August 13, 2008
www.northfulton.com
ALPHARETTA - City residents in subdivisions along Cogburn Road had no good will for a thrift store proposed by Goodwill Industries with frontage on Cogburn and North Main Street (Ga. 9).
The city's Planning Commission agreed Aug. 7 with those residents and staff's recommendation to deny the rezoning request. The proposal goes next to the Alpharetta City Council.
"I feel that this proposed project is not conducive to the residential nature of the area," said Jamie Reed of Rhodes Plantation.
Jim Cregge, a member of the Parks and Recreation Commission, but speaking only as a resident, said he is a regular donor to Goodwill.
"The concept of Goodwill is to be a good neighbor. All I'm suggesting is that this is not a good location," he said.
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| 'This is not a low end shopper. It's entertainment, and it's entertainment for those who shop.'
Paula Swearingen
Vice President, Goodwill Industries of North Georgia |
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Three main problems were cited with the location, which formerly housed a nursery/landscaping supply business. First was the access to Cogburn Road. With several subdivisions up the street and Cogburn Road Park next door, parents worried about their children's safety.
The proposed Goodwill store's loading zone located directly beside the park also concerned those same residents, who didn't want the noise of trucks to disturb the park.
Perhaps a bigger worry was that people would dump their donations - including items they know Goodwill won't accept, such as stoves and refrigerators - in the parking lot. That's something even Goodwill's staff acknowledges happens regularly at the Roswell store on Ga. 9 just north of Mansell Road.
Paula Swearingen, vice president of Goodwill Industries of North Georgia, said planning commissioners were right - late-night, after hours drop-offs happen regularly at the Roswell store.
"We're not the same old Goodwill," she said.
To stop "serial donors" from dropping off after hours, she said Goodwill is willing to put up video surveillance to train people not to make late-night deposits.
She disputed statements that the store would be a neighborhood retailer. Demographics show most customers and donors will come from within five miles of the store. And 60 percent of the donors surveyed also said they shop at Goodwill.
"This is not a low end shopper. It's entertainment, and it's entertainment for those who shop," Swearingen said.
The property is zoned C-1 (commercial), but Alpharetta classified the Goodwill store as a mixed-sales retail establishment. That requires a conditional use permit, hence the rezoning hearing.
Chuck Martin, representing Goodwill Industries, told planning commissioners traffic would not be as bad as originally stated. Instead of 2,500-plus trips per day, the store would have just under 1,100 trips per day. (A trip as stated by Martin is a vehicle either entering or leaving the site.)
The site would have interparcel access with the Lowes' parking lot, which he said would put most traffic at that center's traffic light on Ga. 9 and not on Cogburn.
Alpharetta City Council will hear the zoning case on Aug. 25.
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