Policy Work Session Recap, June 18

From the tobacco free ordinance to having an outdoor display, a number of topics were on the agenda at the June policy work session Monday.

After much discussion, the city council didn't make an official decision to repeal or keep the , but it will appear on the agenda for the next regular work session July 2. At the session, it would be decided then what the council will do with the ordinance, whether it's cutting, amending or keeping it. It would then go to the city council meeting the same evening so that the council can hear the public's input and also vote on it.

Many councilmen expressed that a tobacco ban needed to be in place, but the council was conflicted with the severity of the restrictions, how the government should provide education to the public and when the ordinance should take effect.

Other major topics of the evening included:

-The parcel of land at 5765 Buford Highway, which is on the corner of Holcomb Bridge and the highway, will be purchased in order for the city to build a gateway sign for Norcross.

-The decision to place a statue of Sadhu Vaswani Mission in Lillian Webb Park has been dismissed. After the possibility of the statue had been discussed at previous policy work sessions, it was determined that the statue was more of a religious figure as opposed to being secular.

-The Outdoor Display of Merchandise ordinance also was dismissed. Elmer Hartley, owner of , explained at the because he cannot display inventory outside his store. The current ordinance states that businesses in the overlay district can only display outdoor items for 10 days twice a year, if they pay a small fee. 

Norcross Community Development Director explained that he recommended keeping the ordinance unchanged because of the many of the businesses along Buford Highway that have had an overwhelming amount of outdoor items in the past.