The Advocate and Democrat

Heeding the advice of the city planning and code enforcement officer and the city's state planning advisor, Sweetwater Regional Planning Commission members on Monday said they will take their time and come up with the best plan to handle the issue of loft apartments.

City ordinances allow business owners to live upstairs over their businesses, however the city's requirement that business owners own their own parking space makes it difficult for business owners to meet the requirements to live upstairs.

Planning commissioners have discussed the issue for a couple of months.

Former Sweetwater Valley Antique owners Ron and Janice Johnson had said having a clearer policy on the regulations for loft apartments would help them sell their building.

But with the building having recently been sold despite no changes to the ordinance, the immediate pressure to come up with a solution has eased.

During the regular October Planning Commission meeting, planners decided to study the issue more as several questions remain.

So far planners have thought about the issue in terms of existing buildings, but what about new construction?

Planning Commissioner Jerry Richesin said a new trend in cities like Atlanta and as nearby as Cleveland is for developers to put condominiums above retail construction.

Mayor and Planning Commissioner Doyle Lowe asked if there might be a better way other than zoning changes to address the issue, perhaps case by case.

"It looks like we could control it like that better than zoning," he said.

After the brief Planning Commission meeting, state planner Laura Smith conducted training for commissioners on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Flood Insurance Program.

One of the keys, FEMA says, is for cities to avoid granting variances to its flood regulations, Smith pointed out.

The overall strategy should be to limit development in known flood hazard areas, FEMA stresses.

The Planning Commission meets in regular session at 6 p.m. on the third Monday of the month at City Hall.

Planners hold a workshop on the second Monday of the month starting at 5 p.m.

tommy.millsaps@advocateanddemocrat. com | 337-7101

Subscribe to The Advocate and Democrat by clicking SUBSCRIBE. Sign up for Breaking News emails from The Advocate and Democrat by clicking EMAIL ALERTS and inputting your email address next to "Add Me" near the top right corner.