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VOTE ON ETOWAH VALLEY - TONIGHT

The Board of Commissioners will vote on the ETOWAH VALLEY Re-zoning Request

George Canton West No Comments »

Cherokee Planning Commission - Denial of Etowah Valley

THE CHEROKEE COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION VOTED 8 TO 1 FOR DENIAL IN THEIR RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS FOR THE ETOWAH VALLEY / CANTON WEST PROJECT. 

REASONS STATED FOR DENIAL:

DOES NOT MEET THE LAND USE PLAN FOR THIS AREA

FINANCIAL BURDEN TO ALL CHEROKEE COUNTY TAXPAYERS FOR INFRASTRUCTURE TO SUPPORT ETOWAH VALLEY

TRAFFIC

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS WILL VOTE ON ETOWAH VALLEY AT THEIR MAY 19TH MEETING @ 6:00 P.M. 

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MEETING - ETOWAH VALLEY A/K/A CANTON WEST

THE CHEROKEE COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION WILL HEAR THE ETOWAH VALLEY RE-ZONING CASE  - PUBLIC HEARING

TUESDAY - APRIL 7TH, 2009

7:00 P.M.

CHEROKEE COUNTY ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLEX

1130 BLUFFS PKWY, CANTON, GEORGIA 30114

RIVERSTONE PKWY - TURN ONTO BLUFFS PKWY. (BETWEEN HOME DEPOT & PUBLIX) - FOLLOW 3/4 MILE - 1130 ON THE RIGHT SIDE.  ENTER LOBBY, STAIRCASE OR ELEVATOR DOWN TO LOWER LEVEL - CHEROKEE HALL

Ryan Canton West 4 Comments »

LOCAL GOVERNMENT - POTENTIAL BAILOUT AT TAXPAYER EXPENSE

DEVELOPER OF ETOWAH VALLEY PURCHASED FORMER TIMBER LAND

AT ROCK BOTTOM PRICES AND NOW WANT TO RE-ZONE FOR MINI-

CITY ON LAND  WITH ABSOLUTELY NO EXISTING INFRACTRUCTURE

This developer is donating a 40 acre parcel for a school site (Paid Approx. $260,000.00)

Taxpayers will be forced to open their wallets to pick up the tab of approximately $115 MILLION, to pay for the construction of the FOUR new schools needed to support this developer

The Georgia Regional Transportation Authority has list two pages of road improvements needed to be completed to support the traffic from this development - WHO PAYS FOR THIS!! - TAXPAYERS.

The Cherokee Transportation Plan lists road projects needed to support existing properties and those that have been planned in our land use plan - This plan shows a deficit of ONE BILLION DOLLARS for the road projects needed by the year 2030.  This plan does not include the huge change in our land use plan for this intense use.  WHO WILL PAY FOR THESE ROAD IMPROVEMENTS? 

This land has difficult topography with steep hills & valleys.  In order to force the high density project onto the land this developer will do what they do best — MOW DOWN OUR MOUNTAINS !!

This will cause further pollution to Lake Allatoona which in violation of the Federal Clean Water Act.  This property joins the (USACE) United States of American Corp of Engineers property, which the Etowah River runs through on low level flood plain property before it merges with Lake Allatoona.  Sediment and pollution will run down to the Etowah River and into Lake Allatoona causing further decline of the lake.

Contact our County Commissioners and let them know your thoughts on this taxpayer subsidy development. 

lbahrens@cherokeega.com, hjohnston@cherokeega.com, jhubbard@cherokeega.com,kbosch@cherokeega.com,dvgood@cherokeega.com, vtaylor@cherokeega.com

Ryan Canton West 2 Comments »

ETOWAH VALLEY - A/K/A “CANTON WEST”

IMPORTANT ZONING CASE !!!

ETOWAH VALLEY (A/K/A CANTON WEST)  !!!

IT’S BACK !!!

 
Little Creek Road Partners, LP (PEC Development) has requested  2,332 Acres to be re-zoned
from AG to R-80,RD-3,RZL,RM-16,OI,NC & GC for 2,807 NEW HOMES

History of this Project:
Etowah Valley a/k/a Canton West was originally split between the City of Canton (901.8 acres) and
Unincorporated Cherokee County (1,430 acres).  In July of 2007 the Cherokee County Planning
Commission voted for Denial of this project.  It moved forward to the Board of Commissioners.  The
Board of Commissioners moved to delay this case with agreement from the developer until the City
of Canton voted on the portion of this development to be annexed and re-zoned in the city.  
 
Citizens spoke out with their opposition to this project and on August 21, 2008 the Canton City
Council voted to DENY this annexation.  
 
