EACA Meeting Minutes
June 14, 2016
EACA President Lewis Cartee called the meeting to order at 7:08pm.
Economic Development – Armando Celentano announced that there is an upcoming charity event being hosted at Argosy on June 26, 2016, called “Wild Bunch”. This is the second year the event is being held. This event benefits The Giving Kitchen, an organization that provides emergency assistance grants to cover basic living expenses, care-related travel expenses and funeral expenses to persons employed in the Atlanta restaurant community. It is a safety net group for restaurant industry workers in Atlanta going through unanticipated hardships. The “Wild Bunch” event will feature tacos and cocktails made by an impressive list of chefs and bartenders – a virtual Who’s Who of culinary and cocktail talent. There will also be live music. The event will be from 6:00pm to 12:00am. Cost is $25.00 for five cocktail or taco tickets, additional drink and taco tickets are available for $5.00 each. Argosy will be closed to the general public during the event. If you would like to volunteer for the event contact Armando. Info about the event is on Argosy’s Facebook page and Armando will make sure it’s posted on EACA’s Facebook page as well.
Michael King, in association with AEG LIVE (producer of live events worldwide), is currently working with Pabst Blue Ribbon to do an event called “Project Pabst”. Atlanta is the third city they would like to do this event in. This event started in Portland, had an event in Denver and this year would like to launch events in Philadelphia and East Atlanta Village (due to the Village being the biggest PBR community in the city). This will be a one day, gated, ticketed concert event for attendees 21 years of age and older. Two stages will be set up and bands will perform from 1:00pm to 10:00pm. Beer, but not food will be sold on the street. The goal is to push attendees into the businesses and restaurants. Organizers will also work with retailers that want to put up tents outside their businesses. 10,000 people are expected to attend. Tickets will be $40 to $45 in advance, $65 day of the event. Attendees can buy tickets at www.projectpabst.com and get more information about the event. Announcements for the event will be coming in the next few weeks. The footprint for the event will be the same as The STRUT with a soft close at Moreland and a hard close at Joseph. Since streets in the Village will not be accessible, they plan to hire an off-duty fire truck in case of an emergency and Station 13 can’t get out. Answers to suggestions: Traffic signs will be posted a week in advance notifying the community of any and all street closings. There will be an increased presence by the police in the neighborhood. Organizers plan to work with churches in the area to secure their lots for parking. Taking MARTA, Uber and biking will also be encouraged. A bike valet will be on site. Also suggest posting MARTA stops and letting people know if any stops will be closed due to event. Event planners will continue do outreach to the community and talk to the NPU and local business owners to address any concerns. All input, suggestions and concerns are welcome.
Public Safety – Lt. Floyd, City of Atlanta Police, Zone 6 precinct, reported on crime. There is an overall spike in residential burglaries and shed break-ins (in most of the shed break-ins, the shed was not secured.) Lt Floyd encouraged residents to put locks on their sheds. Most of the criminal activity was on the North end of beat 612 and streets surrounding the Village. Vehicle break-ins were concentrated in the Village and most of the burglaries occurred along the main thoroughfares of the beat – this includes Flat Shoals Road, Flat Shoals Avenue. and Glenwood Avenue. The police are increasing visibility in the community through traffic enforcement to deal with these spikes. Lt. Floyd encouraged residents to be aware of their surroundings. Most of the crimes occur while late night patrons of the Village are either walking home or visitors to the community are walking to their cars. School is out so typically burglaries trend [upward]. The most important advice is still: “See something, say something”. If you see juveniles walking through neighborhoods and they seem to be up to no good, call the police so a unit can come out. Make sure properties are well lit. Make sure you have a monitored alarm and it’s activated when you leave home. There was a question from the attendees regarding the increased construction in the neighborhood and people going onto properties to scavenge building materials, especially during demos of houses. Lt Floyd reminded the community that persons taking anything off of private property without permission are committing theft and the police should be called if this is witnessed.
