Cochran council amends redevelopment map, recognizes Opportunity Zone and adopts local land-disturbance authority

The Cochran City Council on May 9, 2023, amended the city's Urban Redevelopment Plan Map, voted to recognize a federal Opportunity Zone covering Census Tract 7209 and adopted an ordinance establishing the city as a Local Issuing Authority (LIA) for land-disturbance permits.

Mayor Billy Yeomans presided over the meeting at the City Auditorium. City Manager Richard Newbern presented each item; Councilmember Gary Ates moved to amend the redevelopment map and later moved to accept the Planning Commission's recommendation to recognize the Opportunity Zone. Councilmember Jimmy Jones moved to adopt the LIA ordinance; each motion carried on recorded 6-0 council votes.

Why it matters: the map amendment and Opportunity Zone recognition are meant to make the city's Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) housing application more competitive by ensuring the proposed Revitalization Area Strategy (RAS) for the Roberson Crescent/Ash Street/Sixth Street/Martin Luther King Jr. target area is fully included. The council noted the CDBG application to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs is due June 2, 2023. Adopting LIA authority gives Cochran local permitting and enforcement authority over land-disturbance activities, including silt-control and the ability to halt noncompliant work.

Urban Redevelopment Plan Map amendment: The council opened a public hearing at 7:17 p.m. to consider amending the city's Urban Redevelopment Plan Map so the proposed RAS area would be wholly inside the redevelopment map boundary, a requirement the mayor's office said would strengthen the city's CDBG/RAS application. The Planning Commission had unanimously recommended approval at its May 4 meeting. Resident Andrea Glover asked the council to explain the mapping and offered suggestions for her area; City Manager Newbern provided the explanation. Councilmember Gary Ates moved the amendment, with a second from Councilmember Keith Anderson; the motion passed 6-0.

Opportunity Zone recognition: At 7:26 p.m. the council held a second public hearing on recognizing and marketing a federal Opportunity Zone in Census Tract 7209, a tract noted in the staff report as having a poverty rate over 20 percent and overlapping the proposed CDBG target area. The resolution is intended to support entrepreneurial training and neighborhood revitalization tied to the CDBG strategy. No members of the public spoke during this hearing. The council voted to accept the Planning Commission recommendation to recognize and market the Opportunity Zone; the motion passed 6-0.

Local Issuing Authority ordinance: Council reviewed an ordinance to establish Cochran as a Local Issuing Authority (LIA), enabling the city to issue and monitor land-disturbance permits and enforce erosion-control measures on development within city limits. Longtime local proponent Skip Layton addressed the council in support of the change. Councilmember Jimmy Jones moved to adopt the ordinance; Councilmember Andrew Lemmon seconded and the motion carried 6-0.

Other business and public comment: The meeting included several ceremonial proclamations (National Hospitals Week; Mental Health Awareness Month; National Police Week) and a presentation from the Georgia Association of Water Professionals: Kathy Nguyen presented the city with a Gold Award for regulatory compliance concerning the City Barn Well. The council postponed a Downtown Development Authority appointment after discovering the nominee's Dodge County residence would conflict with DDA bylaws limiting out-of-county members. City Manager Richard Newbern provided routine updates on a successful Clean Up Day (grant support from the Great American Cleanup-GA Chapter), the RELEAF tree giveaway and a pending DNR grant application for a walking trail.

During public comment residents raised local service concerns: Jacqueline Washington asked the council to repair potholes on Jackson Street; multiple residents (Kenah Lobzun, Richard Lobzun, Jill Fisher and Lisa Wright) expressed concerns about new construction and the builder in Colonial Village and asked for council attention. Andrea Glover also asked when the District 1 meeting had occurred. The mayor adjourned the meeting at 8:34 p.m.

Votes at a glance: the transcript records the following council outcomes: amendment to the Urban Redevelopment Plan Map (motion passed 6-0); recognition and marketing of the Federal Opportunity Zone in Census Tract 7209 (motion passed 6-0); adoption of the ordinance establishing Cochran as a Local Issuing Authority for land disturbances (motion passed 6-0).