Villa Rica council ratifies memorandum with Army Corps, state historic office for parkway project
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Summary
The council unanimously ratified a memorandum of agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Savannah District) and the Georgia State Historic Preservation Office related to the Villa Rica Parkway, accepting the Corps' recommendation on 404 permit mitigation and noting a requirement to install a sign at 105 Gordon Street within five years.
The Villa Rica City Council on Nov. 11 unanimously ratified a memorandum of agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Savannah District) and the Georgia State Historic Preservation Office for construction of the Villa Rica Parkway.
A consultant from Falcon Design (speaker 21) explained the Corps' review of the project's Section 404 Clean Water Act permit. After multiple iterations the Corps determined that, given the distance between a proposed structure (105 Gordon Street) and the impacted stream, the city would not be required to install a bottomless culvert or purchase expensive stream credits. Instead, the agreement includes mitigation language that requires the city to install an interpretive sign at the northwest corner of Gordon Street and Villa Rica Parkway (at 105 Gordon Street) within five years, subject to Corps and SHPO approval of wording and placement.
"Our conversations with the Corps and SHPO resulted in an approach that avoids the bottomless culvert and its high costs," the consultant said. The council moved and seconded to ratify the memorandum and recorded a unanimous vote.
The council's ratification authorizes staff to continue right-of-way and temporary easement acquisition work and proceed with subsequent permit steps consistent with the agreement.