Posted: 10/2/07
City council denies variances
for downtown CJC location
By Charlie Warner
Argus Editor
By virtue of two unanimous votes to deny two variance requests in the city zoning ordinances, the Caledonia City Council dashed just about any hopes of Houston County locating the 82,000 square foot criminal justice center (CJC) in downtown Caledonia. The two requests for zoning variances (both had to do with parking stalls) were crucial for the countyís downtown proposal.
The votes came at the end of a two-hour city council meeting that attracted about 60 persons at the cityís municipal auditorium Wednesday night. The meeting was actually a continuation of a council meeting held July 11 when the city council approved a 60-day extension of the countyís variance and street vacation requests, and scheduled the continuance of the meeting to Wednesday, Sept. 26.
A number of persons commented during the public hearing portion of the Sept. 26 meeting. The majority of the comments urged the city council to deny the variance requests because they did not feel the CJC was a good fit for the neighborhood.
County Board Chairman Ann Thompson explained that the county has been working on developing plans for a new jail for more than a decade. After various studies, it was determined the downtown location would be the most cost efficient for all Houston County citizens. She cited extra costs in time spent in traveling between two sites if the CJC wasnít located adjacent to the existing court house. According to county studies, building the CJC off-site would require three to five more employees, which would be a considerable added expense to taxpayers.
"The county board feels it is in the best interests of the county to keep these buildings together," Thompson said.
At Wednesday nightís meeting, city attorney Tim Murphy reviewed the criteria city councilmembers needed to use when determining if the countyís requests should be approved or denied. The criteria included:
ï if the proposed CJC was a reasonable use in an R-2 zone;
ï if the countyís requests to circumvent current city zoning laws was due to a hardship;
ï if the intended use would alter the character of the neighborhood.
Mayor Mike Morey then read a statement of findings for each variance request utilizing the criteria. The findings on each variance request were then adopted by the council.
A motion to deny the variance request for parking stall size was made by Morey and seconded by Councilman Gary Klug. That motion passed 5-0.
A motion to deny the variance request to reduce the number of specified parking stalls for the CJC was made by Morey and seconded by Klug. That motion passed 5-0.
Because the council had voted to deny both variance requests, the county decided to withdraw the street vacation request, which was also needed for the downtown CJC location. They felt it was a moot point.
Plan A, Plan B
The county actually had two separate plans for the downtown CJC locations. Plan A, which was scrutinized by the city council during the July 11 public hearing, placed the 42-cell facility to the south of the existing court house. That plan required four variances and two street vacations. Those zoning changes included:
ï A 20 foot setback on the south (front) property line.
ï Required parking stall dimension are 10 feet wide by 25 feet long. The proposed parking stall dimensions are 9 feet wide by 18 feet long, requiring variances of one foot on width and seven feet on length.
ï Variance on number of parking stalls required from 590 spaces to 179, as specified by the plans.
ï A variance on exceeding the 35 foot building height limitation by 10 feet to a height of 45 feet.
ï A half-block portion of Washing Street from the west right of way line of Pine Street westward to the Courthouse Square.
ï A half-block portion of Marshall Street from the north right of way line of South Street northward to the Courthouse Square.
The county altered the original plans and presented Plan B to the city in August. Plan B had the CJC situated to the east of the courthouse, Memorial Plaza and the existing county jail.
The revised plan did away with the elevated skylight, bringing the height of the building in compliance and by situating the building along Pine Street, Plan B did not require a property line setback. But the county still needed two variances in city zoning ordinances, and one street vacation. They were:
ï Approximately 55 more parking stalls were added to Plan B, bringing the total to 233, which was still out of compliance with that ordinance.
ï Parking stalls in Plan B were not in compliance with current city zoning ordinances, so a second variance was required.
ï Plan B also required the vacating of a section of Washington Street.
At the Sept. 26 meeting, the county formally withdrew Plan A, and requested the city council consider the two variances and one street vacation.
According to legal counsel, the county can appeal the cityís decision in court.
On Thursday Houston County Attorney Rick Jackson was asked what the countyís next step might be. He replied the county board will have to decide what their options are.
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