A divided Roswell City Council has approved a settlement in the lawsuit brought by Mayor Jere Wood against his own city over proposed construction on property he owns in the historic district.
The Council voted 3-2 on Monday to approve a general release and settlement agreement in the suit and an amended certificate of appropriateness for a 1.5-story, 3,000-square-foot frame house at the corner of Canton and Woodstock streets.
Wood recused himself from the discussion and Mayor Pro Tem Donald J. Horton cast the tie-breaking vote in favor. Council Members Nancy Diamond and Jerry Orlans voted for the settlement; Michael Palermo and Marcelo Zapata voted against it.
The Roswell Historic Preservation Commission last year approved the certificate of appropriateness for the project, but the Council overturned that ruling. Wood filed suit in Fulton County Superior Court in September, arguing that council members acted improperly by deciding they had the legal authority to reverse the historic commission.
The amended certificate reduces the size of a wing by 5 feet, creating at least 20 feet of separation from Perry Place, eliminates stairs and wing wall from the south side of the wing and eliminates a condition regarding sidewalk easements.
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