TYPO CONTEST!

Many of you are receiving my latest mailing and thinking ... what's going on this time. For those of you that at least wait the 1 hour before throwing the postcard away, you might be delighted to find a Realtor who actually did something incredibly human. You might assume that I allowed my nearly 2 year old son to produce the latest post card, but alas I must tell you that it was me.

So without further ado, let's get the contest on. Entrants must e-mail me as well as post a comment on this blog. Please e-mail me your address and the best way to contact you for delivery. You don't have to put your address on the blog.

Emails to be sent to: JarvisTeam@Gmail.com

Here's the directions:

1. Locate the typos and e-mail me (first prize will be awarded to the first person to get them all right)
2. Create a new word from the word that I miss-typed. So for TEBAM - "integrating this generation's slang, Tebam is a combination of TEAM and "DA BOMB" and therefore is an elite team" - you can come up with your own definition.

TWO PRIZES WILL BE GIVEN OUT.

1st PRIZE: $25 GIFT CERTIFICATE TO HONEY BAKED HAM - Given to the first person to e-mail me or call me and tell me all the typos.

2ND PRIZE: $5 GIFT CERTIFICATE TO STARBUCKS COFFEE - Given to the most creative responses given for the typos. Could be the same person!

Woman wins $1,000 a week for life!

A Dacula woman is celebrating a lifetime Georgia Lottery win after her mother gave her a top prize Win for Life ticket.

Susan Williams will receive $1,000 a week for the rest of her life for a total of $52,000 a year, according to a state lottery news release.

Kwick Check, at 352 Harbins Road in Dacula, sold the lucky ticket.

"We stopped for gas, and my mom bought the ticket," Williams said in a statement. "She said, 'If this ticket wins, it's yours.'"

Williams, 45, works as a commercial loan officer. She plans to put her winnings toward the new house she is building with her husband, Dewayne.

"We were already building a home, and my mom just wanted to help," Williams said. "She's the best."

The winning numbers for the Win for Life drawing on Oct. 7 were: 8-11-18-24-28-30 and the Free Ball was 3. Williams' mother randomly selected the lucky combination.

There were three Win for Life second prize winning tickets sold in Georgia for this drawing worth $1,000 a week for a year. The second prize tickets were purchased in Conyers, Lawrenceville and Warner Robins.

Source: AJC.com

Braselton files lawsuit against Hoschton

Argues new development infringes upon town’s rights to provide sewer, water service.

Braselton is taking its neighboring city, Hoschton, to court over which municipality will provide water and sewer service to a new, large-scale subdivision.

On Thursday, the Braselton Town Council met behind closed doors for 30 minutes to discuss “pending or potential litigation.” The council later voted to file suit against the City of Hoschton, which was done on Monday.

The suit contends that when the Hoschton City Council recently approved an annexation and rezoning request for a proposed 302-lot subdivision on Maddox Road and Ga. Hwy. 124, the city violated state law. That law — House Bill 489, also known as the shared services delivery agreement — outlines which governments can provide which services, such as water and sewer services, without duplicating services. Braselton contends in the lawsuit that when the Hoschton City Council voted 3-2 last week to approve Hampton Homes’ request for the Maddox Road property, the city violated state law. Braselton officials say the property is located in the town’s water and sewer service area. The town will “aggressively defend its right to serve its territory,” according to the lawsuit.

“There will be irrevocable harm to the Town of Braselton and area residents if any action is taken in furtherance of Hoschton servicing the subject area with water and wastewater,” the suit states. At last week’s Hoschton City Council meeting, it was mentioned that approving the Hampton Homes proposal could bring an estimated $2.2 million in revenue to Hoschton in water and sewer tap fees. Hoschton has state loans totaling $5.6 million to improve the city’s wastewater treatment plant.

Braselton officials are asking the Jackson County Superior Court to place a temporary and permanent ban on Hoschton from issuing any permits for the property and prohibit providing, installing or planning for water and sewer service to the site.

Hoschton mayor Bill Copenhaver said Tuesday that he had not seen the lawsuit and didn’t want to comment about it

