May 22, 2017

If you are looking for who is most responsible for the rezoning approval on Monday (May 15^th), look no further than Council Member Karen Thurman.  You see, Ms. Thurman was the City Council representative to the Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee (CPAC).  What is the CPAC you ask?  Here is a succinct description from the City of Milton website:

“The Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee (CPAC) is a citizen committee that consists of the seven members of the Planning Commission, the chairs of the Design Review Board and the Board of Zoning Appeal; as well as an appointee from each of the seven members of the Milton city council. City Councilmember Karen Thurman represents City Council. This group is the citizen steering committee that will guide the development of the Comprehensive (land use) Plan document.”

This group of 17 people meets every 5 years to update the City’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP).  The CLUP is a very big deal as it sets the vision for land use in the city.  And it frequently gets cited in debates about land use (although it is not legal binding).  To assist Milton, the Atlanta Regional Commission provided 2 consultants to work with our staff planner, Michelle McIntosh-Ross.  The process from start to finish spans an entire year.  There were multiple workshops conducted to solicit public input.  And citizens attended and participated in CPAC meetings.

So you can see that a huge amount of time is invested in getting the CLUP right.  Literally, 100s of hours are expended, mostly by citizen-volunteers, to establish Milton’s vision for land use.  Ms. Thurman was actively engaged in the Committee’s deliberations.  The final CLUP was approved unanimously by both the 17-member CPAC and the 7-member Planning Commission.  The final CLUP was approved by Council in late October 2016.  Before the Council vote, Ms. Thurman defended the CLUP, and she voted for it.

What is the point of this discussion?  Well, you need some context to understand how important the CLUP is to Milton and the investment made by so many to get it right.  And the most important point is that Ms. Thurman knows this and Ms. Thurman is the one council person that has an obligation to explain and, more importantly, defend the CLUP.

Unfortunately, last Monday night, Ms. Thurman disavowed the CLUP . . . and with it, all the hard work of the CPAC and all the input from citizens.  Shockingly, Ms. Thurman stated (and this is a direct quote):

“. . . I am really struggling with this.  If the recommendation for denial by both staff and the planning commission is based on the future land use map then any rezonings will be recommended for denial?”

The answer is YES.  Isn’t that the purpose of the CLUP’s future land use map . . . to establish the future land use for various parcels in the City?  Ms. Thurman was there at the CPAC meetings when the rezoned parcels were discussed.  There was a lot of debate.  Quite a few citizens showed up to advocate for AEE land-use designations for parcels south of the Brookshade subdivision.  And the CLUP was ultimately approved unanimously by both the 17-member CPAC and the 7-member planning commission.  So yes, we expect the CLUP and its future land use map to be upheld!  And Ms. Thurman of all people should be defending the work of CPAC and advocating for application of the CLUP to rezonings.  Ms. Thurman should be providing the rest of Council with context and defending the prerogatives of citizens.  Instead, Ms. Thurman led the charge to cavalierly cast aside the CLUP.  In so doing, Ms. Thurman disrespected citizens and all the members of the CPAC.  (Is it any wonder that the City has difficulty recruiting citizen volunteers for its committees?)

And not only was the CLUP dismissed by Ms. Thurman, she also advocated for disregarding (as she has many times before) Milton’s Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with Fulton County regarding which parcels can have sewer.  The IGA was a hard-fought agreement reached with Fulton County.  The rezoned parcels are not among the properties eligible for sewer under the IGA.  Accordingly, Council will have to separately approve extension of sewer to homes on the rezoned property.  Once again, sewer is being extended, even though every Council member has vowed, at one time or another, to not extend sewer.

Ms. Thurman’s third and final justification for approving the Hopewell rezoning was to avoid a lawsuit by the developer.  Applying this standard would imply that Council should approve every rezoning application, as every developer at a zoning hearing claims their rights under the Constitution would be violated by a denial.  Developers actually must make such assertions to have standing in court, should they decide to sue.  The City Attorney actually felt compelled at one point to correct Ms. Thurman’s hyperbolic assertions about previous lawsuits (in the Fulton County days).  And do you know how many times a developer has sued the City and won on a zoning matter?  The answer is NONE.  The threat of a lawsuit should NEVER prevent the City from doing the right thing for citizens!

There is a silver lining in Ms. Thurman’s betrayal of the CPAC and citizens.  Ms. Thurman revealed she is an advocate for developers, assisting them with bending, breaking, and changing the rules to their benefit . . . and to the detriment of citizens, who pay the cost in terms of congested roads, overcrowded schools, and lowered property values.  The truth is that Ms. Thurman has a long history of voting for rezonings that increase density.