Strawberry Fields Saved - For Now

Tuesday night the Gwinnett County Commission denied the rezoning of the 10 acres of strawberry fields at the corner of Bay Creek/ Willowwind/Ga. Hwy. 20 for a shopping center.

The center, as proposed by the developer, had 444 parking places, over 40 offices and retail stores, but no tenants lined up.

In an effort to protect our property values and to lessen the impact that such a shopping center would have on our area, the HOA joined the Willowwind Park HOA to strongly protest the rezoning.

The HOA Board wants to thank the many homeowners who attended the zoning meetings and board meetings to protest this rezoning and the homeowners who worked so hard in the rezoning fight. (You can read more about the rezoning in these articles in Thursday's Gwinnett Daily Post and Atlanta Journal Consitution .)

The following is a letter from the HOA in reference to correspondence by Andersen Tate Carr to residents in our homeowners association:

Dear Bay Creek Neighbors,

The Bay Creek HOA's Board of Directors (BOD) would like to address the letter you probably received yesterday in the mail from Anderson, Tate and Carr.

For some background into the matter, please see the note below that were posted on the blog and was discussed at the neighborhood HOA meeting on October 7th.

Crown Properties (The Village) and NorthStar Homes (The Landings and Landings II) - six months ago the BOD asked them to follow our covenants regarding signage. Crown had 20 signs and NorthStar had 12. Our covenants only allow 1 For Sale sign per lot. Both companies refused. And they threatened our HOA with a law suit if any signs were damaged or taken down. (Including signs they have put on private homeowners property.)

The BOD wrote a stronger letter and told Crown to pay HOA dues since the Sales office/home was classified as a residence and not a business. This they agreed was true.

The HOA was forced to file a law suit for both companies to come in line with the covenants. NO signs at the entrances, and one at the sales office/ homes, etc. (We do want to work with NorthStar on their signage used. We were in agreement that they should be able to sale their homes in the Landing ll. They chose to work with Crown who is building the Village, which is not associated with the Bay Creek HOA and not contact us directly.)

October 24th the scheduled hearing date with a Judge. There was a hearing held on October 24th regarding the use of signs in the neighborhood. It did not go in our favor and we have not pursued the matter further. The Board is puzzled as to why this letter was sent out. The matter was dropped after the hearing.

Chad Gamrandt (the lawyer representing the Bay Creek HOA) tried on several occasions within the 10 days requested to contact Anderson, Tate and Carr. His calls were not returned.

Our goal was to have the signs removed and that's it. We wanted our neighborhood to be a "neighborhood" and not a business complete with advertisement. We acted on behalf of the homeowners based on feedback we have received from neighbors regarding the multitudes of signs.

Sincerely, Bay Creek Board of Directors

Commissioners Vote Tuesday on Strawberry Field rezoning

Tuesday is the day that the Gwinnett County Commissioners decide the fate of the 10 acres of strawberry fields at Bay Creek/Willowwind/Hwy. 20. The commissioners vote on Crown Point Property’s request to rezone the land for a 94,000 sq. ft. shopping center/office complex with 444 parking places.

We urge you to attend the meeting at 7 p.m., Gwinnett Justice Center, Langley Dr., Lawrenceville. The more people we have there, the better to show the commissioners that this is a project our neighborhood does not need or want. When you come to the meeting, please wear red to show your protest!

If you need a ride, please call 678.438.3674.

Remember, being silent on this issue could send the wrong message. Not speaking out or showing up at this meeting could signal to the developer and the county commissioners that our neighborhood approves this shopping center. If a shopping center with more parking places than Loganville’s Home Depot has is something you don’t want, then you need to be at Tuesday’s meeting.

If you have any questions, contact Diane Bates, 770.554.3466, or Pat Tewalt, 770.554.5411.

