Almost Done - Whew!

This is Bill's speech to the planning and zoning commission last Monday, 7/16. The year long zoning battle is almost over. The first reading of the new zoning ordinance is tomorrow night, 7/19. The second reading will be 8/2 and then then it becomes law. The council always votes en masse so it probably a done deal. We were successful in pushing the OP district back towards the business district. We lost two houses, but at least, they can't be medical. So, here it is.

CBD Public Hearing – 16 July 2007

My name is Bill Grant, and I am speaking on behalf of the Historic Canton Homeowners Association whose members include:

Jeannie Adams
Mary Ann Morgan Banks
Barry and Judy Bishop
Dennis and Mary Beth Burnette
Doris Cooper
Rich and Rajayne Cordery
Ursula Cox
Karl and Joan Duff
JoAnne Eggelston
Cissy Ellington
Tibby Evans
Ann and Jack Fincher
Deborah and John Fincher
Carolyn Galt
Odie and Kebra Galt
Homer and Pat Gold
Megan Gold
Courtney Goodwin
Trey Goodwin
Jack and Debra Goodwin
Bill Grant
Mr. and Mrs. Carlton Hendrix
Gene and Elly Hobgood
Harry and Rebecca Johnston
Tommy Justice
Kevin Kellogg
Richard Kemp
Sara Lathem
Jules and Boyce Leni
Estelle Lurwig
Bill and Nell Magruder
Jerry and Carol Merritt
Cliff and Karen Owen
Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Owen
Ken and Kendra Phelps
Ann and Clayton Reid
Wanda Roach
Sylvia Roberts
Mary and John Sparks
Virginia Spears
Jackie Swords
And Jim Wilson.


I apologize if I left anyone out, and I did not call the names of the many children who are part of our association’s family members.

We formed the HCHA over one year ago, when Dr. Michael Anderson attempted to relocate his medical practice to 870 and 890 E. Main Street, and we are now dedicated to protecting and preserving our historic residential neighborhoods for the long haul. While most of our time, resources and energy over the past year have been applied in our struggle to keep East Main Street Residential, we have also experience many positive developments as well. First and foremost, we have come to know and appreciate our neighbors like never before. We have shared stories about the historic homes and way of life on East Main Street, E Marietta Street and other vital neighborhoods in the downtown Canton area. Through our regular meetings and events, we have found new respect for the integrity of our residential community, and we have vowed to never again take it for granted.

On the other hand, we were very alarmed to discover that everyone does not appreciate and value Canton’s historic neighborhoods as much as we do, and at the risk of being redundant, here are a few of our profound disappointments – for the record:

- We were disappointed that the Mayor did not honor his word to stop all commercial development at Shipp and Roy Street, however we appreciate his admittance of this oversight.

We were disappointed that the majority of the Downtown Development Authority members and Melanie Whitt promoted this project to begin with and recommended its approval.

We were disappointed to learn that some City Council members were treated to lunch by Dr. Anderson at the beginning of this project.

We were, and remain, disappointed that blatant conflicts of interest on the planning commission occurred and were not addressed by the Mayor or City Council.

We were disappointed to have to hire attorneys to represent our interests in this matter, and we have been disappointed to have to pay them, to date, over $50,000 to decipher flawed and sloppy zoning ordinances.

We were disappointed to discover an over-abundance of confusing zoning maps that did not serve any of Canton’s residents in a positive manner, and we are disappointed that there is not a map here tonight to clearly define the revisions to the CBD, but it is our understanding that the revised CBD boundary will run north and south along a line located at 750 E. Main Street.

We were disappointed to learn that the zoning ordinance text, which included CBD residential for the block in question, did not match the alleged official zoning map.

We were disappointed to have to threaten to file an open records act lawsuit to get the official minutes from the original meetings where the CBD was discussed and adopted in years past, and we were disappointed when the minutes were produced weeks after our original request – only to discover they had been hand written by the City Clerk.

We were disappointed to have to seek a temporary restraining order against the City and some of our neighbors to stop the commercial development at 750 E. Main before this issue was settled.

We were disappointed to learn that large specimen trees were removed at 750 E. Main Street, and we were disappointed that we were the ones that had to inform the Development, on many occasions, what was transpiring at these high profile projects.

We are disappointed at the loss of trees and permanent changed in landscape behind the homes from 830 to 890 E. Main Street.

We are disappointed that the City elected not to defend the lawsuit filed by Christen & Faith LLC to demand commercial permits for 870 and 890 E Main Street.

We are disappointed that there will be commercial offices floating within our historic residential neighborhood at 870 and 890 E Main Street, and for the record, we will NOT support ANY business that relocates its business within our neighborhood.

We are disappointed that our friends and neighbors in Breeze Hill have had their homes exposed to 575 traffic and noise pollution due to the loss of thousands of trees at exit 19.

We are disappointed that the City and developers decided to locate Canton Place within a residential district when so much land remains undeveloped and more appropriate for commercial uses around Riverstone and The Bluffs.

We are disappointed that we are here again tonight, fighting to protect our way of life from developers who are eager to turn our homes into commercial projects.

- We are disappointed to know that the trust we always valued in our city government has been shaken to the core and that this lack of trust will result in closer scrutiny of future decisions and policy proposals.

Granted, these are just a few of the disappointments we have faced over the past year. We do understand that growth is inevitable for Canton, and we advocate responsible and intelligent growth for our fine City. However, we can not fathom why anyone would want to replace a historic, charming and thriving neighborhood with commercial businesses – especially when so much abandoned and potential office space remains within the undisputed Central Business District, Downtown and the over abundance of new commercial space in our community.

Tonight, the HCHA is ready to “settle” for this revised ordinance simply because we think it is the best deal the City is going to offer us. As the Mayor has stated, everyone will not be happy with this agreement. We are not happy about these developments, but we think this revised ordinance will protect as much of our remaining neighborhood as possible. But for the record, we are more resolved than ever to KEEP EAST MAIN STREET RESIDENTIAL for generations to come, and as Pat Gold stated so eloquently at the last hearing on this matter, “We are the Historic Canton Homeowners Association, and we are going to be around for a very, very long time.” Thank you.