City Approves New Historic District Map

About 70 people attended Monday night's City Council meeting, which included a performance by the Baker Elementary School choir, questions from local Boy Scouts and the approval of a new Historic District map.

The choir began the evening with a performance of the National Anthem, followed by two other songs.

Next on the agenda, Zoning Administrator Darryl Simmons proposed that Kennesaw switch its official map of the Kennesaw Historic District from a map drawn up in 1980 to one re-mastered by a modern Geographical Information Systems program.

Simmons stressed that the old map caused interpretation problems among his staff due to a lack of visual clarity common of technology from the 1970’s. The old map was worn, and the boundaries were drawn in with marker, which had faded and expanded over the years, leading to disagreements about exactly where the boundaries lay.

“The challenge with that map, or enforcing that map, is the fact that it lends itself to interpretation by staff because of the poor quality of the map, (and) the not-well-defined boundaries that designates all of the Historic District,” Simmons said to the council.

The new map represents the same 255 parcels that the old map did. No changes were made in the zoning of the area.

Simmons said this clearer map will benefit both the local government and the public. The council agreed, adopting the new map as the official map of the Historic District with a 4-0 unanimous vote.

Mayor Mark Mathews then held a special Q & A session with local Boy Scouts, who asked about the City Council's duties and the kinds of decisions councilmembers must make.

Members of the public are invited to attend City Council meetings to voice their opinions and are especially encouraged to attend the upcoming Town Hall Meeting on Feb. 17 at 6 p.m. at the .