BUSINESS
Milton resident offers luxury sleep, charity
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Supply Officials discuss capital improvements Tractor seeks Atlanta City workshops plan for Windward, Ga. 9
market with new location
By HAYDEN SUMLIN hayden@appenmedia.com
By SHELBY ISRAEL shelby@appenmedia.com
personnel and road widening. The state requires every municipality that collects impact fees to submit an annual update explaining the money that’s been collected and spent, as well as a 5-year schedule for future uses of impact fees. City officials and consultants estimate the new capital improvements element, after review from the Atlanta Regional Commission and the Georgia Department of Community Development, will be adopted before August.
ALPHARETTA, Ga. — National retail chain Tractor Supply Company is seeking to tap into the Metro Atlanta market with a proposed location across from Alpharetta’s North Point Mall. If approved by the City Council, the new store would take over the 34,313-square-foot vacant Ethan Allen at 6800 North Point Parkway. The Alpharetta store would become the company’s first in Metro Atlanta along Ga. 400. Its nearest locations are in Kennesaw, Buford and two in Canton. Developers are seeking an amendment to the North Point Business Center master plan, a conditional use permit and a variance to open the location. The property sits in the heart of Alpharetta’s North Point corridor, which the city has prioritized for redevelopment since the decline of the North Point Mall. The mall once served as the retail heart of the city until the rise of mixed-use projects such as City Center and Avalon in the 2010s. Approved developments in the area include Brixmor at Mansell Crossing, which will include restaurant
See PROJECTS, Page 16
See TRACTOR, Page 17
CITY OF MILTON/PROVIDED
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This map shows the Windward Parkway and Ga. 9 corridors targeted for improvements in the Windward Livable Centers Initiative study. Milton Community Development Director Bob Buscemi said he will present the strategic master plan for the area at the April 22 City Council meeting. RESS NP
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MILTON, Ga. — Milton officials met April 15 for a work session to review capital project needs and a strategic master plan for the Ga. 9 and Windward Parkway corridors. While councilmembers take no action during work sessions, it’s an opportunity for city staff and elected officials to stay connected on new developments in the city. In a follow-up to a March 11 briefing on the city’s impact fee program, the City Council heard an overview of an amendment to the capital improvements element, which informs the disbursement of funds to specific projects. Because the city adopted the last impact fee ordinance and capital improvements element in 2015, it contracted with Ross+Associates in 2023 for a major update to the program. Paige Hatley, a certified planner with the consulting team, discussed the relationship between impact fees and the capital improvement element. “Together those two pieces allow the city to begin collecting impact fees from new developments to help fund capital projects and expand public services needed to serve a growing population,” Hatley said. The city receives impact fees when a new development is built in the city. If a resident decides to tear down their old ranch and build a two-story mansion, an impact fee would not be charged.
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The idea is to have developers of commercial or residential properties pay to fund specific public facilities and infrastructure improvements, including parks and buildings. While the use of impact fees is restricted to long-term assets, some examples of eligible projects include specialized vehicles for public safety
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