Ellijay City Councilmembers gave the first reading of an ordinance regulating cryptocurrency mining and took no action on the second reading of an ordinance to add a new restaurant to the city’s alcohol consumption zone when meeting Monday, June 17.
A new zoning classification, which will have greater distance requirements than the previously decided I2 industrial zoning, will have to be created and included in the updated ordinance, noted Mayor Al Hoyle. Ellijay currently has a six-month moratorium in place for cryptomining and other similar businesses.
“The (ordinance) allows the cryptomining to be in I2. I suggested to (attorney) Kayann (Hayden West) that we change that to make it allowable in I3, which is not a zoning classification we currently have. It would be something that has an even longer distance requirement from any residential (property),” said Hoyle. “It would require a zoning change from a current zoning classification, regardless of what it was, to I3. In addition to that, it would require a conditional use permit. It wouldn’t be automatically allowed in I3.”
Councilman Tom Crawford said he can’t imagine anywhere inside the city limits that would be appropriate for cryptomining.
“We can’t either. That’s the reason we (will have) a zoning classification that will require a zoning change,” said Hoyle.
Because of adding the new zoning classification, the ordinance, which establishes public health, safety, noise and resource impact standards for cryptomining, will require review by the city planning commission and a public hearing before the next council meeting.
“In Murphy, (N.C.), they’ve had a rough time up there. They said you could hear that one from a mile during the summer when everything’s leafed and even further in the winter. I think we might want to look at some pretty long distances,” said Hoyle.
No councilmembers offered a motion or a second when voting on whether or not to amend the city’s code of ordinances by adding an in-progress restaurant at 374 North Main Street to the area of downtown Ellijay in which businesses can have pouring licenses.
If approved, the ordinance would have excused the restaurant from the previously required 300-foot distance from churches and schools for on-premise alcohol consumption. The ordinance had a first reading at last month’s council meeting.
Since no action was taken upon the second reading, the item died due to lack of support.
In other news ..
In a pre-meeting workshop, Hoyle said putting down striping on River Street to cover the parallel parking spaces that were discontinued by the city council is on hold until paving and other final work on a new water line project is finished.
“This construction crew has been fairly destructive. Putting that thermoplastic down that the Department of Transportation requires to replace the two crosswalks and eliminate the parking spaces is about $8,000. I hate to put it down and have them come in with a tractor or something and mess it up. (You’ve also) got the DOT doing deep patching on River Street,” Hoyle added.
Councilmembers approved:
﹣ An annexation request for two parcels near the Old Highway 5/382 roundabout owned by Hubert Parker, current Post 1 county commissioner.
After an executive session, the council reconvened and approved the sale of a discontinued portion of Highway 382, which was put out of use by the roundabout, also to Parker.
﹣ An intergovernmental agreement stating how TSPLOST proceeds will be split if voters approve the additional 1-percent sales tax in November.
The county commissioners have proposed a TSPLOST split of 6 percent to the City of Ellijay, 3.5 percent to the City of East Ellijay and 90.5 percent to Gilmer County.
The county has agreed to multiple joint city/county projects within the Ellijay City Limits. The motion passed contingent to a favorable list of TSPLOST-funded projects being compiled before the election.