Opening remarks – The meeting was called to order at 7:31 p.m.. SAND’s boundaries, speaking protocol, and voting eligibility rules were reviewed.
August 2026 meeting notes were approved without objection.
APD Zone 6 Update – Lt. Andrew Smith:
Crime Statistics – Crime is down 16.35% year-over-year. As the community heads into the holiday season, Lt. Smith reminded residents to keep valuables out of sight in parked vehicles.
Q&A Highlights – McDonough Boulevard/Moreland Avenue Intersection (SAND President): Following a recent fatal accident at this long-problematic intersection, the President asked how the community can work with APD toward a longer-term safety fix. Lt. Smith noted that Moreland Avenue is State Route 42, so changes to intersection design and traffic control devices fall under Atlanta’s DOT (ATLDOT) or Georgia’s DOT (GDOT) — that is where any such effort will need to start.
City/State/School/Other Elected Officials: No elected official representatives attended this month.
Committee Updates
Education – Kristen Silton, Education Chair (absent this month)
School Boundary Realignment: Proposed realignments would roll Dunbar Park’s school assignments into the broader Maynard Jackson cluster — a topic of significant community interest.
Action Item: Katie Howard, the SAND-area Atlanta Public Schools Board member, will attend the October SAND meeting to speak and answer questions.
Land Use & Zoning – Mike Snyder, LUZ Chair (absent; presented by the SAND President)
V26123 – 890 Mercer Street (Applicant: Maxwell Baker): Special exception to increase the maximum height of a privacy wall from 6 feet to 8 feet in the rear and side yard, to restore privacy after a neighbor’s new second-floor addition began overlooking the applicant’s pool. NPUW LUZ recommended support without objection; no objections raised by SAND membership; motion passes.
V26136 – 1079 Faith Avenue (Applicant: Maxwell Shultz): Variance to reduce a half-depth front yard setback from 17.5 feet to 4 feet, to allow construction of a previously-approved accessory dwelling unit (ADU) after a later city revision moved the required setback line through the existing 1940s home. NPUW LUZ recommended support without objection; no objections raised by SAND membership; motion passes.
Both applicants must attend the NPUW General Body Meeting, Wednesday, September 16th at 7:00 PM (register at npu-w.org).
Ormewood Park Makers Festival – Nichole Palmietto & Noah Trepper, Co-Directors
Festival date: Saturday, October 10 — four weeks out.
Vendor, artist, and workshop host application deadline: September 18th. Space remains for additional artist vendors, food vendors, and a few more workshops. Apply at makersfest.org.
Sponsors wishing to have their logo on the back of the festival t-shirt should sign up by Tuesday, September 15th; sponsors who don’t need t-shirt inclusion may sign up anytime.
Volunteers needed: The festival is entirely volunteer-run from planning through execution. Organizers are seeking a volunteer co-coordinator. Slots are just 90 minutes (not an all-day commitment) and can be signed up for with a friend. Sign up at makersfest.org/volunteer.
Student community service hours are coordinated through TierSphere — Maynard Jackson High School students can search for and sign up with the festival directly through their TierSphere account. Contact: directors@makersfest.org.
The Kids Zone is bigger this year with additional workshops; a Spotify playlist of all main-stage performers is posted at makersfest.org/2026-music-lineup.
Communications – Matt Gray, Communications Chair
Introduced “October in Ormewood,” a cross-event passport program tying together the month’s three major community events: the Ormewood Park Makers Festival (Oct. 10), Red’s Farm Fest (Oct. 17), and the Ormewood Church Fall Celebration (around Halloween). Attendees collect a sticker at each event; a partial passport earns a smaller prize, a full passport a larger one, and completed passports are entered into a raffle for a neighborhood-wide grand prize (to be determined).
Noah Trepper suggested folding in The Porch Press‘s 40th anniversary party, tentatively planned for the church on Oct. 24, as a possible fourth event; Matt will follow up with Rob Massey.
Crystal Porter suggested parents pair with pre-teens at the Kids Zone as a volunteer opportunity for aspiring babysitters.
No objections; the concept moves forward, with Matt continuing to iterate and share updates by email.
Social – Nichole Palmietto, Social Chair
SAND’s final town hall of the year is being planned for after the election, tentatively November 10th or 11th at Halidom — a mix of state and city updates with informal Q&A. State Senator Nan Orock has confirmed; the team is still waiting to hear back from Councilmember Bakhtiari’s office.
Transportation – Brent Huff, Transportation Chair
SMAWG (South Moreland Avenue Working Group) did not meet with GDOT in September — the group meets every other month and last met in August. (Q&A: there is currently no formal SAND Transportation Committee — Brent is the sole point person — while NPU-W holds its own monthly transportation meeting at cityofatlantanpu-w.org. Brent also clarified for a member question that NPU-W is the final recommendation body before a matter reaches the City, and covers Grant Park, East Atlanta, and SAND; its General Body meeting is also held virtually.)
All four Moreland Avenue pedestrian crosswalks are now installed and fully functional: Wendy’s/Bank of America, Halidome/Duncan, Aldi/Moreland Drive, and Thomasville Heights/Starlight Drive-In. Signals fully stop traffic (tested at the Bank of America crossing).
