Dover Township: Zoning could be on May ballot
1/26/2005TEDROW - Residents in Tedrow, Ottokee, and other areas of Dover Township likely will vote on a zoning issue during the May 3 special election.
Trustees are expected to make a decision on whether to proceed with placing the issue on the ballot during their meeting Jan. 31, said trustee Joe Borton. Filing deadline for issues for the May ballot is Feb. 17.
If the zoning question moved ahead to the ballot, it would mark the fifth time that residents have voted on the issue. The most recent decision took place in March, 2000, when it lost by two votes, 201-199.
The earliest vote dates back to 1972 when it was rejected 224-98. In 1979, it was turned down again, 165-63. The vote was 387-143 during the general election in 1992, said Kathy Meyer, deputy director of the Fulton County board of elections.
A group of residents petitioned to have the zoning issue placed back on the ballot, said Steve Brown, Fulton County regional planning director, who has been working with township residents on the proposed zoning resolution and land-use map.
Proposed zoning is "pretty standard," Mr. Brown said, and is "not what I would call restrictive." Under the proposed zoning, there would be designated areas for agricultural, real estate, and commercial/industrial. There would not be regulations for swimming pools, signs, or fences.
On the residential side, lot sizes would be a minimum of 1 acre with 150 feet of road frontage. With two or more acres, there would be a 250-foot of frontage requirement, Mr. Brown said.
About 35 residents, some of whom asked if there is a need for zoning, attended a public hearing on the zoning proposal last week.
"I would like to have seen more," said Mr. Borton who is encouraging residents to read the plan so that they will be informed about it before the election and will know what the plan involves if it is implemented.
Trustees are remaining neutral on the zoning proposal, Mr. Borton said. "It's up to the voters," he said.
The township, Mr. Brown noted, was the fastest growing township in the county in terms of population between 1990 and 2000. Dover had 1,468 residents in 2000, compared to 1,111 in 1990, or a 32 percent increase.
Figures showed that the township had 561 homes in 2000, up from 373 in 1990, Mr. Brown said. Much of the growth occurred in the Tedrow and Ottokee areas, Mr. Brown said.
Dover Township, is in the center of Fulton County. The Fulton County Fairgrounds and the county airport, dog pound, transfer station, and engineer's office and garage are in the township.
In Fulton County, the townships of Dover, Pike, Royalton, and Gorham, as well as a portion of Swancreek Township, are unzoned, Mr. Brown said. It is possible that a zoning proposal could be on the ballot this fall in Royalton Township, he said.