Church Wants City To "Suspend" Sandy Springs Circle Project

SANDY SPRINGS, GA -- A prominent church in Sandy Springs wants the city to reconsider a project that could possibly alter its plans for the future.

The Sandy Springs Circle improvement project has garnered push-back from many residents, and the church is the latest entity to join in the fray.

The church has posted two petitions on Change.org, which call on the city to "suspend and reconsider the project known as CC-10 for the section of Sandy Springs Circle between Mount (sic) Vernon Highway and Hammond Drive."

• Read the petitions here and here.

"The church has always been a good citizen and neighbor, making the South Campus available to the city and related organizations," Sandy Springs United Methodist Church states.

The church objects to the city's plans to reconfigure the Activities Center driveway on Sandy Springs Circle near Mt. Vernon Highway to line up with Hilderbrand Drive; the city's intent to "take more than 40 feet" of the church's property to accommodated proposed pedestrian and multi-use paths as well as landscaping strips; and plans reduce travel lanes from four to two lanes and use the additional space for parallel parking.

Moving the driveway for the Activities Center will create a safety issue and endanger members of the church, the organization argues.

"This change will not only encourage general traffic from Hilderbrand to cut through the northern parking lot (endangering adults and Preschool children entering and leaving the Activities Center and preschool), but will also increase the risk of cars coming south over the crest of the hill at the intersection (and) colliding with cars occupied by parents and children entering and exiting the preschool," the church states in its petition.

• You can view Sandy Springs Circle project information by clicking here.

The Rev. G. Thomas Martin, pastor of the church, said the proposed design plans have also thrown a wrench in the church's dreams for the future. Since he's joined the staff a year ago, the church has been approached by multiple developers who've expressed interest in utilizing a portion of the Activities Center site.

While it hasn't made any final determination on the future, the church has always entered discussions on the condition that the Center be preserved for the congregation and the community as a whole.

"As good stewards of our congregation’s assets, we are considering certain proposals for the property, while keeping in mind our mission of serving our community’s needs and continuing to be a good neighbor," Martin said. "We thought we had plenty of time to prayerfully consider all options, until the city gave us the specific design plans for CC-10 in May."

The city's project incorporates infrastructure improvements as outlined in the City Springs Master Plan. It calls for improving pedestrian access, including a installing multi-use path on the west side of the corridor and a continuous Americans with Disabilities Act compliant pedestrian path along each side of Sandy Springs Circle from Hammond Drive to Mt. Vernon Highway.

The west side of Sandy Springs Circle will include a 12-foot wide multi-purpose path, 6-foot wide landscape/furniture zone, 6-foot wide sidewalks and a 10-foot wide tree/utility strip. Canopy street trees and light fixtures will be located on both sides of the road.

The east side of Sandy Springs Circle will consist of a 10-foot sidewalk and 2-foot utility/tree strip, including a wall within this strip in various locations. An 8-foot wide sidewalk will be located adjacent to the Heritage Green Park.

The existing four-lane roadway will be modified to provide one, 11-foot wide travel lane in each direction, a 10-foot median/left turn lane and an 8-foot wide parking lane.

Martin added the church has shared some "conceptual development plans" to showcase the impact the project will "have on our ability to preserve the Activities Center, while also being able to receive the benefit of developing a portion of the property in a manner consistent with our mission and the needs of our congregation."

These pre-development meetings are not unusual, said city spokesperson Sharon Kraun.

"We are often asked for feedback on development plans in advance of formal submission, working with developers on 'what if' scenarios," she said. "Related to specifics of those conversations, the city respects the privacy of the developers and does not feel it appropriate to speak about any development plan prior to its official submission."

While he's not able to share any concrete plan due to the congregation not setting in stone the future use of the property, Martin did note the city's plans for Sandy Springs Circle "will have a dramatic impact upon the church’s ability to utilize its property in the future, development or no development."

"This results not only from the amount of land that the city intends to acquire from SSUMC, but also the city’s intent to relocate our driveway and to install several large retaining walls on the edge of our property," he added. "The changes that would result from the road project will have a long-term negative impact on both the usability and value of our property."

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Image via Sandy Springs United Methodist Church