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For years, the reduction in speed for the school zone along Hamilton Road has only officially included Troup High School, omitting the nearby Lafayette Christian School. The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) is looking to fix that with its recent radar permit recommendations.

GDOT regularly sends the city recommendations on speed limits within the city, which need to be approved by the city council to authorize enforcement using speed detection devices.

City Planner Mark Kostial said the impetus behind the recent recommendation is the speed cameras that are currently proposed for school zones around the city.

“The Department of Transportation has since updated its list of roads, which will now include Lafayette Christian School. Previously it only included Troup High School. They noticed this as an issue and seemed to have resolved it,” Kostial said.

The council later held a first reading for an ordinance to modify the speed limit in the area to conform with the GDOT recommendation.

If approved, the school zone would be modified to start at 220 feet south of Willis Circle on Hamilton Road to a point 360 feet south of Buck Murphy Road. The speed limit in the zone would be reduced to 35 miles per hour on school days from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and 3:45 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

In other business, the LaGrange City Council:

4 Called for a public hearing on Aug. 22 to hear comments on a Board of Planning and Zoning Appeals recommendation to amend the character area designation assigned to 1374 South Davis Road from Professional Park Development to Industrial.

4 Approved a resolution to clarify terms within the agreement for the Tax Allocation District #7 that will provide funding for the long-proposed downtown apartments project.

4 Gave final approval for modified voting precincts and polling places after a second reading.

4 Approved the rezoning of property at 1374 South Davis Road from Corridor Mixed Use (CR-MX) to Campus General Industrial & Agribusiness (CP-GI).

4 Approved the assessment of a $150 fee to review building plans for new townhomes.

4 Appointed Christina Porter to a two-year term on the Visit LaGrange board to succeed Chris Lutz.

4 Appointed Garrett Fiveash to a three-year term on the LaGrange Gas Authority to succeed Lou Dekmar.