Dalton City Council expected to vote on whether to take property for stormwater project

Charles Oliver, The Daily Citizen, Dalton, Ga.
·2 min read

Mar. 17—The Dalton City Council is scheduled to vote Monday on whether to authorize the city attorney to petition Superior Court to begin eminent domain proceedings on property at 312 W. Waugh St. (at the intersection of Waugh and Thornton Avenue). The city plans a stormwater control project that involves the property.

The property is currently the site of a DUI school.

The council will meet at 6 p.m. in the council chambers in City Hall. The meeting will be livestreamed on the city's YouTube channel.

The council members are also scheduled to vote on whether to:

—Create a no-parking zone on both sides of Benton Street from 500 feet north of the Hawthorne Street intersection to 1,110 feet north of the intersection for the northbound lane and 500 feet north of the Hawthorne Street intersection to 960 feet north for the southbound lane.

—Create a no-parking zone on the southbound lane of Jones Street from the Tyler Street intersection to 265 feet south of that intersection.

—Approve a corrective action plan for stormwater issues at 907 Hardwick Circle. The plan would require a temporary construction easement on private property at that site.

—Amend a construction agreement with Hammond Creek Township, which is building a mixed use project in the city's tax allocation district (TAD) near the bypass to move the completion date from Dec. 31, 2024, to Oct. 31, 2025.

The Township at Hammond Creek is a joint venture development of RH Ledbetter Properties and Charles Williams REIC, both of Rome, and Hammond Creek Capital of Dalton. The Township at Hammond Creek is the first phase of a planned 92-acre development that would contain single-family housing, multifamily housing, commercial and retail.

TADs freeze the value at which a property can be taxed for general revenue. Taxes collected on additional value created by improvements to the property are dedicated to pay for infrastructure, public artwork or other amenities to attract a developer or developers to that area.

Voters in 2014 gave the City Council the authority to create TADs. The City Council has created four TADs. The others are the downtown business district, the area around Dalton Mall and the West Walnut Avenue/Market Street area.