Oakdene residents want fence to block view of Paper Recovery
Pete McDonald claims the Unified Land Development Code demands a fence.
A handful of residents from the historic Oakdene subdivision now want a memorandum of understanding between the community, Rome, Floyd County and Paper Recovery for the construction of a 10-foot high fence to block the view of accumulated recyclables, primarily heaps of cardboard, at Ira Levy’s business at the end of East Sixth Street.
“The bottom line is we want this dealt with,” Pete McDonald, a resident of the neighborhood, told the City Commission on Monday night.
He said the community has been dealing with the ugly view of cardboard strewn all over the street and wind-blown products letting the community for two decades.
McDonald said he wants 925 feet of wooden fencing erected and pointed to the Unified Land Development Code to support his request. McDonald said the code reads, “In the Heavy Industrial District, any storage used operated as a principal use of accessory use on a property shall be contained entirely within a building or shall be screened from view by an opaque fence or free-standing wall no less than eight feet in height.”
“We appreciate Ira’s attempts through the years to plant vegetation,” McDonald said. “It does not comply with the ordinance and that is for an opaque fence.”
McDonald said that he was willing to participate in the cost of constructing the fence along with the government and Levy. McDonald further recommended that the fence be mandated as part of the new recycling operation agreement with Levy, who is leasing a building on Lavender Drive to Rome and Floyd County for a new recycling center. Levy did not attend Monday’s meeting.
The City Commission
took no action on McDonald’s request.
In other action, the commission approved a $52,750 engineering contract with Pond & Company of Peachtree Corners for SP LOST funded improvements to the split-level Honeysuckle Ridge Road. Commissioner Sundai Stevenson said the contract does not specify a timetable for the firm to develop a solution for the highly technical road work. Both lanes of the road are extremely narrow and the south bound lane is elevated significantly higher than the north bound lane.
The commission agreed to move its banking accounts to the Bank of the Ozarks after nearly a decade with SunTrust. Six of the nine institutions in Rome responded to a call for bids for financial services. Commissioner Evie McNiece said Bank of the Ozarks offered the best overall package of services.
During a pre-meeting caucus, Salvation Army Capt. Jason Smith encouraged city officials to participate in a program at Berry College on Monday nightat 6 p.m. in the Krannert Center to mark the 130th anniversary of The Salvation Army in Rome.