Fight the Strawberry Field Rezoning

The County Commission votes Nov. 27 on rezoning 10 acres of the strawberry fields near our neighborhood for a commercial shopping center/office complex. (The developer Crown Point Property is planning a center with 41 businesses & stores and 444 parking places and entrances from Bay Creek, Willow Wind & Hwy.20)

If you oppose this rezoning, you need to take action. Send an email or call our District 3 Commissioner Mike Beaudreau and the other commissioners as well. Ask them to vote NO.

Such a proposed development will 1) add to our horrendous traffic, 2) add more 'vacant' stores and offices to an area filled with empty offices and buildings, 3) add more commercial water users to our drought plagued area, 4) turn green space into a parking lot, and 5) put a commercial enterprise right in the middle of residential and farm land. (The list could go on and on, but you get the idea. This center will impact the quality of life for us in the Bay Creek area.)

You can reach your commissioners at the following addresses:
Charles Bannister (Chairman), 770.822.7010 Charles.Bannister@gwinnettcounty.com
District One – Lorraine Green, 770.822.7001 Lorraine.Green@gwinnettcounty.com
District Two – Bert Nasuti, 770.822.7002 Bert.Nasuti@gwinnettcounty.com
District Three – Mike Beaudreau 770.822.7003 Mike.Beaudreau@gwinnettcounty.com
District Four – Kevin Kenerly, 770.822.7004 Kevin.Kenerly@gwinnettcounty.com

For more information, go to http://savethestrawberryfields.blogspot.com/

Check Out the Classified Ads

Cheryl Jones, who lives on Bay Creek Rd., is looking for a children's nativity set that the children can play with....anyone have one they want to sell, please call her at 770-554-4312.

If you, like Cheryl, have an item you are looking for or if you want to advertise your garage sale, car for sale, or lost pet, contact us at baycreekhoa@gmail.com and we'll post your ad in our Classified Section (with link on the right hand of this blog.)

Help his family find Justin Gaines

Justin Gaines, a Gainesville College student who attended Brookwood High School and is from the Snellville area, is missing. He was last seen Nov. 1 at Wild Bill's in Duluth. Justin's parents and friends have launched a massive search for him and are asking for people to contact the Governor's Office, 404-656-1776, to ask Governor Perdue to add money to the reward fund. Right now the reward fund is at $5,000. The goal is have the reward reach $10,000.

Also, a special investigator, Tim Miller of Equusearch from Texas, has been brought in to aid in the search. Miller's organization is a non-profit that works on donations. He does everything out of the goodness of his heart!

The Gaines family needs help with donations to offset Mr. Miller's expenses and provide him with needed resources. They need the following: 1- Transportation (either a donated vehicle or a rental car at a nominal fee) 2-Lodging (either a hotel room for him or someone who has the room at thier home) 3-Food, water for the searches that he will be conducting; and 4-Volunteers for the searches.

For more information on the search for Justin Gaines, please go to http://www.justingaines.com/.

Veterans Day at Bay Creek

For this Veterans Day, Nov. 11, a Bay Creek family has set up a special memorial to honor the 26 Georgia Army and Air National Guardmen and to honor our lost veterans since 9/11. At their home of 545 Bay Grove Rd. and along Lake Bay Creek, the Berger family have planted three flags for each lost National Guard soldier.

The Bergers invite their neighbors to stop by the lake to reflect on the sacrifice that these brave soldiers made and that our Guard soldiers make everday. This is also a time to reflect on veterans of all conflicts.