Burgess-Peterson Academy – Cody Elder, Race Director for East Atlanta Village RunFest presented information on the 3rd annual race, RunFest. This event has raised $10,000 for Burgess Peterson Academy. This year, RunFest will be held on Labor Day weekend in the evening. Starting at 6:00pm (streets close at 5:30pm) the event will include a 5K, Fun Run (which is .5 miles) and 1 mile competitive race starting at 7:45-8:00pm. The race will start/finish near Argosy. The goal with changing the race to an evening event is to bring more people into the community and create a party atmosphere centered on East Atlanta businesses and restaurants. You can e-mail Cody Elder at endurahub@gmail.com. Go to www.runeav.com for more information and race times.
Membership Committee – Tony Crump reported that current membership has grown to 205 households, representing 435 residents. 42% of the memberships are new residents signing up for EACA for the first time. We will easily surpass last year’s numbers and the committee thanks everyone for their efforts. One lucky attendee received the door prize of a Trader Joe’s bag full of snacks and food.
Land Use and Zoning – Andy Schneggenburger gave a presentation (see Zoning Ordinance Diagnostic For The City Of Atlanta at www.zoningatl.com) on proposed zoning changes for the City of Atlanta. These changes have the potential [to create] fundamental shifts in the way growth is managed and changes incentivized within the city’s zoning ordinance. The most recent zoning ordinance under which we operate was adopted in 1980, revised in 1982 and has undergone significant changes in the form of add-ons. Therefore, the city is looking at re-writing the zoning ordinance which dictates development, the shape of development, the different uses of land across the whole city from residential districts to commercial, industrial and office. The Atlanta Zoning Ordinance Rewrite Assessment is a project of the Department of Planning and Community Development (DPCD) Office of Planning. This work is being led by the consultant team of TSW, Canvas Planning Group and The Zoeckler Firm. This Assessment includes a review and analysis of best practices in major peer cities and innovative zoning and land use practices such as form-based ordinances and hybrid zoning ordinances (i.e., those that incorporate form-based and conventional land use-based provisions). Additionally, the Assessment will focus on how well the current Zoning Ordinance implements City policies and plans, such as the Comprehensive Development Plan and will also identify the strengths and weaknesses of the existing Zoning Ordinance in terms of its content, structure, organization, clarity, ease of use, enforcement, zoning districts and district standards, regulations of general applicability, definitions, graphics, and procedures. The goal is to come up with recommendations on how to improve the current zoning ordinance and make it better responsive and reflective of the city as it is right now and the projected growth trajectory that it is taking as well as some of the change in values that have been embedded in the new leadership and the new approach toward urbanism and way the city should grow. Contact Andy at landuse@eaca.net.
Andy also discussed a Housing Affordability Statement on which he is working.
With the development boom in the metropolitan area interested parties are encouraging the NPU to adopt an expectation position statement asking developers of large multi-family developments to include some reasonably priced units in their developments. Andy has drafted a statement and, once vetted and finished, would like to present the statement to EACA membership for approval. The idea is that eventually the full NPU would adopt the statement so that developers know when they come to the NPU for rezoning application approval they will be expected to include some reasonably priced units – 10% – 20% in their developments. The goal is to draft a statement that lines up with programs that Invest Atlanta already runs, so it wouldn’t be a huge burden for developers.
The NPU meets on the first Tuesday of every month, 7:00pm at Beulah Heights University.
LITESPEED-BMW – Jeff Blau, Director of LITESPEED-BMW, announced that the 5th annual LITESPEED-BMW East Atlanta Twilight Criterium will be held on August 20. This is an annual bicycle race that goes around the Village. This year LITESPEED_BMW East Atlanta is teaming up with Grant Park so the event will be on August 20 and 21. Anyone interested in more information can look for announcements in Porch Press and EAV BUZZ. Jeff will be back next month with more details.
Peaches were provided to attendees by East Atlanta Farmer’s Market.
The membership approved the May Minutes and Treasurer’s report without opposition.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:42pm.
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