Loganville Council Affirms Mayor's Veto on Rezone

At a Special Called Meeting of the Loganville City Council on Friday, a veto by Mayor Ray Nunley of a rezone vote was affirmed by the council. This was done by no motion being brought forth by any council member to overrule the mayor's veto.

David Gussio, attorney for Mahaffey Pickens Tucker, LLP, then requested that the rezoning and variance be withdrawn. The council voted, 3 to 2, to approve the withdrawal on condition that it not be reapplied for within a 12 month period. Gussio said he had no objection to the 12-month rule being imposed since he did not believe that the applicant would be applying for a rezoning during that time. 

The original vote was taken on Feb. 14 on property that was being considered for a dual purpose development.  part of the property was being rezoned for a lower density than the current R8 apartment zoning and a variance had been requested to increase the density on the balance to allow for three-story apartments. The property runs from Highway 78 to Mount Zion Cemetery Road, adjacent to Loganville High School. At the time, Gussio had stressed that the entire property be considered at the same time. The original vote by the council would have split the project. Gussio also pointed out that the proposed project would have resulted in a net reduction in density of the land.

With the council's vote to allow for the withdrawal, the applicant cannot come before the council in the next 12 months to apply for any variance or rezoning. Director of Planning and Zoning Tim Prator confirmed, however, that the applicant can go ahead immediately and put apartments on the whole property in keeping with the current R8 zoning. The developer would need to apply for a permit, but would not need to go before the council since the property is already zoned for apartments.