12/05/2025
Good afternoon, all!
I wanted to address some of the concerns coming across social media over the past couple of days.
December 4th Agenda Item Variance Application Clarification:
This agenda item, on December 4th, was informational only. During this, a high-level summary is presented to the council by city staff for the public record. There is no opportunity for public input, council discussion, or votes to be cast. This process is set forth under Georgia State Law with requirements for timing between steps in the process, public hearing, public notice (yellow signs in the right of way), letters to adjacent property owners, etc. The City of Canton has additional codes and requirements when it comes to zoning that apply to metrics like setback requirements, zoning categories, usage, etc.
Every property owner has the right to request a variance to their zoning, and the Council must decide whether to approve or deny that request.
Rivergreen Variance Moving forward:
The public hearing for this particular item is scheduled to be held during the first part of our January 8th Council Meeting at 6 pm. I would encourage ALL residents who would like to express their opinions to please make plans to attend and share your thoughts, or if you can not, please email your thoughts to [email protected], and your public comment will be attached to the zoning application for all of council to review in our consideration of this application. You can also CC Farris Yawn ([email protected]) and me ([email protected]) on any comments you wish to submit.
After this, the earliest Council could consider this for a vote will be at the January 22nd meeting, so this is the perfect time to review the application (link below), ask questions, send your comments, and rally support for/against.
How to stay more informed:
I am a big believer in getting information from the source. There are a couple of ways you can do this!
1) The official record-keeping database is the Legistar. Here you can view upcoming and previous City Council, City Boards, and Commissions agendas, minutes, application links, and video recordings of meetings. (Link Below)
2) For more concise and delivered information, you can subscribe to receive any of the three regular newsletters that the City of Canton's Comms Team publishes. One is weekly, another is monthly, and the last is our Explore Canton newsletter. Both the weekly and monthly newsletters include council agenda items and events taking place in the city. I would recommend signing up for the weekly one, so you always get the most update information regularly. (Link below)
3) You can also follow The City of Canton on Facebook/Instagram pages. Our Communications team regularly posts the upcoming agenda items, public hearings, meeting dates, and other important information. (Link below)
Best way to contact Ward 3 Councilmembers directly:
Farris and I would love to communicate directly with anyone who has questions about this matter or others that come up in the future! The best way to reach us is through our City email addresses, and I will do my best to respond within a couple of business days.
While social media can be a great tool to communicate, and I do partake on a casual basis, it is not where I spend much of my time while balancing my family, Council duties, and my full-time job. I will be more active in sharing City communications through my page if anyone would like to follow that as well. The link is also below.
Thank you and Merry Christmas!
River Green Variance Application- https://canton.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=7762740&GUID=3639E6AB-10D9-4096-A692-74E443645512&Options=&Search=
Legistar Page- https://canton.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx?fbclid=IwY2xjawOf4EdleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFhVjRkVUwxUzFBWTNxeG95c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHip3q8ak760LMTYGMcMhO523Sqms124E0LEXR8Wi59wj0scxvmmgCzMJ2_j5_aem_3vHEwSJLyoJQI788ADbzOQ
Newsletter Registration Page- https://visitor.constantcontact.com/manage/optin?v=001OfwPCQe6vrXSlL74Ar3CmAQ3jIGHPrW78IAlBqgRH1t-GM22HslboPVG_238Gne1bV46juo2hC7w_RQab8Kc_P4e-y3REsOm
City of Canton page- https://www.facebook.com/cityofcanton
City of Canton Instagram Page- https://www.instagram.com/cityofcantonga?fbclid=IwY2xjawOf5LtleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFhVjRkVUwxUzFBWTNxeG95c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHl-IxLn5P5Hu3jQvmVdUvhhd4mZIX-woCRLUYJDhD6irSDz5vLDhw1-tgfTM_aem_PT9LsCfUEks-zmZTL4f9iw
Ward 3 Councilmember Email
Dwayne- [email protected]
Farris- [email protected]
Dwayne Waterman Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/ElectDwayneWaterman