Published on: 08/30/07
By Chandler Brown
A few months ago, Dunwoody Homeowners Association President Chip Franzoni moved out of town.
That signaled a change in leadership in one of metro Atlanta's largest and most powerful homeowners groups. In June, the association's board approved Gordon Jackson —- a longtime board member —- as its president.
"Chip was good at getting developers to sit down and negotiate," said longtime Dunwoody Homeowners Association board member Bob Lundsten.
"What Gordon brings is a new approach," Lundsten said. "He's going back and saying, 'Hey, before we approve another 25-story building in Dunwoody, let's take a step back and see if that's the right thing to do.' That's refreshing."
We asked Jackson, five questions about his new role.
Q: What are the biggest issues you've faced in your first couple of months as head of the Dunwoody Homeowners Association?
A: Zoning and development are always big issues, particularly in the Perimeter area. The DHA board is interested in reviewing the ramifications of the proposed development.
Other current issues include DHA's support for homeowners in the Glaze Drive area dealing with area development, First Baptist Church of Atlanta's proposed additional parking area, the new parking deck under way at Georgia Perimeter College (Dunwoody campus) and, as always, code enforcement and transportation issues.
Q: What unexpected challenges have you faced?
A: Time. DHA is extremely fortunate to have a large board of active individuals who give of their time in dealing with the association's activities. We are, however, volunteers and it is understandably difficult to deal with some issues as timely as we would like, given that most of us work for a living.
Q: Representing 40,000 north DeKalb homeowners, what do you see as the role of the Dunwoody Homeowners Association?
A: The role of DHA remains the same as it has been for years. That means not hesitating to speak out and act to preserve a high quality of life for Dunwoody homeowners. This includes our review of zoning and development matters, code enforcement matters, recreational issues and many other similar issues.
Q: What is the future of the Dunwoody Homeowners Association?
A: I personally see DHA continuing to serve its current role well into the future, whether the local government is DeKalb County, city of Sandy Springs or if there should be a city of Dunwoody.
Q: Do you hope to be elected for another year when your term ends in January?
A: That hasn't even come up on the radar at this point.