Church on Temple gets more time to meet code

Thursday, June 03, 2010
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By ELIZABETH RICHARDSON erichardson@newnan.com Newnan City Council has decided to allow the Holy Zion Center of Deliverance, 115 Temple Ave., to remain in existence at its present location if certain conditions are met. The vote to give the church another chance to fix the Temple Avenue building, formerly a building supply company, came at Tuesday night's council meeting.

Earlier this month, Mayor Keith Brady said he was finished granting extensions for the church to bring its building up to code unless the owner could offer an acceptable, compelling reason why not to proceed with demolition. The city first opened a substandard housing file on the church property in March 2008, according to Code Enforcement Officer Matt Camp. After two extensions were granted and a third was requested, Rev. Cecil Newton was not present at the May 11 council meeting, prompting Brady's ultimatum. Newton was present at Tuesday's 6:30 p.m. council meeting and apologized for his absence May 11. Newton had been in talks with the city throughout the day Tuesday and agreed to the city's conditions. Newton must demolish the rear building on the property -- a former warehouse space -- and remove it from the premises. The church must remove and rebuild a problematic retaining wall. Finally, they must replace the exterior walls of the main building. If the church complies with the three conditions, the city will abandon condemnation procedures and allow the owners to follow regular construction procedures. The bishop reassured the city that he is in the midst of securing financing to fulfill the city's demands. The rear building should be removed in the next 7 to 10 days. Newton expects a general contractor could begin working on the exterior walls as early as this week. City council voted to remove the stop work order so Holy Zion can proceed with work. It also granted a 30-day extension to ensure the project progresses. "Let's see if we can get this project finished," said Brady. In other meeting business: * Granted was a request from Newnan Hospital Nursing and Rehabilitation Center to rezone approximately 16.6 acres of the property located at 244 East Broad St. from urban residential single-family dwelling district high density to residential multiple family dwelling lower density district. The new property owner plans to continue operating a nursing care facility at the property, which, thus far, has been a non-conforming use. Council also amended the city's zoning ordinance to reflect the rezoning. * Mayor Pro-tem Cynthia Jenkins commended the Newnan Youth Council for their hard work and contributions to this community. "You touched lives," said Jenkins. "We're so thankful for what you've done for us." NYC Chair Peyton Shelnutt gave a presentation to outline what the group has accomplished this school year. Those accomplishments included a food drive benefiting One Roof outreach, a donation to Angel's House children's shelter, a holiday social, purchasing Christmas gifts for a family with three children and taking a trip to the state capitol. They are planning a town hall meeting this fall to see what the youth of this community values. * SummerGrove resident Laura Elliott came before council to ensure that condemnation procedures are progressing for properties located at 63 Portico Place and 67 Portico Place -- both adjoining residences in Eastlake Townhomes. Elliott said the unsightly properties have sat vacant for two years and are depreciating home values in the neighborhood. A public hearing was postponed to the June 22 meeting in order to give the FDIC proper notification.

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