SOURCE: Kerri Testament from MainStreetNews.com

Brief History of Dacula

Located in the fastest growing area of Georgia, the dynamic city of Dacula straddles the Winder Highway and the Seaboard railroad in the “V” created by I-85 and Route 316. The city was named by former postmaster John W. Freeman, who suggested “Dacula” as a combination of “Decatur” and “Atlanta.” Today, nearly 4,000 Dacula residents enjoy small-town living and easy access to the Atlanta metropolitan area via I-85. Not only is Dacula strategically positioned half-way between cosmopolitan Atlanta and academic Athens, home of the University of Georgia, the city is also part of Gwinnett County Public Schools. More than 88% of all Gwinnett County seniors take the SAT college entrance exam and their average scores are consistently 10% higher than the national average. Industries that provide employment in Dacula include manufacturing, retail trade, construction and educational, health and social services. While Dacula is surrounded by exciting Gwinnett County attractions, such as Lake Lanier, Château Élan Winery and Resort and Stone Mountain Park, the Dacula Athletic Association provides an unparalleled recreational environment for city residents. Newly renovated Dacula Park sits on 51 pristine acres and hosts an outdoor pool, six softball/baseball fields, a freestanding football field, a picnic pavilion, two playgrounds, a 1.4 mile multi-purpose trail, a sand volleyball court and the Cleve Langley community room. Atlanta’s hotspots – including Turner Field, Centennial Olympic Park and Zoo Atlanta – are less than an hour’s drive away. Housing options in Dacula consist of single-family detached homes, estate properties, condominiums, townhouses and land lots.

Source: Househunt.com

Hoschton moving closer toward new zoning district

Hoschton is continuing to move forward with its plans to create a new Office-Residential (O-R) zoning district in downtown. The city’s planning and zoning committee met on Monday to discuss the proposal that would allow a mix of residential and office uses in Hoschton’s downtown. Three weeks ago, the city hosted a standing-room only crowd of affected property owners for a town hall meeting about the proposal.

City planner Wistar Harmon said the proposed O-R zoning district would require that all new offices be residential in “appearance or character” to maintain a sense of community in the downtown area. Commercial developments would not be allowed in the designated O-R zoning district, which centers around the city square. The zoning district would include properties on both sides of Ga. Hwy. 53.

Council member James Keinard, chairman of the city’s planning and zoning committee, said the O-R zoning district may expand beyond its currently-proposed boundaries.

“This is not set in stone,” he said. “We know there are going to be adjustments. People can opt in or opt out. This is a start.”If the Hoschton City Council approves the O-R zoning district, it would automatically rezone those properties within the boundaries, Harmon said.

Hoschton officials still need to address the architectural standards, parking lot regulations and lot size standards for the O-R zoning district, Harmon said.

Harmon added that he doesn’t favor allowing developers to combine more than one lot in downtown for large office projects, unless the lots are too small to begin with. A number of lots in downtown Hoschton are less than a quarter of an acre.

The Hoschton City Council adopted an O-R zoning ordinance in February, but didn’t designate which properties would be in the district. The city council is expected to discuss the proposed O-R zoning district during its work session on Thursday, Sept. 28, at 7 p.m.

The Hoschton Planning Commission is expected to hold a public hearing on the proposal on Monday, Oct. 16, at 7 p.m. Property owners in the proposed O-R zoning district will receive a letter about the planning commission hearing, Harmon said.

Source: KERRI TESTEMENT

Little Mulberry Park Phase II Now Open!

Little Mulberry Park is a bit of a misnomer. As the second largest park in Gwnnett at 890 Acres, it's more of a monster of a park than many others that would even compare. For the longest time the entrance on Fence road has allowed many of us our own private park. Now with this phase opening we are having to share it with the rest of the world.

Phase two opens up a 2.2 mile trek around the lake itself. It's a mostly shaded walk and has all if not more charm than the older trails. What's spectacular about this addition is the ability to fish off part of the trail in the lake. There's something to offer everyone here, and plans are in the future for playgrounds and areas for seating and recreation.

Whether you're in Hamilton Mill, Trilogy Park, Apalachee Farms or even Reunion this makes an excellent park to have a picnic or a good walk. All of the aforementioned neighborhoods have oustanding amenities but sometimes it's just good to get out!

The official release is here:

Acres: 890Phase 1 of Little Mulberry Park encompasses 485 acres of the 890-acre park, and features five miles of trails including two one-mile paved multi-purpose trails, a handicap-accessible trail around a pond, and more than two miles of woodland foot trails. Other amenities include a large rustic picnic pavilion, two smaller picnic pavilions, restrooms, a playground, and an observation terrace at the peak of the West Meadow that is one of the highest elevations in Gwinnett County. Phase II (open September 15, 2006) includes the 200-acre Karina Miller Nature Preserve, additional trails including those designed for equestrian use, a connector trail to the rest of the park on the Fence Road side, a lake with several fishing piers, and a second entrance on Hog Mountain Road. An addtional parking lot, for equestrian use only, is located on the side of the park that faces Mineral Springs Road. Little Mulberry Park is the second largest park owned by Gwinnett County.

SOURCE: Gwinnett County Website

Dacula Real Estate - New Homes

I've created this blog to inform my fellow neighbors about the upcoming properties and new developments in our area. I'll post news and neighborhood information here. Although, I am a Realtor and want to earn your business, I'll try to be as imformative and unbiased as possible.