Citing uncertain ownership of three parcels needed for the widening of Kimball Bridge Road (Ga 120), the Johns Creek City Council has approved condemnation proceedings to acquire the tracts – one of them, the site of a church.
The Big Creek Primitive Baptist Church appears to have been in existence since the mid-19th Century, but “it never organized as a legally recognizable entity,” according to a report to the Council by Assistant City Attorney E. Ronald Bennett Jr.
The city has talked to church representatives, but it’s uncertain whether they have the legal right to make decisions and receive payment from the city. Title research showed other parties may have an interest in the land. Johns Creek would condemn this and two other sites to secure court orders identifying the parties to be paid.
The city would pay $39,600 into the registry of a court to acquire the right-of-way and easement it needs on the church property, as well as $105,400 for a right of way and easement on about 4.8 acres designated as common area for the Creekside at Kimball Bridge subdivision, and $600 for an easement on a 1.57-acre lot located in the city of Alpharetta and shown as “Future Recreation Area” for the Highlands at Park Bridge subdivision.
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