The Home Occupation Glacier Shifts

Per public notice in the Crier and the City website:

THE CITY OF DUNWOODY, GEORGIA NOTICE OF MEETING FOR THE PUBLIC


A public meeting will be held before the Dunwoody Community Council on Thursday, September 8, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. at Dunwoody City Hall, 41 Perimeter Center East, Dunwoody, Georgia 30346, for the purpose of due process of the following:

Amendments to the text of Chapter 27, Sections 27-183, 27-185, and 27-1321 regarding home occupations in the R-100 (Single-Family Residential) District and “Supplemental Regulations.”

For further information please call the Community Development Department at (678) 382-6800.

Agenda isn't posted by the City yet.  However the sections involved are currently worded as the following:

Sec. 27-183. - Principal uses and structures.

The following principal uses of land and structures shall be authorized in the R-100 (Single-Family Residential) District:
(1) Detached single-family dwelling.
(2) Personal care home, family.
(3) Personal care home, registered.
(4) Stable.

Sec. 27-185. - Special permits.The following uses and structures shall be authorized only by permits of the type indicated:
(1)  Special administrative permit from city manager or his designee: Home occupation involving no customer contact and no employee other than a person residing on the premises.
(2)  Special exception permit from the zoning board of appeals: Utility structure necessary for the transmission or distribution of service.
(3)  Special land use permit from city council:
a.  Adult day care facility.
b.  Amateur radio service antenna exceeding 70 feet.
c.  Cemetery, columbarium, or mausoleum.
d.  Child day care facility.
e.  Convent or monastery.
f.  Home occupation involving any customer contact.
g. Home stay bed and breakfast residence.
h. Neighborhood recreation club.
i.  Place of worship.
j.  Private elementary, middle and high school.
k. Congregate personal care home if located on a campus of no less than 25 acres.
Sec. 27-1321. - Home occupations and private educational uses.

The following provisions shall apply to home occupations. Private educational uses shall only be required to comply with subsections (1), (2), (3), (4) and (8) of this section:
(1)  There shall be no exterior evidence of the home occupation.
(2)  No use shall create noise, dust, vibration, odor, smoke, glare or electrical interference that would be detectable beyond the dwelling unit.

(3)  The use shall be conducted entirely within the dwelling unit, and only persons living in the dwelling unit shall be employed at the location of the home occupation.
(4)  No more than 25 percent of the dwelling unit and in no case more than 500 square feet, whichever is less, may be used for the conduct of the home occupation.
(5)  No use shall involve public contact on the property and no article, product or service shall be sold on the premises other than by telephone.
(6)  No materials or equipment shall be stored on the premises upon which the home occupation is located, except where such materials and equipment are stored entirely within the residence.
(7)  No vehicle other than a passenger automobile, passenger van, or passenger truck shall be used in the conduct of a home occupation, and no other vehicle shall be parked or stored on such premises.
(8)  No home occupation shall be operated so as to create or cause a nuisance.

(9)  Home occupation shall not include the use of a dwelling unit for the purpose of operating any automobile repair establishment, taxi service, van service, limousine service, wrecker service, car wash, or ammunition or firearms sales establishment.
I can think of a number of changes that could be made to the above ordinances to make business easier and less expensive while still protecting the residential nature of the neighborhood and respecting the rights of residents who do not conduct business from home.

I can also think of verbage that should be clarified.  For example in (8) above - define "nuisance".  I can think of residential activities that create a greater nuisance than a home-based business.  I'd like to see the City (at whatever level - commission, council, manager, etc) set a single standard on what should be a tolerable level of activity, and what is an over-the-line "nuisance" for all activity in a traditionally residential community, regardless of purpose and then write your codes accordingly to encompass home-based employees.

Finally - why just R100?  Why not include R75 and R50 zoned areas?  Anyone?  Anyone?  Bueller?

I'm going to try to make this meeting.  Anyone else have any input or info on this discussion coming up?

DHS Academy of Finance Garage Sale - Dunwoody School Daze

Dunwoody School Daze

DHS Academy of Finance is still raising money for their trip to the NYSE.

Let's support the next generation learning how to be creative and make a living!

BTW - 2526 Lost Mine Trail is off of Tilly Mill Road, near the Doraville city line, near the Buddhist meditation center.

Dunwoody Election Season Hits the Ground Running

Qualifying for Dunwoody city office is open this week through Friday.  General Election information for qualifying as a candidate is available from the city website.  We'll know what the race looks like finally on Friday afternoon.

This is the first time since the inaugural city elections that city council seats have been contested.  The city coucil doesn't always make decisions directly, but they do impact every decision.  What isn't handled in council chambers is decided by the employees they hire and the commissions they appoint.  You can tell alot about an elected official by who they appoint to a commission.  A lot has changed since the first election and there were plenty of surprises between campaign rhetoric and actual actions when the votes were counted.  You can tell alot about an official by those differences too.

Get to know the candidates, not as your neighbors, not as your friends, not as the guy/gal you wave to while walking his/her dog as you drive past.  Get to know them as potential government agents and try to see what kind of decisions they are going to make.  Chatting over a cold beer at the pool may bring a different answer than a serious debate in executive session.  All of these decisions are going to affect how citizens and visitors make a living, from the multinational corporation all the way down to the lowly solopreneur.

A few candidates and their representatives have contacted me to inquire if I will post about them on the Working Girl.  I will and to keep it fair and impartial I'm going to come up with a list of questions that I will pose to everyone running in a contested race.  Anyone who wants to respond is welcome to and their comments will be posted in their entirety, unedited (not even a spell check!) as they come in.

Regarding a few of the other questions I've received:

No, I am not running for office.  I've said this before, I'm more effective in the private sector. 

No, I will not be creating any campaign websites for this particular season.  I've got a big batch of long-term projects on my desk and I don't have the time to commit to a seasonal site that requires frequent time-sensitive updates and interactivity.  Maybe next time, OK?

I am not sure whether I will make any endorsements on the Working Girl.  We'll see how that pans out as we get closer to November.  If I do, it will be after Halloween has passed and we all know what that event is like.

What I will do is make some suggestions to our esteemed neighbors-turned-candidates that will get repeated on election day.

Stay classy.  No matter who wins and who loses, we still have to live together.  Things to avoid include

• Cheap shots at your opponents that don't have anything to do with managing the city
• Creating personal controversies.  Remember how the Pankey campaign in 2008 allegedly tried to create dirt on Adrian Bonser?  Like that.  Don't do it.
• Gratuitous negative campaigning.  I don't care what the marketing statistics say, negativity will bounce back on you.
• Putting flyers on cars parked at a church/synagogue during worship.  Enough said.
• Bragging about your campaign's strengths if you win.  The only thing worse than a sore loser is a sore winner.

This is a small town.  Creating more conflict in a race than absolutely necessary can follow you around like a bad smell and can compromise any positive input you have on this city. 

This campaign will go down a lot easier if you can focus on your strengths, abilities, and spell out as much as you are able your intentions for Dunwoody.  Compare yourself with your opponent when you must and be a lady or gentleman about it.

See you on November 8!