Council Not Being Fair to Residents?
by Ashley Murphy

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

A consent agenda item came before the City Council during their Monday meeting regarding a rezoning request by Dale Hughes for 4305 Ellis Circle NW. The property is currently zoned PUD7 and Hughes wishes it changed to Conditional CH. This would allow Hughes to place a billboard on the property for viewing from I75.

Councilman George Poe said he remembered, about 8 years ago, a lady he knew used to live on this property and had requested this same change years ago. Vice Mayor Avery Johnson stated that he also remembered a similar situation.

Poe believed that years ago, in that meeting, he actually made a motion to approve the rezoning. Johnson believed he made the second. Each councilman questioned whether this was doing right by the residents based on the failed motion years ago. They questioned why the request was denied to the previous owners, but so many seem to be in favor of the rezoning now. The Planning Commission approved the request 9 to 0 before presenting it to the council. Being part of the consent agenda, which is voted on as a whole, the motion to approve the request passed.

During council members reports, Poe claimed he has been contacted and has discussed a matter with several residents regarding red lights. As more red lights are going up, travelers are noticing that the lights aren't synched properly. Poe stated something needed to be done about it. He said this has been a complaint for years and if nothing is done about it, then there seems to be no point in having a traffic engineer, that money could be better spent on a consultant.

Councilman Richard Banks referred to a recent existing industry report, in which businesses fill out a survey and questionairre about the quality of life and other aspects of Cleveland. Banks read that traffic wasn't an issue among business owners. However, this is just a small portion of the Cleveland population and does not include the thousands that drive on a daily basis in the city and don't get to fill out surveys about their traffic experiences

After a joint meeting with the Bradley County Commission on October 13th at noon, the City Council will meet again on October 25th at 2 p.m. for a work session and at 4 p.m. for a voting session.