Company Wants To Put Billboard Near Outlet Mall

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The Woodstock City Council on Monday will hear an appeal from a company that’s once again petitioning the city to install a billboard near the Outlet Shoppes at Atlanta.

The council will hear the appeal from Tinsley/Postiglione during its meeting, which starts at 7 p.m. Feb. 23 at the Chambers at City Center.

City staff in January denied the company’s application to install a billboard on 3.49 acres on Woodstock Parkway south of Ridgewalk Parkway, fronting the northbound lanes of Interstate 575.

City staff denied the application due to the city’s code that restricts billboards within 500 feet of properties either zoned or designated for single-family residential use. According to the city, the proposed location is located 426 from the Deer Run subdivision. It’s also zoned light industrial within the city’s Technology Park Overlay, which would allow for the development of single-family residential uses on the property.

The same company in 2013 originally submitted a request to install the billboard on the same parcel. City staff denied the request, and the company appealed the decision. However, Tinsley/Postiglione eventually withdrew its appeal of city staff’s decision.

Council members will also consider a de-annexation request from residents Sharon Oglesby, Donald Moncrief, Jr., and Jackson A. Norton for homes located at 1070 and 1080 Castlewood Drive and 890 Tanglewood Trail. The parcels were annexed into Woodstock in 2010 and rezoned to general commercial as part of Hennessy Honda’s plans to use the properties for inventory space.

A group of neighbors — the Kingsridge Neighborhood Coalition — sued the city, the three property owners and Hennessy Honda over the acquisition. Due to the lawsuit, Hennessy Honda did not move forward with the purchase of the property, according to city documents. To have the lawsuit dropped, the three properties must be de-annexed and returned to unincorporated Cherokee County.

The county Board of Commissioners in September 2014 signed a resolution authorizing the de-annexation, and a settlement and mutual release agreement between the plaintiffs and defendants has been signed, which will cause the lawsuit to be dismissed upon the de-annexation.

In another twist to the story, the Woodstock City Council in 2013 approved a request from Hennessy to use the former home of Woodstock Car Wash — which sits adjacent to the dealership — for inventory space. At that time, Hennessy made no comments about its plans for the three residential properties.

The council’s complete agenda can be viewed online. The Chambers at City Center are at 8534 Main Street in downtown Woodstock.

Image via Shutterstock