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Residents urge city review of permit fees, report wrongful arrest and call attention to missing notices
Summary
During public comment, property owner William Brackbill urged staff to review new permit resubmission fees that he said raised a project permit to about $17,000; Brandon Owens described a June wrongful arrest and sought reimbursement; Tom Hart urged deferral of a rezoning case over alleged missing rezoning signs.
Several members of the public used the council’s public-comment period July 15 to raise concerns about fees, enforcement and notice procedures.
William Brackbill (speaker 8), a Doraville property owner and builder, said recent changes to the city’s fee schedule and a resubmission charge have made new projects unaffordable. He said a current project on Pineland saw the base permit rise to over $9,000 and, after what he described as three resubmissions charged under the new policy, reached a total of about $17,000 — more than triple the fee he paid on earlier projects. Brackbill asked the council to direct staff to review resubmission fees and align them with neighboring jurisdictions such as Tucker, DeKalb County, Sandy Springs and Alpharetta, which charge a flat fee of $100–$400 for resubmissions in some cases.
Brandon Owens (speaker 11) — who said he lives in Lawrenceville and worked in Doraville — recounted being wrongfully arrested in June because someone with the same name had outstanding warrants. Owens said he was held five days, paid impound and bail fees he described as not his responsibility, and that the incident left his 11-year-old son unattended on a holiday weekend. He asked the city to investigate, return about $1,200 in expenses and seek to have the related charges dropped.
Tom Hart (speaker 12) urged the council to defer rezoning hearings after asserting several rezoning parcels lacked required posting under the state zoning procedures act; staff replied that signs were posted and that the city documents postings with photographs but agreed to re-check and replace signs if necessary.
The mayor and staff encouraged commenters to speak with city staff or the city attorney after the meeting for follow-up and said staff would verify posting records and meet with individuals who raised concerns.