The Developer now seeks to re-zone the entire project in Cherokee County.  - If approved by the
Cherokee County Commissioners, the City of Canton will feel the impact of this development even
though they voted for denial.  The developer has not changed the location of the connector road, which
was one of the biggest concerns of the Canton City Council.  According to the Atlanta Regional
Commission (ARC) this development will cause 23,700 additional car trips on Marietta Hwy. (SR-5) each day.
The connector road will align with N. Etowah Drive (Near the Pizza Hut) and will send traffic south on
Riverstone Pkwy, down Main Street and North on Hwy. 5 past the Middle School and Cherokee High School
which are already congested  and dangerous roadways.
 
This developer is seeking to have taxpayers subsidize his profits. The price PEC paid for the land was reflective

(land locked with no roads adequate to carry the traffic intense development would create), hilly terrain (difficult topography),

and current zoning of AG (minimum home lot size – two acres)
Now they would like Cherokee and Canton taxpayers to help pay for the road, school and public safety infrastructure

to to add market value to their land investment and support a density that would yield windfall profits.  
 
March 11, 2005 Little Creek Road Partners, LP purchased 1,649 acres for $6,437 per acre
May 17, 2007 Little Creek Road Partners, LP purchased 649.517 acres for $11,501.50 per acreBy comparison, developable land in areas where the land use plan has determined that infrastructure exists orcan be cost-effectively build is selling at a minimum of $89,000 Per acre.

Another comparison - Forestar Real Estate purchased 518 acres for $12,121.04 per acre close to this development and
they are planning to develop 250 homes compatible with the Land Use Plan.  

They believe they can turn a profit without subsidy from taxpayers.
 
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN:         2,807 MORE NEW HOMES

It is being claimed that this community could create new jobs.  FALSE - The developer admitted it would be 18 months to 2 years before this project could begin.Currently Cherokee and Canton have over 30,000 homes that have been approved - but have not yet been
built.  This represents a 15 year supply of new homes.  The way to maximum profit in the midts of this glut of supply

to be the cheapest home in the market. And the way to be the cheapest home is to buy land that has no infrastructure and get the taxpayer to foot the bill.
 
Cherokee and Canton have many failed developments and stalled developments (partially built) that are waiting for our economy
to improve so that they can continue building new homes in these already developed communities.  Residents have invested by purchasing homes in these
communities.  These communities will have their market value undercut by competition with a taxpayer subsidized  development.Adding a glut of cheaper homes (cheaper because the land price –which is typically 20% of a home price -did not reflect a location with infrastructure) will put unfair pressure on developers who are trying follow growth plan and to build in appropriate places.

These developers are not asking the taxpayer to subsidize the sale price of their homes – yet they will be directly competing with a developer who has. 

Ryan Canton West No Comments »

THANK YOU: FOR DENIAL OF CANTON WEST PROJECT

Dear, Mayor Hobgood,  Councilman Jack Goodwin, Councilwoman Pat Tanner and Councilwoman Amelia Rose,

The citizens of Canton and Cherokee County are very grateful for the courage you displayed, under the heavy pressure from the developer and interested parties to stand tall and cast your vote for the best interests of the citizens and the future of the City of Canton. 

Ryan Canton West 2 Comments »

CANTON WEST - VIEW VIDEO OF OUR FUTURE IF THIS IS APPROVED

PICTURES WERE TAKEN OF JAMES CREEK, BY PEC DEVELOPMENT IN FORSYTH COUNTY - A SIMILAR COMMUNITY TO THE PROPOSED CANTON WEST PROJECT WITH SIMILAR TOPOGRAPHY.  A CANTON RESIDENT TURNED THESE PICTURES INTO A VIDEO AND POSTED IT TO YOU TUBE. 

CLICK ON THIS LINK - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIlIPxps-Yc

IF YOU HAVE TROUBLE CONNECTING WITH THE LINK PROVIDED - VISIT YOU TUBE AND ENTER NO CANTON WEST IN THE SEARCH BOX AT THE TOP.

* NOTE THIS VIDEO WILL SHOW THE LEAST DENSE FUTURE OF CANTON WEST.  THESE PHOTOS ARE OF SINGLE FAMILY HOMES.  CANTON WEST WILL ALSO HAVE TOWN HOMES, APARTMENTS, CONDOS, LOFTS, STACKED FLATS.

Ryan Canton West No Comments »

DEVELOPER EXPECTS WINDFALL PROFITS AT CITIZENS EXPENSE

AFTER PEC MOWS THE MOUNTAINS DOWN  :

Canton West Plan:

300 - Condomimium units

  70 - 50 foot lots

  28 - front loaded townhomes

200 - units - senior living

  69 - 40 foot lots - single family detached  (how do you fit a detached home on

           a fourty foot lot?)

