• 8th Billboard in the Works: Another for Medlock Bridge Rd

    November 29, 2017
    13 Comments

    As expected, Action Outdoor Advertising submitted their 8th Billboard application AFTER the election.

    It will take approximately 6 weeks for GDOT to issue their permit. Construction could happen early in January 2018.

    The Giant 48 feet wide, double-sided LED sign will be close to the road, 10 feet from the Right of Way, even though in the original 2007 application, 40 feet was applied for.

    The location is 10960 Medlock Bridge Rd, Johnson Automotive Group.

    8th Billboard

    Below are screengrabs from Freedom of Information Act Requests

    Here is the applicant and property owner:

    On the bottom of the form for Approved uses for this zoning type: the billboard company handwrote:

    "Permitted Pursuant to the terms of a legally binding settlement agreement between City of Johns Creek & Applicant"

    Why? The property prohibited billboards when it was zoned.

    Here is a screengrab from the zoning stipulations.

    It is understood that the Fulton County Sign Ordinance was ruled unconstitutional.  However, these restrictions were in the zoning for the property. Certainly, there were legal and customary definitions of what a billboard is that could have been defended in court.  Where would the City find the legal definition for a service station or commercial amusement?

    Courtesy of the settlement Mayor Bodker and Cori Davenport negotiated, this will be the 3rd billboard on land prohibiting such structures within the zoning.

    Again, we need to ask, if the billboard companies had a legal right to erect billboards on land that prohibited billboards, why was a settlement necessary?

    Finally, if the billboard companies had a legal right to erect 31 LED billboards, why did they settle for 10?

    Sources: Google maps & City of Johns Creek

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    Staff Writer

    The Georgia Record was relaunched in June of 2021 and has been extremely successful fighting corruption in the state named after King George of England. The original paper was started in 1899 and published into the early 20th century. In 2020, CDM (Creative Destruction Media) acquired Johns Creek Post and brought back The Georgia Record to better represent the state rather than just Johns Creek News.

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    Suzi Krizan

    Maybe we can take all these
    Ugly billboards and make them into
    “Welcome to Johns Creek “ signs. ?

    MrKnowItAll

    Perhaps the agreement should have required a picture of Mayor Bodker on every slide.

    Michele Sarkisian

    Do you know what the zoning was at This location prior to the lawsuit from the billboard company?

    Editor

    This property was rezoned in 1997 and currently prohibits billboards in the zoning stipulations.

    ccitizen777

    The gift that keeps giving!! Too bad there are no returns.

    ccitizen777

    This is exactly why we need to vote for John Bradberry, he will ask the necessary questions.

    ccitizen777

    Are the details of the billboard negotiations sealed?

    Editor

    Yes, under the guise of "Executive Session".

    Anonymous

    Let the billboard be built on the backyard of Mayor Bodker! It is totally ugly and a distraction which reduces the safety of driver.

    MrKnowItAll

    Something nice could have been built on that corner without a sight blight screaming billboard. Instead, for the foreseeable future, this corner will remain an even more unsightly used car lot--making Johns Creek look more like Buford Highway.
    What a COMPLETE debacle!

    Zane Edge

    On Tuesday, Dec 5, vote for John Bradberry!! He has persistently been opposed to billboards from the start. DO NOT vote for his opponent who received a major campaign contribution from one of the two main billboard settlement negotiators.

    Ed Thompson

    If you want to see where all of this is headed, drive south on 141 inside of 285. Chamblee is being transformed by high density, multi-use development in a radius about a mile from the Chamblee MARTA station.

    After establishing that visual in your mind, take a look at the Comprehensive Land Use Plan and consultant produced material that is full of visual images of high density housing, and proposals for redevelopment of existing retail into multi-use (i.e., retail and multi-tenant residential) areas. Tie that in to the ARC proposals to establish Bus Rapid Transit along Medlock Bridge/141, and the road-widening that it will entail. T-SPLOST projects are already being pushed to pave the way.

    Is that a vision of what most wanted when they chose to build their lives in Johns Creek?

    Smart Resident

    ALL proposed and even existing BILLBOARD placements MUST BE STOPPED by Johns Creek Residents. Check this out about what these Billboards do for metadata aggregators like AT&T where they "track" your activities:

    http://www.ajc.com/news/local/actual-factual-north-fulton-are-johns-creek-billboards-spying/DwxbGidX6MzmD4zlvfKLuJ/

    One must be vigilant and stay informed in this day and age. A lot of data is being collected about you and you have no idea from where, by whom, and how. Above is one example.

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