Athens City Council met Monday evening in special committees to discuss issuing a special permit, reconstituting the Comprehensive Plan Review Advisory Committee, utility easement and disposal of police equipment.
The Planning and Development Committee spoke first, addressing a consideration for a special right-of-way permit for an existing brick paver patio at a home on 37 and 37 1/2 Woodward Ave.
Councilmember Alan Swank, D-4th Ward, introduced the consideration and explained sometime between May 2023 and today, a brick paver patio and curb were added to the home.
The applicant wished to keep the curb and the patio in the public right-of-way.
Mayor Steve Patterson said no paperwork was submitted from the property owner to the code office.
“In layman's terms, that is an illegal parking area that is on that parcel right now,” Patterson said. “It never went through any of the processes associated with City Council nor with the code office in order to put in such a parking space.”
The committee then heard from the public on the matter.
Jeff Risner, an Athens resident, said he was shocked the homeowner asked the Council to make an illegal act legal.
“I don’t like that very well,” Risner said. “If you want to do something, do it right.”
Rob Delich, an Athens resident, said this is not new for Athens, and many people initially go around the proper process..
“Just do it, and ask for forgiveness later,” Delich said. “It does seem weird that we still allow these things to happen in the city.”
The conversation then turned back to the committee, where councilmember Solveig Spjeldnes, D-1st Ward, questioned if there was a fine the Council could place on the property owner. Swank said the law director could prosecute the homeowner, but he was unsure if it would remedy the issue.
Councilmember Michael Wood, D-3rd Ward, who lives up the hill from the home, said he assumed the property owner had a permit to make this patio as the construction blocked the road daily.
Patterson said the matter is unacceptable under his administration, and he asked the Council to thoroughly look into this matter. Patterson urged residents to come and talk to him and the city administration, and they will direct them to the code office, where they can get a permit legally.
“It never hurts if someone has a question about any development they are seeing in the city … to make a simple phone call to the mayor’s office and find out,” Patterson said.
Swank said he will contact the code and law director's office to receive further information and legal opinion on the best course of action.
Reconstituting the Comprehensive Plan Review Advisory Commission was next on the agenda.
Patterson said this involves looking at what has been accomplished in the comprehensive plan and adding any new elements the Council sees fit. It will be a five-year refresh of the comprehensive plan.
The committee then spoke about a utility easement from 1924 for a gas line.
The gas company wants to remove the easement and has asked for a new one. In exchange, the city would receive the 101-year-old easement.
Swank said Service-Safety Director Andy Stone assured the easement will not displace dirt and will be less environmentally harmful than the 1924 pipeline.
The easement will be on the agenda for first reading April 7.
The City and Safety Services community spoke next about an ordinance declaring police department firearms and equipment no longer needed for municipal purposes.
When equipment is valued over a certain dollar amount, the committee needs approval from the Council to dispose of the item properly.
A total of 32 firearms, 23 tasers, 19 radios and eight cases of ammunition need to be disposed of.
