Blue Gator Balcony Debates Continue

Negotiations continued during Monday night’s city council meeting regarding residential renovations to the old Blue Gator building on Court St.Talks between the landlords and council members began at the beginning of the year when the owners requested to build a four-foot balcony onto the building. Current city code declares a balcony can only extend 18 inches from a building so as not to encroach on the city’s air right-of-way.Sixty-three N. Court St., owned by Bryan Wharton and Mark Kasler, is currently in the process of renovation to become two four person apartments above the street.The initial request to build the balcony was denied by one vote in a rarely divided council. Apparent concerns from city residents and the possibility of too many occupants with questionable behavior on the balcony convinced council to deny the request.During Monday’s meeting, council re-wrote an ordinance in an effort to compromise the balcony size.“We have gone over this in detail during many meetings. Didn’t have support to pass council. Changed it from 4 feet down to 3 feet,” At-Large Elahu Gosney said. “Listening to the various concerns in council I thought that this might be an acceptable compromise to members.”Other members who heard from the community were shaky on the compromise following the denial of the original four-foot balcony.“I have heard many people have said that they were glad to hear that it did not pass,” Third Ward Rep. Michelle Papai said. “There has to be a basic request to enter into our right-of-way. I stand where I stood the last time I voted on this which was to not intrude on our right-of-way.”While some worried about the safety and fairness of having a balcony on Court St. that was larger than others, others thought the town’s appearance would be improved by having a larger living space above the sidewalk.“I think the aesthetics of the proposed balcony would add to uptown,” Gosney said. “So I think in terms of many nearby structures, the one on the corner here do have built in porches. It is not uncommon for the city of Athens and I don’t think it is an unusual request for someone to bring to us. To reinvest in this property will do plenty of good.”The ordinance will continue to be debated in the coming weeks as it moves through legislation.