Call To Order / Start Meeting Recording 7:08pm. Approved without dissent: February 14, 2023 meeting minutes, February 2023 treasurer report, EACA 2023 Budget (Fiscal Year March 1, 2023-February 29, 2024). The 2023 budget and EACA 2023 Strategy were presented in our February meeting. If you missed the meeting, we’d recommend checking out the minutes and recording at the link above.
Elected Officials’ Reports
Council Member Bakhtiari’s Office, Patrick Husbands –Bakhtiari donating $1 million to Park Pride for grants. Workshops coming on how to apply. Flat Shoals and Ormewood watershed repairs will close Ormewood between Flat Shoals and Shadowridge. www.atlantawatershed.org/dwmtraffic-mar-2023-14. Ormewood Forest deal is to close before the end of the month. Bakhtiari’s office also participated in the session on Fayetteville and Flat Shoals that will be discussed later. Q: It appears the council can overturn the Cop City lease. How does council member stand. A: This power lies with the mayor, not the council. Q: Is word going to be spread more widely about the closure of Ormewood Avenue? A: Detour routes are planned and signage will go up. He will look into what other methods of communication are planned. Q: Utility box at Flat Shoals and Glenwood is in a bad place and various government entities are blaming other ones for making it happen. Supposedly this was a city request. How can we get the neighborhood business and community associations better informed about things like this? A: This was not requested by Bakhtiari’s office. GDOT is doing the work. He thinks they are eager to have a better relationship with the council, so he will reach out to GDOT and ATLDOT to try to find out more about why this is happening and how the community can have a say. Q: Was there also $1 million for the BATL Trail. A: That was $250,000 and it came from a different source. DeKalb Commissioner Larry Johnson’s Office, Florence Coram – See chat for several events the commissioner’s office is planning.
Sen. Gail Davenport’s office, Sherry Williams: Davenport is working on several pieces of legislation to assist people who are blind. She is also trying to find out from GDOT what’s going on at the Flat Shoals and Glenwood intersection. This year the legislature has brought back the page program for students, who are allowed to miss school to work while the legislature is in session.
Public Safety Update – Zone 6 Representative and Myron Polster: Fayetteville and Flat Shoals Road Triangle – Community Input Session Tuesday, Feb 28th : APD has been out enforcing traffic laws at this intersection since the meeting. No evidence that DeKalb County is doing anything on its part of the area. Contact publicsafety@eaca.net if you’d like to get involved with the efforts to improve this area or want to work on public safety issues in other areas. Q: Any info on the arson at 1448 Glenwood? Are police or the fire department investigating? A: Police were asked to increase patrols, but Myron doesn’t know if any action has been taken. Note from meeting attendee: If someone has concerns about a house like 1448 Glenwood, it should be reported to code enforcement. Multiple complaints from many people helps. Myron had several reports today about the area: Someone replaced the locks on a rental and moved in a new tenant. The owner is having legal issues trying to get the new tenant out. If you have a rental property, beware of this and get an alarm and cameras. Second: Today a citizen made a face at a passing driver. The driver pulled a gun and chased the citizen through the neighborhood. This was a white truck in the Brownwood Park area, and it is thought this same person and truck were involved in a similar incident recently.
Special Guest Highlight: East Atlanta’s role in Atlanta’s Main Street Program – Nate Minor and Chelsea Sommers: See slide program in the meeting recording. Please go here: https://forms.gle/W3byAnR7DuqWWvSFA for a survey to help prioritize Main Street and East Atlanta Business Association priorities.
Parks & Greenspace Update – Alex Levy and Matt Day: Alex: Coyote season is upon us and there is a family living in Ormewood Forest. Be careful in the evening. Matt: Friends of Brownwood Park has been relaunched and a walkthrough was done with city and neighborhood reps to talk about park possibilities. The Friends will pursue a number of grants, large and small. City plans to have the playground redone in 2024, and they have been asked to get community involvement on that project. Contact Matt at mattday123@gmail.com if you’d like to volunteer.
Arts and Culture Committee Update – Anna Brady: Goals of the committee are to bring people together; promote the arts (and artists) within our community; help improve public safety via art; and help create a visual look, feel, and appeal for East Atlanta.
Key initiatives to be aware of: Chess Club – Every Wednesday at 6:00pm at Branan Towers – Drew Constantine is a coordinator of the club and thanks EACA and Lisa Miscio for their roles in getting this started. They’ve had one tournament already with a $500 top prize and they’re planning another one soon, with a two-day tournament planned later in the year. If you’d like to sponsor or volunteer, contact Drew at theharoldgroup@gmail.com. Earth Day “Day of Service,” Saturday, April 22 – Focus will be beautifying the Welcome to East Atlanta sign with backlighting and plants. Art Design initiative – The committee ultimately would like to create an art park, perhaps in the farmers market, with the help of Greg Mike who is relocating to 1206 Metropolitan and hope to open by the end of summer. He’s also done a recurring mural festival in Atlanta and would like to center that project here. Also involved in the art park idea is artist Matt Letters. Email artsculture@eaca.net to get involved. East Atlanta Parents Network – Carleen Sutton and Rachel Williams. Sprint Cookout/Potluck – Sunday, March 19 at 1:00pm; Brownwood Park. Midway Monday Happy Hour – Monday, March 27 at 5:30pm at Midway Pub. East Atlanta Egg Hunt – Saturday, April 1 starting at 9:30am; Brownwood Park. Volunteers are needed to stuff eggs the Wednesday before April 1. They need donations and have an Amazon wish list for candy, eggs, etc. They also need adults and/or teens to hide eggs on April 1. Please contact EAPN@eaca.net. Neighbor In Need – Sinead Quinn and Stephanie Parker: Five projects have been completed this year, including one done at no charge by a contractor. They had to help organize a redo for a water heater that was poorly installed by a different nonprofit. They need volunteers. Upcoming training day for Project Coordinators – to be announced; email us if interested at NeighborInNeed@eaca.net. Watch the EACA newsletter for details.
