In a message dated 9/29/2017 1:52:39 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, john.rust@cantonga.gov writes:
Bill: I requested information regarding this issue from our City officials this morning and will address this issue as soon as I get a response, but no later than next week.
Thank you,John Rust
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9/23/17
My Comments on the below article:
Any such legislation is totally unenforceable. We already have regulations that prohibit parking on lawns and sidewalks, these are totally ignored. I look out my front window and see a neighbor who has 5 cars and uses the garage for both storage and to run a limo service. There is a car on the sidewalk every day. Nothing is done about it. Who cares? Apparently NOT the PD as this has been going on for nearly 2 years that I have been here.
Golf cart regulations - total BS, no one will enforce them!
Commissioners table golf cart ordinance
Sampson Jenkins - 9/23/17 -
The ordinance would allow the use of golf carts for anyone with a valid driver’s license, and have certain guidelines and regulations for residents wanting to use the carts in their neighborhood.
According to the ordinance, commissioners would approve a motorized cart district only upon the request of a majority of residents in the proposed neighborhood. Commissioners would then approve or deny the request for a motorized cart district if the request fits certain criteria.
“The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners finds that residents of certain neighborhoods and certain public streets located within the unincorporated area of Cherokee County desire that motorized carts be allowed to be driven with regular vehicle traffic within designated motorized cart districts. The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners, by adoption of this ordinance, may permit citizens to request a motorized cart district, but the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners expresses no opinion as to whether the mixture of regular vehicle traffic and motorized carts upon the public streets and rights of way are safe,” the ordinance stated.
To be considered, the ordinance said the neighborhood for which motorized cart or golf cart access is petitioned must have public roads that have a speed limit of 25 mph or less, have access to public local roads as shown on the county road registry, and have no more than four points of access to public roads.
The motorized carts may only be operated inside the confines of the roads located in the neighborhood and may not be used on other public roads that have not been approved for use.
Golf carts are not allowed to travel on sidewalks, swales, or bicycle paths, the ordinance said. Operators of motorized carts are required to observe all traffic laws as if they were operating any other motor vehicle.
Any resident violating this article shall be subject to a citation by the County Marshal’s Office or the Sheriff’s Office returnable to the Magistrate Court of Cherokee County and subject to a fine and/or imprisonment not to exceed $1,000 and/or 60 days’ imprisonment, according to the ordinance.
County in-house staff attorney Opie Bowen said state law does authorize a local government to approve the use of golf carts and the streets to which they would be allowed to use.
“The direction that this ordinance takes is to allow the use within the confinements of certain neighborhoods,” he said. “One comment that the chairman did mention that could be problematic for larger neighborhoods to get that petition together with a majority of the residents signing it. That may be an item we address prior to moving forward.”
A public hearing for the proposed ordinance was held Tuesday night and New Castle Farms resident Asa Gage said “mixing golf carts with cars is unsafe any way you look at it.”
“Golf cart owners currently are not complying with traffic laws. It’s nice to say they must have all this equipment on their carts or can’t drive after 10 p.m. and drink alcohol and use signals, but they don’t comply now. What’s going to make them comply tomorrow? We have been unable to get sheriff’s deputies to address the problem. Many times each week I have one resident who drives down the street on his golf cart with an infant child hanging out of the left hand side of the golf cart in one arm while the other is steering,” he said. “I don’t want to be responsible for the accident that takes that child’s life.”
Rosalyn Clay said the board for her Cherokee subdivision addresses the golf cart issue “almost daily with their residents.”
“Our community is 49 homes on 1-acre lots. We are not a golf or tennis community. Golf carts have become a major nuisance in our neighborhood being brought on by just a few of our residents,” she said. “Some neighbors are following the laws already in place for the most part, but some residents are not following them and we can’t enforce which is doing major damage. We are concerned for the children driving these carts as young as 6, 7 and maybe 8 years old. They are almost laying down to push the pedals. I do not want to be the want that hits these children—I want their safety and do not see any reason golf carts should be on the roads in our subdivision.”
Commissioner Bob Kovacs, who introduced the idea of the golf cart ordinance after receiving complaints from residents, said adopting the ordinance gives the sheriff’s office “teeth” to enforce laws on golf cart use.
“It gives the sheriff the ability to pick up folks who are letting their 10, 8 and 6 year olds drive their golf carts because now they will have an actual county ordinance that they can cite to ticket the parents in that case,” he said. “Certain neighborhoods may not be appropriate for this use and we’ve got it drafted to where members of the neighborhood have to petition to have it allowed in the subdivisions. We’re not doing a blanket across the county drive anywhere you want, so if your neighborhood doesn’t seem appropriate to have golf carts and there’s only five people and sign that petition, more than likely you’re not getting the number of signatures you need to allow them.”
Commissioner Scott Gordon was absent from Tuesday’s meeting and Kovacs made the motion to table the golf cart ordinance to allow Gordon time to give his input and for commissioners and staff to address changes to the ordinance in regards to larger neighborhoods.
“We need to talk about having a limit where neighborhoods over a certain size, the HOA would have authority,” Kovacs said. We need to revise some of the language before we officially adopt it.”
Commissioners unanimously approved the motion to table until their Oct. 3 meeting.
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9/20/17
PARC UPDATE FYI:
Here is some additional info on the development just down the road from the View.
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50 BEST PLACES TO LIVE
Money magazine for October listed the 50 best places. Both Arkansas and NJ had 2 cities on the list. Ga couldn't even get one! I would have thought there must be at least one place worth living in Georgia, guess not.
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VOLCANO HOUSE - a Chinese restaurant in the Publix/Wells Fargo Center on Prominance Point Pky.
I commented on the restaurant July 31st and was back there today for a second lunch.
The first visit I gave it a B- today it gets an A for the General Tao chicken lunch.
This restaurant went through a change of ownership, the original owners, then a second one and now back to the first owner who has several other similar restaurants.
It makes a change from Viva Mexico, Zaxby's and Wendy's. You might give it a try.
About $9.50 w/o a drink.