Southeast Atlanta Beltline Connector Trail & HUD Grant: With SAND’s section of the Beltline complete, momentum is building on the connector trail — planned to run from United Avenue through the Garrison/Swift development, along Entrenchment Creek, past Halidom, under Moreland Avenue, to Custer Avenue, ultimately linking to DeKalb County’s South River Trail Network (eventually reaching Arabia Mountain). There is interest in a spur trail connecting Benteen Elementary.
McDonough Boulevard safety: The recent fatal accident is now on SMAWG’s agenda; SMAWG meets with GDOT in October specifically to discuss safety improvements at this intersection, which has had at least three serious accidents this year.
Pedestrian signal reminder (SAND President): when a crosswalk’s lights are flashing red, drivers should stop and proceed only after confirming no pedestrian remains in the crosswalk.
Technology – SAND President (in absence of Technology Chair Miggle Manickaraj)
The SAND website homepage has been simplified. All 2026 meeting agendas (including a draft October agenda) and meeting notes are now accessible via the “Agendas” and “Meeting Notes” buttons on sandatlanta.org.
Meeting recordings are not posted due to storage constraints but are available on request via president@sandatlanta.org.
Matters for Voting
Special Event Application – Red’s Farm Fest (Urban Farm Ormewood Inc.; no representative present)
Annual outdoor festival; recommended for support by the NPUW Public Safety Committee. No objections; motion passes.
Alcohol License – Circle K, 828 McDonough Boulevard (change of ownership; agent Melanie Kruger not present).
Recommended for support by the NPUW Public Safety Committee. No objections; motion passes.
Neighborhood Announcements
Fulton County Commission District 4 Candidate Forum
SAND will sponsor a candidate forum for the special election to fill the vacant District 4 seat (vacated when the sitting commissioner ran for Fulton County Chair). Forum: Tuesday, October 13th at 5:30 PM, moderated by an outside moderator; details to follow. All four candidates have committed to attend (per Paul Bolster, who is coordinating scheduling). As always, SAND does not endorse candidates but is making information available — roughly a quarter of property tax revenue funds County Commission programs.
TrestleTree Village / Wingate LOU – Community Q&A (AJ Hill, Amanda Hill, San Frazier, Crystal Porter)
The President confirmed the Letter of Understanding (LOU) between SAND and Wingate has been finalized, signed, and submitted to Invest Atlanta. It does not change SAND’s underlying position that support for the redevelopment is conditioned on fully integrating the replacement affordable units across all buildings; the LOU instead secures additional commitments — on affordable housing across future phases, environmental protections, and other conditions — regardless of that outcome.
Enforcement (Amanda Hill’s question): Limited to two channels — hoping Invest Atlanta and/or the Georgia Department of Community Affairs incorporate the LOU into their funding compliance review, and requiring Wingate to obtain a Special Administrative Permit under the Beltline Overlay District for future phases, which gives the community a formal opportunity to raise concerns if commitments aren’t met. SAND does not have retained legal counsel to pursue enforcement beyond these avenues.
A Grant Park resident (Amanda Hill) pressed for the signed LOU to be posted publicly and raised concerns that it hadn’t been proactively addressed on the agenda; the exchange grew heated, and the President asked that the discussion remain respectful. The President committed to working with the Technology Chair to post the LOU on SAND’s website and noted it is already available on request; a link to the LOU was also shared in the meeting chat.
San Frazier, a TrestleTree resident, asked how the community would know if Wingate isn’t meeting its commitments, and said she didn’t feel fully supported by the answer; the President invited her to reach out directly for a personal follow-up conversation.
Crystal Porter asked whether the LOU was posted on NPU-W’s website; the President said he doesn’t control that site but will work to get the LOU posted on SAND’s own site.
New attendee Amy Fields-Taylor, Starlight Heights (DeKalb County): Introduced herself as a resident of the Starlight Heights neighborhood, near Moreland Avenue and the Atlanta Police Training Facility; noted shared interests with SAND around Moreland Avenue development and the planned connector trail, and asked about growing talk of annexation into Atlanta. The President noted annexation is a state-controlled process with little local input, and encouraged her to also engage with the NPUW Land Use & Zoning Committee, the East Atlanta Community Association, and SMAWG. Brent Huff clarified that some areas across Moreland Avenue near Custer Avenue are already part of SAND, despite sitting in DeKalb County.
Upcoming Events & Reminders
NPUW General Body Meeting: Wednesday, September 16th at 7:00 PM.
Ormewood Park Makers Festival: Saturday, October 10th. Vendor/workshop applications close September 18th; sponsor t-shirt logo deadline is Tuesday, September 15th.
Red’s Farm Fest: Saturday, October 17th.
Fulton County Commission District 4 Candidate Forum: Tuesday, October 13th at 5:30 PM.
“October in Ormewood” passport program spans the Makers Festival, Red’s Farm Fest, and the Ormewood Church Fall Celebration around Halloween.
Next SAND Meeting: Thursday, October 8, 2026 at 7:30 PM. Register at sandatlanta.org.
Adjournment: Meeting adjourned at 8:43 p.m.
