County Commissioner's Office

County Talk
By
Lamar Paris - Commissioner

Con’t from last week-committees and ordinances

Q.  What other ordinances did you adopt related to particular problem issues?
A. Tattoo Ordinance - I have had three other issues that came up very quickly that did not permit us time to form a committee.  The first was a tattoo ordinance. While we can not legally prevent tattoo parlors, we certainly have the right to regulate them.  For that reason, we do not have any tattoo parlors in the county today.  Had we not adopted an ordinance very quickly, we could not have closed the one that had opened briefly.  You can see some of these places in the surrounding area with at least one in Fannin County.

Adult Entertainment - Sex shop - The potential for sex shops and lewd dancing also became an issue for which time was of the essence. A few years ago we were told that someone was actively looking for a location for a sex shop.  A quickly adopted ordinance now makes it very expensive and difficult to open such a shop.  If you have been down Hwy 400 to Dawsonville, you can see that they were not quick enough with an ordinance and now have a sex shop with a very large sign along Hwy 400 inviting everyone for a visit. This is a situation that would repulse me had it happened in Union County.

Junk Yard Ordinance - Next was a junk yard ordinance which was initiated very quickly to prevent new junk yards from just appearing on the side of the highway without some regulation regarding some appearance guidelines. A neighbor alerted us to the problem whereby a neighboring property owner started to haul in junk cars with no regards to how it was impacting the house next door.  The county is currently involved in a law suit regarding this ordinance and time will tell if it will be successful. However, even while adopting this ordinance and being conscientious of many existing unlicensed autos on some people’s property, we left the ability to have up to four vehicles on site and grandfathered all existing junk yards so as to be fair to those who have been in the business for years. Property rights do not just involve the property owner who wants to do whatever they want to with their property, the neighbor also has property rights that should allow him to expect to have the value of his property protected.

Building Inspection - I am probably most proud of this accomplishment.  We had to start from scratch and develop an ordinance, start a new department, and have now been operating for two years.  We have been able to do this without an impact on the taxpayers, because the homeowners are paying the fees that support the program.  Our fees are lower than many counties and are reasonable.  Our inspection department has the reputation of being fair, using common sense, and I have had many of the builders thank me for starting this program.  While we have always had many great contractors in this county, we have also had some that were not and this program is weeding them out.

Home values will be higher in the future as people have more confidence that the homes being constructed are built to state and federal codes.  This has certainly been an exceptional program.  I want to thank Randy Day and the staff of the building inspection office for the excellent job they have done in being firm but fair.

Q. I read in a paper handed out by your opposition for commissioner saying you were bringing too much government to Union County and that all of these ordinances are not necessary. We should be able to rely on everyone to do the right thing through “individual responsibility”.  So why do you make these ordinances?
A. It is very simple. The only reason to ever adopt an ordinance is to fix a common sense problem that has developed and has the high likelihood of continuing without some reasonable steps to prevent its re-occurrence.  While many may wish Union County was like it used to be many years ago, it is not and never will be.  They forget about all the muddy roads, (wrecker services being bid out by the school every year just to have wreckers on call to pull buses out of muddy roads every time it rained). There were only one or two doctors with the nearest hospital miles away.  Back then we could only dream of ball fields and other recreation facilities for our kids. There was hardly anywhere to shop, very few restaurants, one ambulance which doubled as a hearse.  One funeral home and a telephone party line which sometimes required a long wait just to make a phone call. At the best, you could keep up with the gossip in town by listening in on phone conversations.  Those days are gone forever. We can not live in the past, and must prepare for the future as we continue to grow.

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