Call to Order 7:00pm Incoming president Chase Miller. Contact him at president@eaca.net. December 13, 2022, Meeting Minutes approved without dissent. December 2022 Treasurer Report approved without dissent. December Events Recap — Chase Miller: See presentation on Zoom recording.
Elected Officials’ Reports
Council Member Bakhtiari’s Office, Patrick Husbands: Tree-trimming will be happening in business district on Jan 19 and 20 from 8:30 until 2:00 pm. Her office will be meeting with all transportation committees in the district. There also will be a transportation town hall with Atlanta Department of Transportation. Date to be announced. Coffee with council member at Taproom in Kirkwood this Sunday. See chat for contact info. Q: Can a meeting be had with Bakhtiari and Fayetteville-area residents. A: The office will schedule a meeting to be held in the next few weeks. Commissioner Larry Johnson’s Office, Christiana Johnson. Commissioner is partnering for a day of service this Saturday at 2649 McAfee Road. See chat for info. Q: Could we get an update on the property where the police academy is being built? A: She will direct that to the chief of staff LaShun Atwaters and see if they can attend our February or March meeting. See chat for her info.
Public Safety Zone 6 Officer Lt. Butler – He’s new to our area and recently promoted. Is looking into extra patrols around the library and will alert his people to the problems in that area. The drug houses on McPherson and East Side are being investigated by the narcotics unit. An aggravated assault on Flat Shoals was a domestic issue, car involved, not gunfire. Shot spotter tracker of gunfire has been asked about in the past. It is costly and most residents call 911 to report gunfire. Q: Is there an overview possible to tell us what the general plan for policing East Atlanta is. A: The best way to get assets allocated is to let him know when and where issues happen. Traffic stops for the area are high, 90 so far this year from officers and troopers. Please let him know if you see a spike in any kind of crime in our beat, 612. Officers from other beats can flood certain areas when necessary. He says they are pushing traffic enforcement, so visibility is increased. That traffic enforcement has a direct correlation to reduction in crime. The crime suppression unit also is focused on problems in our area. Q: When questioner called in vending activity in parking lots of closed businesses, he was told nothing could be done on private property unless it could be proved they were not supposed to be vending. A: Some officers may need continuing education on this rather than give an answer that is probably incorrect. He’ll check into things with licenses and permits. Q: There are some gunfire hot spots lately: Fire station, post office, library, gas station near Metropolitan, McPherson, and Flat Shoals. This is happening around 11:00pm to 1:00am. A: He will let officers know. It’s always good to know where and what time things usually happen. 470-218-5001 See chat for info. Email is the best method of contact. Q: Fayetteville/Flat Shoals area is another gunshot hot spot. This area is on the border between city and county jurisdiction. A: He will look into this issue generally and also try to coordinate with DeKalb.
Community Outreach Update – Chase Miller: EACA Day of Service in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to be held Monday, January 16. Volunteering from 9:30am to 12:00pm and post-service food/drinks at Midway Pub at 12:00 pm. Please join us! Consult the newsletter for details and sign up here: https://signup.com/client/invitation2/secure/637032560383410012/false#/invitation.
Grant Update – EACA Sign Toppers – Henry Bryant: 40 signs have been put up, using grant money. We’ll use donated money to put up about 95 signs in February. Email Henry for info on how you can help with the installation. hbryantiii@comcast.net. Thanks very much to the Atlanta Preservation Center for its help with this project.
Land Use & Zoning – Karla Lightfoot Causey: Update on key applications (no votes will be taken at today’s meeting). Z-22-088 – 1640 Flat Shoals Road. Background: Applicant seeks to rezone parcel abutting Flat Shoals Road and Grace Street from R-4 (High Density 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. The parcel has several outstanding issues which have yet to be addressed by applicant with major impact to all abutting neighbors. One major area of concern is encroachment and boundary dispute. Status of Discussions: This application was discussed at the December 2022 EACA LUZ Committee meeting and all neighbors with property adjoining this address were invited to voice any concerns. The applicant intended to attend the meeting but was unable to attend due to holiday travel issues. Next Steps: This application will be deferred to the next EACA LUZ meeting, which will take place on Monday, January 30. Please email landuse@eaca.net if you’d like to receive the invitation and join the meeting. If you live nearby or at an adjoining property, we’d recommend that you tune in! V-22-197 – 1540 May Avenue
Background: Applicant seeks some variances to make updates to their home.
