A letter to the state from a high-powered Atlanta legal firm followed, saying plans are to designate the 100-acre tract as a “significant wildlife refuge” and seek a Section 4(f) protection from development.
Section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act of 1966 prevents DOT agencies from approving the use of public parks, recreational areas, wildlife refuges or historical sites unless there is no “feasible and prudent” alternative.
The 7.3-mile limited access connector is aimed at providing a direct link from Rome to Interstate 75 and easing congestion on U.S. 41 in Cartersville. The route cleared the final regulatory hurdle last year, but a minor realignment at I-75 could open the door to reconsideration.
Euharlee City Manager Trish Sullivan said the City Council was moved by a May presentation at the Rollins family’s Cartersville Ranch LLC that highlighted the natural habitat, Civil War trenches and manganese mines on their threatened property.
“We are particularly interested in greenspace and preservation,” Sullivan said. “How it affects the connector is not our decision to make.”
The board voted Tuesday night to accept a perpetual conservation easement offered by the family, and the documents, which do not affect the family’s ownership of the land, were filed the next day.
But State Transportation Board member David Doss of Rome said Euharlee — about 15 miles from the property — is a pawn in the Rollins family’s strategy to halt the road.
The Bartow County landowners, whose Rollins Inc. operation includes Orkin Pest Control, maintain the Cartersville Ranch LLC land as a vacation home. They successfully sued to derail the connector in 1991 and the new plan revived their opposition.
Doss said a letter sent Wednesday from Atlanta law firm Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan cites Section 4(f) and asks GDOT State Envi-
ronmental Administrator Glenn Bowman to abandon the planned route.
Euharlee’s easement was orchestrated by City Attorney Boyd Pettit, who also is a partner at Georgia Link Public Affairs Group, a registered lobbying firm whose clients include one of the Rollins family’s corporations.
Pettit said several Euharlee council members initiated the discussion, asking him to see what the city could do to protect the watershed, wildlife and scenic beauty of the site.
Pettit said the family offered the easement to Euharlee because a conservation easement held by a “perpetual entity” such as a city or county may not be reversed. He rejected the notion that the Rollinses transferred a potential legal battle to the city.
“To the best of my knowledge, there have been no condemnation proceedings filed, and GDOT has not moved to acquire right of way,” he said.
Bartow County Sole Commissioner Clarence Brown said he was approached by a Rollins representative several weeks ago about accepting part of the property for greenspace or a trail.
“I said I don’t want any part of it,” Brown said. “I’ve been one of the biggest pushers in Bartow County for the 411 Connector. They went through an environmental study years ago. This Dobbins Mountain issue just popped up.”
The call to protect the habitat was first raised at a GDOT public hearing on the route modification in March. The agency’s report on proceedings listed 345 attendees, with 242 comments in favor of the project and 17 expressing opposition.
Pettit said he expects the re-evaluation of the modified route to include consideration of the easement.
But Doss said even if the Federal Highway Administration awards a 4(f) designation, there are exemptions that could allow the right of way to be condemned.
“I am confident, just as everything else they’ve tried has failed, that this will also fail,” he said.
Estimations put the right-of-way cost at $52 million for the $400 million-plus project. So far, a $25 million federal earmark is the only funding available.
Click here to see the Georgia Conservancy opposition webpage with a proposed alternate route.
and not make a 125ft. cut in Dobbins mountain, Which means the work could be completed a lot sooner. Why is Doss and the DOT so set on the longer, more expensive route? The only logical explanation is someone is money. The question is, who is getting it?
It reminds me of that Wide Place in the Road Edwardsville, Alabama that extended it's city limits to encompass much of the county then applied for $374m in stimulus funds. Been through Edwardsville a few dozens times.
Edwardsville Population: 194 residents and I'm betting that's a stretch.
Unbelievable.
http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Tiny-Town-Edwardsville-Responds-To--374m-Stimulus-Fury/475945
save dobbins mtn? more like, "save the orkin mans vacation property."
Also, David Doss said “I am confident, just as everything else they’ve tried has failed, that this will also fail.” But the reporter said, "they successfully sued to derail the connector in 1991." Guess his quotes could be considered inaccurate at best?
And another thing, there was a lot more opposition at that March meeting than this paper or GDOT leads on. Several were outside protesting and many more were there from the group below.
www.coalitionfortherightroad.org