The flags honor the following fallen Georgia Guardmen:

1. Army Spc. Jacques E. Brunson, 30, of Americus, Ga.
2. Army Staff Sgt. Carl R. Fuller, 44, of Covington, Ga.
3. Army Sgt. James O. Kinlow, 35, of Thomson, Ga.
4. Army Sgt. John F. Thomas, 33, of Valdosta, Ga.
5. Sgt. Charles C. Gillican III, 35, of Brunswick, Ga.
6. Army Sgt. Jonathon C. Haggin, 26, of Kingsland, Ga.
7. Army Staff Sgt. David R. Jones Sr., 45, of Augusta, Ga.
8. Army Sgt. Ronnie L. Shelley Sr., 34, of Valdosta, Ga.
9. Army Sgt. 1st Class Victor A. Anderson, 39, of Ellaville, Ga.
10. Army Sgt. 1st Class Charles H. Warren, 36, of Duluth, Ga.
11. Army Spc. Mathew V. Gibbs, 21, of Ambrose, Ga.
12. Army Spc. Jerry L. Ganey Jr., 29, of Folkston, Ga.
13. Army Sgt. George R. Draughn Jr., 29, of Decatur, Ga.
14. Army Staff Sgt. Robert L. Hollar Jr., 35, of Griffin, Ga.
15. Army Sgt. Chad M. Mercer, 25, of Waycross, Ga.
16. Army Sgt. Paul A. Saylor, 21, of Norcross, Ga.
17. Army Spc. Joshua P. Dingler, 19, of Hiram, Ga.
18. Army Sgt. Thomas J. Strickland, 27, of Douglasville, Ga.
19. Army Spc. Michael J. Stokely, 23, of Sharpsburg, Ga.
20. Army Spc. James T. Grijalva, 26, of Burbank, Ill.
21. Army Staff Sgt. Dennis P. Merck, 38, of Evans, Ga.
22. Army Sgt. Philip A. Dodson, Jr., 42, of Forsyth, Ga.
23. Army Spc. Marcus S. Futrell, 20, of Macon, Ga.
24. Army Staff Sgt. Philip L. Travis, 41, of Snellville, Ga.
25. Army Private First Class Carlton Newman, 21, of Maryland
26. Staff Sergeant Amos Edwards, 35, of Savannah, Ga.

Planning Board Denies Strawberry Field Rezoning

Tuesday night, the Gwinnett County Planning Commission voted 7 to 1 to deny the rezoning of 10 acres at the corner of Ga. Hwy. 20, Bay Creek and Willow Wind Drive for commercial development. Those 10 acres are part of the Washington Farms Strawberry Farms in Loganville.

Many Bay Creek HOA members were at Tuesday's meeting, wearing red shirts to protest the zoning proposal by Loganville developer Todd Hogan and his company, Crown Point, to build a shopping and office center on the 10 acres.

For more details on the meeting, read the Gwinnett Daily Post news story.

Now it is up to the Gwinnett County Commissioners to decide the fate of this rezoning issue in their Nov. 27 meeting. To learn more about the strawberry field rezoning and how you can help, go to http://savethestrawberryfields.blogspot.com .

SCAREY HOUSES GALORE

Speaking of scarey, hopefully you had an opportunity to see the frighteningly scarey homes on Creek Cove.

The house on the corner, home of the Monster Wedding and graveyard. was definitely one of the Gwinnett's best decorated homes for Halloween, although several other homes on that street and a couple on and off Bay Grove were frightening haunting, too.

Next year the HOA plans a neighborhood Halloween decoration contest with CASH prizes...so put on your Halloween hat and start thinking how you can outspook your neighbors.

Safe & Happy Halloween

The Bay Creek neighborhoods had a great, happy, and safe Halloween as children by the dozens paraded up and down our streets in their clever and often scarey costumes.

A special Bay Creek HOA thank you goes out to the many people in the Landings II and the Plantation who volunteered to host Halloween parties for their subdivisions. Children and adults alike chowed down on hot dogs and other Halloween goodies. The HOA gave each subdivision $200 to buy hot dogs, prizes, party goods, etc. for the parties. Residents brought side dishes to share. As a result, fun was had by all.

Next year, the HOA hopes to expand the Halloween parties with people volunteering from all four subdivisions. Landings I and the Cove, we need some to coordinate the Halloween Parties 2008 for your homes. Anyone interested?