Status of Discussions: EACA LUZ Committee is actively reviewing this application and working with the applicant to address questions. Based on status of discussion, this item has been deferred to the February LUZ Committee meeting in order to give applicant additional time to prepare their request. Next Steps: N/A. SAP-22-208 – 405 Moreland Avenue (Starbucks proposed location) Background: Starbucks has proposed to open a location at 405 Moreland Avenue (site of the former Long John Silver’s at the corner of Moreland Avenue and Metropolitan). Store model is a “curb-side pick-up” model. While the community is excited to see development happening at this location after a long-period of sitting empty, there are many concerns related to use of space, potential for increased traffic, and the fit of the store model with East Atlanta’s desired vision for development. Status of Discussions: Starbucks has filed a Special Administrative Permit (SAP) to begin the project. As part of the SAP process, the community has a certain number of days to provide inputs and commentary and voice any concerns. The EACA LUZ Committee and Transportation Committee reviewed the application at their respective December meetings. A summary of feedback/inputs is being compiled. Note: The SAP does NOT require “approval” by EACA and therefore, we only have comment power. You can read more about the SAP process and how it works in general here. www.atlantaga.gov/government/departments/city-planning/special-administrative-permit. Next Steps: If you would like to leave input regarding support for or concerns regarding this project, please send them to landuse@eaca.net by Thursday, January 12. Related Materials: Visit our EACA LUZ folder to review the official files as provided via the SAP process. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1VvZ-mrWJWf-W2QOlMwmEGHXzpEh4tGBH. Atlanta Zoning 2.0 Background: Atlanta is embarking on a multi-year effort to align its growth and development regulations with current needs. These regulations have a major impact on how communities grow, how developments are executed, etc. Status of Discussions: The City is holding a series of workshops and meetings to involve the public. Everyone is welcome to attend. We recommend you attend if you have interest in development and shaping how our city grows and develops. Next Steps: Next meeting is Tuesday, January 17. Read more here: https://atlzoning.com/meet-and-contribute.
Arts and Culture Committee Update – Lisa Miscio: Lisa has educational and work background in various types of arts and various roles in the arts. Has been in Atlanta area for a long time, has been in EAV on Oak Grove for five years. She is looking forward to using her energy and ability to make things happen, particularly to enliven the area around the library, where trouble moves in when businesses close. Her first project is to run a chess tournament with Drew Constantine, hopefully at the library. If you’d like to join the committee, please contact her at lisamiscio@gmail.com.
EABA Update, Nate Minor – See chat for EABA meeting info. EABA is gearing up for a great 2023. All are welcome at meetings. Membership is open to home-based businesses as well as brick and mortar.
Membership Update – Jaci Bertrand: Jaci joined the membership committee last year and has been an EAV resident for five years. She does nonprofit membership work as her real job and is excited to be part of EACA. Note: Please remember to renew your membership or join. Dues are $20 per year. If you have questions about your membership status, contact membership@eaca.net. If you joined or renewed at the EAV Strut or later in 2022, you are covered for 2023. See chat for link to join.
Announcements / Community Updates: Remembrance of Glenn Boyette.
Follow-ups from last meeting: Post Office – several members raised concerns about recent state of the Post Office (unexpected closures, long wait times, boxes continuously unavailable for use) – We recommend raising concerns directly with the below Postal Contacts. EACA will also seek to partner with the below individuals to seek solutions to
improve effectiveness. Your concerns about our U.S Post Office can be sent to Congresswoman Nikema Williams’ office at Jennifer.freeman@mail.house.gov and to these Greater Atlanta Postmaster contacts: Falonda Woods, PCC Postal Co-Chair, Falonda.L.Woods@usps.gov, T 404-795-5901; Gwendolyn Porter, PCC, Postal Administrator; gwendolyn.l.porter@usps.gov; T 770-935-5078.
Ongoing Recruitment for Committees / Committee Leadership: Arts and Culture, Communications*, Community Outreach, East Atlanta Parent Network, Education, Fundraising and Grants, Land Use and Zoning, Membership, Neighbor in Need, Parks and Greenspace*, Public Safety, Transportation*. There is a need for committee leadership. Please email president@eaca.net if you’d like to get involved.
Closing Remarks and Adjournment 8:26 pm.
