Buckhead Civic Leaders Give Ideas for City's Future

Buckhead civic leaders and neighborhood activists gathered this week to present ideas and concerns for inclusion in Atlanta's 2011 Comprehensive Development Plan.

The session at Trinity Presbyterian Church was one of seven meetings held around the city concerning the CDP. The city charter requires the development of such a plan every three to five years, according to Jessica Lavandier of the city's Planning Office, who outlined the plan's goals. The 2011 plan will guide the city's growth for the next five to 20 years.

"What is our identity, that's what we're trying to get out of this whole process," said Garnett Brown of the Planning Office.

The CDP must be completed by Oct. 31. It covers such topics as economic development, housing, natural resources, historic resources, water supply and treatment, community facilities, solid waste management, transportation and land use. The Northside meeting and others were the first round, with a new slate of meetings on each area's character to be held next month. The planning office is holding open houses Feb. 23-25 at City Hall, 55 Trinity Ave., Suite 3350.

Those attending the meeting for NPUs A, B, C and D broke up into smaller groups to discuss issues and concerns. Each group presented a list of issues to be considered for the comprehensive development plan.

North Buckhead Civic Association President Gordon Certain, in detailing his group's concerns, highlighted Buckhead's traffic gridlock.

  "They have traffic technology from the 1940s," he said. "They have stoplights, but now we have computers."

His group also proposed that bonds be required for contractors who work on city streets. Certain said that streets often need a new round of repairs several years after work is completed because contractors don't do the project properly.

Like other speakers, he called for more green space in Atlanta. Certain has been a leader in efforts to increase the number of parks, playgrounds and gathering places in Buckhead's District 7, which has the least amount in the city. Homelessness was another problem he cited.

Certain's group also called for the revival of downtown Atlanta as a gathering place for the entire area and a cultural and business center.

NPU-B Chairperson Sally Silver, in her presentation, called for changing in the zoning code to "balance retail, commercial and retail special uses. We need to look at a way to balance it out so it's not overbuilt for commercial or residential."

She also called for higher fees for businesses and nonprofits that allow an excessive amount of storm-water runoff from parking areas. She said businesses and agencies would be induced to find ways of controlling the storm-water before it runs off into the roads and streams.

An audience member protested that the city's fees are already too high, especially for water, but Silver responded that higher fees are necessary in controlling storm-water problems such as flooding.

NPU-C Chairman Paul Melvin, speaking for his group, called for "better connectivity between neighborhoods, and better walkability between neighborhoods." He cited the inadequate arteries for east-west travel.

Other speakers said that the city's infrastructure hasn't kept up with the population growth; that better services and housing choices for the elderly are needed; that better transportation options such as light rail should be developed; and that the city has inadequate funding for the arts.

For more information on the CDP, see http://www.atlantaga.gov/government/planning/cdp.aspx.