Sponsored Sections Real Estate Report ►►PAGE 20 Summer Camps ►►PAGE 22
'Legally Blonde'
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Yoga Boys
Cambridge football players learn flexibility, focus ►►PAGE 28
State Champs
Cambridge wrestling takes top place ►►PAGE 10
March 5, 2014 | northfulton.com | 73,500 circulation Revue & News, Johns Creek Herald, Milton Herald & Forsyth Herald combined | 50¢ | Volume 9, No. 10
LINDA COHEN
Flowers From Us, a Crabapple-based florist, is the first business to expand under the Crabapple Overlay Design guidelines. The owners say the whole process has been frustrating and expensive. The city contends it has worked with them to get an acceptable building. From left are Thom Foreman, Sid Flowers and Billy Bates of Flowers From Us in Crabapple.
Business ‘frustrated’ by Crabapple overlay Flowers From Us first to expand under new rules By JONATHAN COPSEY jonathan@northfulton.com MILTON, Ga. – The Crabapple Overlay District is a set of zoning regulations that seeks to hold the “look” of a building over the use. Formulated in 2012 over a years’ worth of public meetings, it includes design guidelines for residential and commercial buildings. When it was created in 2012, it was seen as a high point in Milton’s development. But if you asked the owners of Flowers From Us what they thought of the Crabapple Overlay District, words like “horrible,” “nightmare” and “frustrating” would come to mind.
Sid Flowers and Thom Foreman have spent the past two years expanding their business, located in a small house on Mayfield Road just a block from downtown Crabapple. This expansion was the first under the new guidelines and, they say, left much to be desired. The pair moved their business 10 years ago from a Dunwoody strip mall into a small 1,500-square-foot house in Crabapple. “Business has been great here,” said Foreman. “We saw a 360 degree turn in businesses [when we moved here]. We found this place and it worked out.” The house is quaint, but certainly small. Flowers and Foreman have a team of floral designers who work with them
See FLOWERS, Page 4
The Covenant Professional Building in Alpharetta was the site of a large fire in the early morning hours of Feb. 28.
Early morning fire destroys offices By JONATHAN COPSEY jonathan@northfulton.com ALPHARETTA, Ga. – The silos of Crabapple were shrouded in smoke Feb. 28 after a nearby building was destroyed by fire. Around 3:30 a.m., a witness called 911 about a large fire at the Covenant Professional Building at 12385 Cra-
bapple Road in Alpharetta. Alpharetta and Milton fire units were quickly dispatched. The first unit on scene was a Milton unit because one of their fire stations is nearby. They observed the building on fire with flames and smoke extending approximately 50 feet in height from the roof. More firefighters from
Milton and Alpharetta arrived to help with the fire, which engulfed the building. Approximately 25 firefighters battled the blaze. The Covenant Professional Building’s roof collapsed and the structure is very heavily damaged. The building contained several businesses, including
Grand Opening February 26th 5316 Windward Parkway Ste. A Alpharetta, GA 30004 678-366-9668 www.volcanobistro.com www.facebook.com/volcanoasianbistro
See FIRE, Page 27
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