270 - rear loaded Townhome

112 - stacked flats (sounds like a fancy word for apartment)

125 - Lofts over retail  (doesn’t that sound appealing)

233 - 60 foot lots single family detached

397 - 70 foot lots single family detached

155 - 90 foot lots single family detached

And the winner is :  

298 - 100 foot lots single family detached

+ 1,344 MORE HOMES IN THE COUNTY

They buy this land dirt cheap and then they want to mow it down and squeeze almost 3,500 homes and they are surprised that the majority of the people are opposed to this.  Did they expect that we would turn our wallets inside out to give them every last cent so that they can turn this deal of the century into their profit machine at our expense?  I guess they thought we would all be a gullible as Council Woman Jo Ellen Wilson. 

March 11, 2005– Warranty Deed between Bowater Incorporated and Little Creek Road Partners, LP – Purchased 1711.927 acres for $10,614,000.00.  This equates to a purchase price of $6,200.00 per acre.   (Information from County Clerk staff – Transfer Tax is 1% of the purchase price of the transaction.)   

 

March 15, 2005 – Little Creek Road Partners, LP – Deed to secure debt with Southern National Bank, Marietta, Georgia.  Promissory Note - $9,163,700.00 with a final maturity date occurring on or before February 15, 2008.

 May 17, 2007 – Warranty Deed between Old Shoal Creek, LLC, grantor, and Little Creek Road Partners, LP, Grantee.  Purchased 682.517 acres for $7,850,300.00.  This equates to a purchase price of $11,501.50 per acre. 

May 17, 2007  -  Little Creek Road Partners, LP – Deed to secure debt with Georgian Bank, Alpharetta, Georgia.  Note - $21,100,000.00 with a financial maturity date occurring on or before May 10, 2008.  (Available records do not show this security deed cancelled)

JUST SAY NO TO CANTON WEST!!!

George Canton West No Comments »

NO CANTON WEST

Ryan Canton West No Comments »

CITY OF CANTON - EXISTING HOUSING + APPROVED HOUSING

CANTON CURRENT HOUSING:

SINGLE FAMILY - EXISTING UNITS         3,584

MULTI FAMILY - EXISTING UNITS            2,516 

TOTAL EXISTING HOUSING UNITS      6,100

SINGLE FAMILY - COMPLETED LOTS, NOT YET BUILT     1,318

SINGLE FAMILY - APPROVED LOTS, NOT YET BUILT        6,248

MULTI-FAMILY - APPROVED LOTS, NOT YET BUILT         1,362

TOTAL APPROVED HOUSING UNITS NOT YET BUILT     8,928

BASED ON BUILDING PERMITS ISSUED IN 2006,2007,2008 - CANTON CURRENTLY HAS A 17 YEAR SUPPLY OF APPROVED HOUSING UNIT, NOT YET BUILT. 

8,928 APPROVED HOUSING UNIT VS 6,100 EXISTING HOUSING UNITS = 1.46% ADDITIONAL HOMES.  THIS MEANS THAT CANTON’S POPULATION WILL ALMOST TRIPLE WHEN THE APPROVED HOUSING UNITS ARE BUILT.

WHY DOES CANTON NEED TO APPROVE 2,132 MORE HOMES?

HOW WILL CANTON PAY FOR THE NEEDS OF THE HOUSING UNITS ALREADY APPROVED - THE CITY HAS A BOND/LOAN DEBT OF $60 MILLION DOLLARS.

WHO WILL PAY FOR THE NEEDS OF THIS DEVELOPMENT IF THIS LAND IS ANNEXED?

WHO WILL PAY FOR THE 4 NEW SCHOOLS TO BE BUILT TO ACCOMIDATE THE CHILDREN OF CANTON WEST?

WHO WILL PAY FOR THE ROAD IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED TO ACCOMMODATE THE ADDITIONAL 27,000 CAR TRIPS PER DAY

WATER QUALITY :  AFTER PEC BULL DOZES EVERY LAST TREE DOWN AND MOWS THE MOUNTAINS DOWN - WHO WILL PAY TO REMOVE ALL OF THE SILT FROM THE ETOWAH RIVER AND LAKE ALLATOONA?

WATER QUANTITY:  DOES CANTON HAVE THE WATER SUPPLY TO SERVICE THESE ADDITIONAL HOMES? 

AIR QUALITY:  CANTON WEST DOES NOT PASS THE  ARC’S AIR QUALITY BENCHMARK.  DOES CANTON HAS A SECRET FOR CLEANING THE AIR FROM THIS COMMUNITY SO THAT CURRENT RESIDENTS WILL NOT SUFFER?

Ryan Canton West No Comments »