation shielding neighboring properties from the goings on of the business — so that trucks could get around a home on the site to load up plants.
The buffers are required for any landscape business, regardless of the site. Most operate without a problem, but Schaffer's land had a difficult topography, he argued.
"We've received a number of site plans, each one a little different from the one before," said Wilson. "The site plan can't meet the [minimum permit] standards because of the reduction of buffers. And, the proposed use is too intense based in part on equipment stored at the site."
Schaffer's Cumming-based attorney, Stuart Teague, said Schaffer bought the land for the business thinking it could be used for landscaping because it was zoned for agricultural use. However, when Milton came calling, things got more complicated.
Teague said because of those buffers and a stream on the site – which also requires a set of buffers to avoid runoff, pollution and erosion — the amount of usable space for any business having to do with landscaping is less than a 50-foot by 50-foot square. And the needed buffer reductions were for trucks virtually no one would see or hear, he said.
"The trucks come in the very early morning and leave at night. The business is not performed on site," said Teague.
Councilman Alan Tart asked Wilson if he thought the buffers actually reduced the site to such a small square.
He said the land could have some "reasonable economic use" that wasn't landscaping and would not need the buffers.
That also meant the government wasn't inhibiting all business by imposing unfair development standards — an important point brought up often in these discussions.
Thus, Tart brought forward a motion to deny the landscaping permit because Schaffer's land and existing buildings didn't meet the requirements for it. The motion was seconded by councilwoman Tina D'Aversa and passed 6-1 with Mayor Joe Lockwood in opposition.
 View images.
Tags: Milton, Milton City Council
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