City Business: County Fair, Hospital Property Moves Into City Limits

At Tuesday's City Council meeting, the mayor and council moved forward with the annexation and rezoning of seven parcels of land owned by Northside Hospital-Forsyth.

The majority of the hospital's campus and medical buildings are already zoned within the city limits, according to Scott Morgan, Director of Planning and Zoning for the city.

"This is additional property that they have acquired over the years that they wanted to bring into the city," he said.

The parcels of land, located along Hawkcreek Road, Ronald Reagan Boulevard and Old North Atlanta Road, is part of 65 acres owned by the hospital. The majority of that land is currently undeveloped.

Morgan said the hospital property will be zoned institutional--what their campus is zoned now.

"As far as the future plans of the hospital property they have not indicated to us what they proposed to do with that," he said.

Plans to approve the annexation of Ventura Park, an industrial park, off Pilgrim Mill Road near the , will have to be done in two phases and voted on later in the year.

According to Morgan, nine out of 20 parcels, covering approximately 34 acres of land, will be annexed and rezoned by the 100 percent method.

"Meaning that all the owners of those nine parcels signed the petition [for annexation and rezoning]," he said.

This first phase will be voted on by council in November.

As for the remaining 11 parcels, the 60 percent method will be put into place because two owners did not sign the petition. This second phase will be voted on in December.

When it's all said and done, the parcels will be annexed within city limits and not in unincorporated Forsyth County.

"As far as the zoning is concerned, it really won't change the way that their doing business and what they have there," Morgan said.

In other City of Cumming business:

• Mayor Gravitt and council approved a $4.05 million loan from the general fund and deed 25 acres to the Development Authority of Cumming for the purpose of funding a University Center complex within the city limits. 

• The mayor and council authorized and executed all required documents for the establishment of a University Center in Cumming.

• The mayor and council approved a bid for $12,300 for Worldwide Max to handle the basketball jerseys for the Cumming Recreation and Parks Department.

• The mayor and council heard from Chief of Police Scott Burgess and approved a 'alcohol consumption on the premises' license for .

• The schedule for the upcoming (Oct. 6 - 16) was presented. 

• The mayor announced that "42nd Street," the Broadway musical opens at the  on Oct. 14.

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