Call To Order/Start Recording 7:00pm. More than 30 people in the room, 35 in the Zoom room. September 12, 2023, Meeting Minutes approved without dissent. Approval of September 2023 Treasurer Report approved without dissent.
Elected Officials’ Reports
Council Member Bakhtiari – check meeting recording for full discussion. Here are some highlights: Drug house at 455 East Side Avenuewas shut down last week by evicting residents. Drugs were found, evidence about other locations was found. Intown Cares case worker also started last week in EAV. This is a pilot program to have a full-time person doing outreach to the unhoused in the neighborhood. He has gotten about 24 people in the queue for housing. He’ll also be doing outreach with businesses and will facilitate getting people with mental health issues treatment. She is working on getting police on foot in the neighborhood. Q: What happens to people in the Village after they are arrested? Do they go to the city or DeKalb? A: They are processed by DeKalb. She is speaking to them about who the frequent perpetrators are to try to keep them behind bars. Q: Signs posted about Flat Shoals being closed for 11 days from 9-5 between Glenwood and Metropolitan. What is going on and why is it a full closure, or is there a traffic plan for people to access businesses? A: She hadn’t heard about this until Nate contacted her, but she is looking into it. She suspects it may be related to the sewer system. She will advise the community what she discovers and try to alleviate issues.
Public Safety Update: Zone 6 Representative and Myron Polster – Zone 6 Update – Captain Graham. Village stabbing update. Oct. 4, 10:30pm. Vehicle owner and friend saw a man carrying belongings from their car. A chase and scuffle ensued and one of the car users was stabbed and died at the hospital. There is video evidence, and they are trying to identify a suspect. In general, violent crime is down, property crime is up. That’s year over year. Q: Is there a way for businesses to know the officers assigned on each shift? A: Officers are encouraged to make themselves known to neighborhood businesses. EACA Public Safety update — Myron Polster: There have been about 17 arrests for drug-related crime in the last month. The problem house on East Side has been emptied of its inhabitants. That may just spread the problem around, but he hopes it slows down their crimes. If you know of any other problem houses, please report to Myron. Special discussion and vote: New owner Greg Mike of the art gallery and office space at 1206 Metropolitan is looking for community support for an exemption to the distance requirements for selling alcohol. They have not yet filed a permit request. He needs a community vote to seek this exemption from the city. Greg and his lawyers have contacted the affected neighbors, and nobody has any issue. Q: On-premises drinking is planned and also live entertainment? A: Yes, although the focus is on selling art, not offering live music. Q: In the permit process, the question will be how many events per year do you plan? You might want to consider that. A: They are planning to keep capacity low and encourage rideshare. Various neighbors at the meeting voiced their support. Motion passes with no objection.
Special Guest – Ken Zeff, Candidate for Atlanta Board of Education, District 3 – please see meeting recording.
East Atlanta Parents Network – Carleen (See meeting recording for slides with more info on the items below.) Costume Closet update / EAV-O-Ween: Saturday, October 28 – 3:00pm Costume Contest; 3:30pm-5:00pm, Trick-or-Treating. Fall Festival – Sunday, November 12 at 3:00pm.
Land Use and Zoning – Chase Miller: 515 Flat Shoals “Churchill Grounds”- Joe Seymour, owner, and Jenny Murray, who is handling this in the LUZ committee. (Please see meeting recording for slides.) Parking Exception/Variance and SAP
Background: Lot/building at northwest corner of Flat Shoals and Glenwood Ave. Applicant seeks a special exception to reduce the required parking requirement from 50 spaces to 26 spaces (20 Spaces Shared, 6 onsite). Key Considerations: The business idea for this property represents an exciting opportunity for East Atlanta. Planned jazz club “Churchill Grounds” was previously an Atlanta institution. The variance request is significant so thoughtful consideration should be given as to how to accommodate. See the rendering. Current Status: The LUZ committee is currently evaluating this variance. Next Steps: If you have an interest in this application, you should attend the September EACA LUZ meeting taking place Monday, October 30 at 7:00pm. A vote will take place at next month’s EACA meeting (November 14).
Announcements / Community Updates
Save the Date: EACA Member Event BBQ – Sunday, November 5.
Yousef Bushehri is a doctoral student looking for older people to interview for his dissertation, which is about making people’s homes safe and livable as people get older. yousef@gatech.edu, 202-288-1651.
Drew Constantine, EAV Chess Club – lots of cool stuff going on for kids and adults. Oct. 28 will be a chess championship at Branan Towers. Look for their Facebook page for more info.
Event Line-Up for Rest of 2023 – Saturday, October 28: EAV-O-Ween – 3:00pm Costume Contest; 3:30pm-5:00pm Trick-or-Treating. Sunday, November 12: EAPN Fall Festival 3:00pm.
Saturday, December 2: Christmas tree lighting, 6:00pm.
Thursday, December 7: Menorah Lighting; 6:00pm; Night 1 (continues each night thereafter)
EACA Call for Volunteers – We’re excited for our role in shaping East Atlanta to be the community we envision for the future. 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 Open Positions here. Ongoing Recruitment for Committee Involvement: 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.
Closing Remarks and Adjournment – 8:23pm.
