For the last couple of months I have been uploading electronic city documents to my site and linking them on my blog for your viewing pleasure. At my insistence, the current City of Dunwoody calendar webpage now posts every public document that City Hall provides me in order to prepare for a City Council meeting.
Here is the calender listing for Monday, January 12th which was updated with all the electronic documents just before the close of business on Friday.
City Council Meeting
Date: 1/12/2009
Time: 7:00 PM
- City Council Meeting at Dunwoody United Methodist Church (1548 Mt. Vernon Road, Dunwoody, GA 30338).
1. Meeting Agenda
I1. Ordinance to Chapter 27
I1_2. Zoning Map
I2. City of Dunwoody Zoning Ordinance
I3. Amendment to Chapter 16
I4. Comcast Agreement
K1. Ordinance to Chapter 21
K1. Chapter 21 Signs
K2. Resolution to Moratorium
K3. City Clerk Resolution
K4. Resolution for Permit Fees and Alcohol
K5. Payment Allocation Chart
K6. Position and Compensation Chart
9 comments:
John, with regards to banners - which are used by churches and synagogues, etc. to promote their activities, I think the City Council needs to have some type of waiver here for their activities, which we know are more than 3 times per year.
(5) No banner shall be displayed for more than fourteen (14) days, with no more than three (3) such fourteen (14) day periods being permitted per calendar year per lot.
I see no reason to give religious groups an exception to any law or ordinance. Religious groups always want exceptions to community rules (taxes, zoning, signs & banners)and then turn around and want to inject their 'values' on the entire community via rules against alcohol (no Sunday or limited Sunday sales), adult stores, adult clubs, sex toys, etc. They use tools like the Mayor and Dun Bap to do this.
So, Platos, do you believe it is only religious organizations that want to fight adult night clubs, adult book stores, etc? I can guarantee you that this is not the case.
Read further iff you have no fear of lightening.
While google is no supreme authority, a search on "churches in dunwoody" is revealing. First, you will get "Local business results for churches near Dunwoody, Georgia". Then you will see there are 10 significant churches comprising only a partial list. And it does not include synagogues and temples (LDS). There are no less that 15 significant churches, temples and synagogues in Dunwoody and clearly these serve a broader community than just this city. The city just doesn't have that many people.
They also occupy some prime real estate that is off the tax rolls due solely to church ownership. Furthermore many operate what would be considered significant service businesses (eg Wellness Center) were they not operated under the auspices of a religious organization.
It isn't clear to me, heathen that I am, why the City shouldn't tax these properties and why these church businesses should not have their revenue subject to the same 'occupation' tax my li'l ole home business pays. After all, if all churches are treated equally, no one is garnering government preference or support so the City couldn't be accused of promoting one over the others. And, there wasn't much opposition to federal funding for 'faith based initiatives' coming from the clergy, now was there? Gooses and Ganders?
I was not making my request with the thought of banners with regards to health clubs. My thoughts are more along the lines of their religious services, i.e. Easter, Good Friday, Yom Kippur, etc., There are more than 3 of these per calendar year.
The rules being put into place are more permissive than the current DeKalb County Ordinances though as you can imagine the lack of enforcement currently makes the banners allowable 365. It is illegal to legislate special rules for special classes of businesses therefore the sign ordinance is generic and just regulating the sign and not the business who puts it out.
Since when did churches become a "business"? Yes, I know that there are megachurches which could be considered a "business", but the majority of churches are not and simply want to be able to advertise their special worship services and religious events without the fear of the sign police giving them a $1500 citation. Perhaps this comes under the "Freedom of Religion" aspect of the Constitution?
Love the logo from Platos Republic
Mom,
The churches are 'free' to promote their agenda via legal means. They can purchase space on one of Dunwoody's new billboards, in The Crier, the AJC, parking lot banners, etc. The church members can use blogs and email lists and web sites to promote their activities. That 'freedom' has not been restricted by the sign rule. I do not care to see signs on public right-away advertising any church functions and I hope the city does enforce this issue.
Sandy Springs does a great job with it. Every Saturday you'll see a pickup truck driving around, snatching illegal signs (yard sales, 'We Buy Houses', etc.
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