Transportation Update – Chase Miller: Sign Toppers Update – Henry Bryant – thank you to all our volunteers. Project started with a $788 grant from the city (EACA’s share of an NPU grant). EACA members donated almost $4,000 to supplement the grant. More than 135 signs were installed, including a few in the EACA area of unincorporated DeKalb. More signs will be done there in a second round. The Atlanta Preservation Center helped on this project and worked with our volunteers. We think all the intersections in the city limits have been done. If you notice missing signs in East Atlanta, there’s probably a good reason.
Land Use & Zoning – Karla Lightfoot Causey: Update on key applications. Z-22-088 – 1640 Flat Shoals Road (Deferred, no vote). Background: Applicant seeks to rezone parcel abutting Flat Shoals Rd and Grace St from R-4 (Single Family Residential) to PD-H (Planned Development-Housing) to allow for construction of 7 single family residences. Based on existing R-4 zoning, the applicant would be able to build 4 single-family residences. Status: During the January 30th LUZ Committee session, the application in present form was Denied, Unanimously with a counter-proposal presented. Applicant requested extended Deferral for March cycle amend application. Next Steps: If you are an immediate adjoining neighbor and would like to engage on this topic, please email landuse@eaca.net. V-23-015 – 791 Brownwood Avenue SE (21 in favor, 3 against, 4 abstentions). Background: Applicant seeks increase in permitted height of fencing from 4 feet to 6 feet. The parcel is a corner lot and integral right-of-way. The rear of parcel abuts the commercial corridor. Existing property had a metal fence and was replaced unpermitted by a fence with varying heights, closed slates, and wood. Upon review, the new fencing and materials has created a right-of-way with obstructions for both vehicular and pedestrian safe movement. EACA LUZ voted Conditional Approval with following recommendation: We recommend Conditional Approval for fencing variances sought by applicants. The character of the new fencing contributes to a safety concern. Specifically, an obstructed view of vehicular and pedestrian travel. Variance for rear fencing noting parcel is located at a central right of way and abutting a restaurant. From 4’ to 6’ rear fencing. Retain closed slate fencing installed by applicant prior to submittal. Variance inside yard fencing from 4’ to 5’ for parcel in right of way. From 4’ to 5’ side yard, corner lot within right-of-way fencing. Retain close slate fencing installed by applicant prior to submittal. Retain 20 feet right-of-way distance requirement for safety of vehicular and pedestrian foot traffic safety, in accordance with §16-28.008 with no provisions for grandfathering. Status: Both EACA Land Use and Zoning and NPU-W Land Use and Zoning support the recommendation. Bouldercrest Triangle Neighborhood Commercial-17. Community initiated rezoning effort within the Bouldercrest Triangle corridor from C-1 (Community Business) to NC (Neighborhood Commercial to support growth of commerce, create a welcoming venue for needed services in the area, and mindful infill development. Rezoning legislative and CDP amendment papers are in process, expected to be received in March. Atlanta Zoning 2.0 & NPU-W LUZ – Zoning 2.0 Ad-Hoc Committee Update: Atlanta is embarking on a multi-year effort to align its growth and development regulations with current and future needs as it relates to zoning, city centers, and infrastructure. These regulations have a major impact on how communities grow, how developments are executed, etc. Karla Lightfoot Causey was ratified as Chair of this NPU-W Ad-Hoc committee in February. If you’re interested in getting involved, please click the links below to get looped into the relevant upcoming meetings.
Announcements / Community Updates
East Atlanta Strut Presents the “Pushing Up Daisies” Sylvester Cemetery and Garden Tour – Saturday, April 15 – info@eastatlantastrut.com. Buy tickets at https://eastatlantastrut.com/garden-tour-tickets. Volunteers get in free. Sign up at https://signup.com/go/PbmUYqD. Nominate your or your neighbor’s garden for the tour at https://eastatlantastrut.com/garden-tour-application.
Katie Kriner, EAV Farmers Market – Opening day will be March 30. Spring plant sale will be April 20.
Guest Announcement: Jerald Crook, Ridwell – Company focused on sustainable recycling of hard-to-recycle materials; considering expansion into Atlanta. Update: EACA was sent a “Request for Production of Documents” related to South River Watershed Alliance et al. v. DeKalb County et al., Superior Court of DeKalb County, Civil Action No. 2021-CV-1931.
EACA Call for Volunteers – We’re excited for what we will accomplish in 2023. But we won’t get there without engaged members of the community to help make it happen. Please reach out to president@eaca.net or any member of the EACA Executive Committee to find out how and where you can support. You can also find a list of our open Positions here.
Ongoing Recruitment for Committee Involvement in Arts and Culture, Communication, Community Outreach, East Atlanta Parent Network, Education, Fundraising and Grants, Land Use and Zoning, Membership, Neighbor in Need, Parks and Greenspace, Public Safety, and Transportation.
Closing Remarks and Adjournment at 8:51pm.
