Comer flip flops on zoning amendment

The zoning change pertains to guidelines on haunted houses and special events. Two years ago, the city of Comer and developer Tim Seymour battled in the Georgia Supreme Court over a 1999 zoning code that the city argued prevented special events in residential areas.

Seymour opened a haunted house in the city in 2007 near Halloween, drawing a crowd of 400 and raising just under $2,500 the first weekend.

The state Supreme Court ultimately ruled months later that the argument over whether Seymour could operate the haunted house was a moot point because Halloween had passed.

However two justices on the Supreme Court dissented from the majority ruling, saying the matter was not a moot point.

“Halloween occurs every year,” the dissent said. “And if Seymour decides to have another haunted house at the same location as his 2007 haunted house, any attempt by the city to enjoin Seymour’s efforts would be barred ... in light of the trial court’s prior ruling...”

Comer zoning administrator Jim Baird recently presented a zoning amendment to the city council to address special events.

“The proposed amendment will give the city some solid ground on which to stand if there are further flagrantly defiant acts in connection with haunted house type events,” wrote Baird in his memo to the council about the amendment.

Baird said the change allows the city to take action in case a future haunted house is proposed.

“Seymour’s defense in court was to cite numerous examples of other apparent business operations on residential lots,” wrote Baird in an explanation of the amendment to The Journal. “I sought to allow the city to cite him for operating a special event without a permit instead of the more general zoning citation of business in a res(idential) zone.”

Comer residents Scott Callaway and Beth McMickle, wife of mayor-elect David McMickle, both spoke in opposition of the zoning amendment Dec. 7.

“I thought the language in the ordinance was sufficient and it seemed pointed towards a single member of the community,” said Callaway, chairman elect of the Royal Oaks Homeowners’ Association in Comer. “We as a community organization had questions about how this would affect us, and their response was unclear. We were told as long as we didn’t charge an admission fee or invite people into our homes, we could hold a ‘haunted house’ in our neighborhood and it would not be necessary to obtain a special permit. It would be considered a private party.”

After Callaway and others spoke, the council voted 3-0 to deny the amendment. Councilman Kevin Booth abstained from the vote.
Booth said the council needed to stand by Baird’s zoning decision.

“The man over our zoning (Baird) had went through and made it (the recommendation on the zoning amendment), and I think it’s only fair if we hire him to kind of take knowledge of what he does and be decent about it,” said Booth. “He had that request to change it that way and that’s the way we done … The way we thought about it is, it’s stupid to hire somebody, and he goes through the zoning and does something, and then we vote against him, when I think what he was doing was legitimate.”

Later in the meeting, after the citizens left, the council decided to reconsider the matter, though a second discussion of the zoning amendment wasn’t on the agenda. The group then voted 4-0 to approve the amendment.

“I think on that first vote they (council members who voted against the amendment) were just trying to make a few people happy,” said Booth.