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Chattahoochee Hills council approves UDC changes, accepts trails grant and clears other consent items
Summary
The council adopted amendments to the Unified Development Code, accepted a Recreational Trails Program grant for the RiverLands trail, approved a Terra School concept plan and an intergovernmental agreement with Coweta County; the UDC changes passed 3–2 after public comment.
At its Aug. 5 meeting the Chattahoochee Hills City Council approved a set of consent and new‑business items and advanced a first‑read UDC amendment to adoption in a 3–2 vote. Key actions:
• Recreational Trails Program grant (Item 25‑041): Council unanimously adopted a resolution authorizing acceptance of Georgia DNR grant funding for the "Wheel Beautiful RiverLands Scenic Universal Access Trail" and authorized project assignment to proceed. The Economic Development director had announced the grant effort earlier in the meeting.
• Terra School concept plan (Item 25‑042): Council unanimously approved the concept plan for Terra School (mover Councilmember Lowe; second Councilmember Foster).
• Intergovernmental Agreement with Coweta County (Item 25‑043): Council unanimously authorized the mayor to execute an IGA with Coweta County.
• UDC revision (Item 25‑035): Community Development Director Mike Morton summarized nearly 18 months of revisions. Planning Commission recommended the changes 6–1. Two residents spoke in opposition at the public hearing, arguing the proposed changes were developer-driven and urging delay pending additional review. The council voted 3–2 to adopt Item 25‑035; Councilmembers Schmidt and Lightsey voted against adoption.
Public hearing and millage process: The city held the first of three required public hearings on the 2025 millage rate (Item 25‑040). City Manager Robbie Rokovitz explained why multiple hearings are required when parts of the city lie in different counties and said the proposed citywide millage rate is 8.2 (a slight rollback from 8.21). Additional hearings were scheduled for Aug. 21 (11 a.m. and 5 p.m.). Resident Tiffany Towns supported the millage roll‑back while urging the council to quantify additional infrastructure and staffing needs that may require additional revenue.
Ending: The council approved several items unanimously and adopted UDC changes by a 3–2 margin after public comment. Separate major land‑use votes on the Bouckaert Farm (Item 25‑036) and its development agreement (Item 25‑044) were handled later in the meeting.
