Dear Friends,
Previously, Northbrook UMC had encouraged members to be present on Monday, July 11 at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Roswell City Hall (38 Hill Street) for an important vote on potentially rezoning the former Christ UMC property, which has a pending sale.
We've just learned that this agenda item has been tabled until the August 8 City Council meeting. So, please plan to join us then.
Also as important as your presence August 8 is an email showing support in favor of the potential sale of the Woodstock Road property, formerly Christ UMC. We understand that the more emails of support, the better. And, the silver lining is, if you'd planned to write this email and haven't yet, you have plenty of time!
Bill Noethling is chair of the Property Sale Committee, and we all appreciate his hard work to make this happen. Bill and I have learned that more context is needed about the property sale. Here is some more information in Bill’s words:
It has come to my attention that much of our congregation does not understand why we are supporting a rezoning of the former Christ UMC property. I apologize for not communicating this to the congregation earlier. When you are involved with something for 18 months you kind of assume folks know as much about the facts as you do. I take full responsibility for this as it should have been done sooner.
So, as Paul Harvey used to say here is “the rest of the story.”
The property at the corner of Woodstock Road(Highway 92) and Bowen Road falls within what is known as the Parkway Village district of the City of Roswell. Everything you see built in that corridor, i.e. the Target Shopping Center, CVS Pharmacy, etc. is in compliance with the Parkway Village overlay and has been zoned for the appropriate specific use.
The Christ UMC property is zoned by the city for “institutional” use, i.e., schools, churches, etc.
The reason we are supporting the rezoning is because our potential buyer plans to build office and retail structures which the current zoning does not allow. What the rezoning will do is permit our buyer to build structures in keeping with the commercial use of surrounding property.
The plans for the development have been submitted to the City for their review and approval. This has been accomplished through the City Design Review Board and Planning Commission, both of which approved the development.
The developer has met with the immediate adjacent neighbors (The Orchards Community) and they have come out in favor of the development. This is reflected in the Planning Commission meeting of May 17th where the chairperson of the homeowners association spoke in favor of the development.
The final step In allowing the developer to move forward is the formal rezoning approval action by the Mayor and City Council. The sale of the property is contingent upon receiving this rezoning. This is not unusual for a commercial development.
The Property Sale Committee received five bids for the sale of the property. We determined that we should vet the proposals based on what the developers were proposing for the end use of the property. It was our judgment that the current buyer best reflected our goal of creating a “neighborhood-friendly” development. We have actively worked with the developer toward that end.
The reason we are asking folks to email the Mayor and City Council in support of this rezoning is to show that the project is supported by the congregation as a whole.
If you have any questions regarding this please feel free to call me on my cell phone listed below.
Bill Noethling
Chair, Property Sale Committee
404-281-0300
I’m so glad Bill has clarified, and glad for the question from a Northbrook member that prompted this extra information.
In my year at Northbrook, I appreciate the feedback I’ve gotten from a number of you who have let me know when something is working well and when it isn’t. I’ve made a few changes that I hope continues to be easy to access, easy to understand, informative, and keeps you connected to Northbrook UMC and all the wonderful things going on here.
One of the challenging but fun parts of my role at Northbrook is making sure we reach everyone the way they want to be reached: all generations and multiple different ways to communicate. We have members of our congregation who would rather receive an in-person visit or a phone call than anything else. We have other members who would like to receive text messages on their cell phone. We have others who enjoy reading emails from the church each week, and still others who get most of their information on Facebook or Instagram.
It’s my job to make sure everyone who is a part of Northbrook feels included and well-informed. If there is a better way for us as your church family to communicate with you, I will make it happen. If you have feedback on what you like and don’t like, or want to receive information in a different way, please tell me. I’d love to get to you know you and your communication preferences better.
My email address is brhameminor@northbrookumc.com, and my cell phone number is (919) 418-3000. I’m in the church office most Mondays, Wednesday, and Fridays.
Betsy Rhame-Minor
Communications Director
