By Helen Borland / Staff

Among several zoning measures addressed Monday night by the Roswell City Council were one allowing for a restaurant expansion and one aimed at limiting the unwelcome visibility of parked commercial vehicles in the city.

Apparently with an eye toward indeed making Roswell more business-friendly, the council OK’d a change enabling Alpine Bakery and Pizzeria on Rucker Road to add 40 seats for eat-in dining. Don Goodman, who manages the shopping center where the bakery is located, said an old zoning ordinance hurt the bakery’s business by prohibiting the expansion. The shopping center’s parking capacity meets current zoning requirements.

Another zoning ordinance amendment would require that any commercial vehicle in a residential lot be screened from view or be located within an enclosed building, except while being loaded or unloaded. Mayor Jere Wood wanted the amendment to exclude moving vans, firetrucks and vehicles being used in such work as tree- trimming. Councilwoman Betty Price called for clarification about parking related to home-based businesses.

Henry Heads Committee

Meanwhile, Wood has tapped former City Councilwoman and recent pro-business mayoral candidate Lori Henry to head a recently formed Citizens Adivsory Committee.

“It’s not an official board or commission for the city – it’s a think tank,” said Henry, adding that she wants people who must deal with City Hall to identify issues and make suggestions for improving the process.

Among those Henry’s hoping to hear from are home owners, business owners, and people involved in development. Also over the next six months or so, she said, her committee, which will meet twice a month, will take a look at what other communities have done or are doing to improve their business climate. (Henry has used this strategy before: As a councilwoman, she and other council members visited several Georgia cities to learn how they were going about re-energizing their suburban areas.) 

A typical problem in Roswell, Henry noted, is the changing of rules during the game.

She explained that business owners who go to City Hall to obtain a needed permit often are handed a list of requirements and meets them, only to be cited a short while later for not meeting code.

“To me, that’s the real issue,” she said. “I think there’s a lot that can be done.”