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| Just because it is not easy, doesn't mean we are working towards these goals |
Part of the job of serving on the City Council is knowing what the residents of your city want and then trying to fulfill their desires with the resources that you have available, unfortunately, the desires always outweigh resources. I read everything Dunwoody related that I can get my hands upon and that includes newspapers, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, podcasts, various Blogs, AHA, Letters to the Editor, e-mails directed to Council, Myspace and sometimes I will even read Nextdoor. If it is Dunwoody related, I read it. If someone needs assistance I jump in, if it is a general conversation I may just watch the conversation but I rarely jump deep into Facebook conversations as I usually have my own platform for communication and the Open Records laws regarding social media communication for elected officials is murky at best.
Anyway, I saw a conversation on Dunwoody (and specifically Dunwoody Village) being compared to to the new Town Center mixed-use development in Peachtree Corners whereby the city purchased a patch of forest on Peachtree Parkway across from the Forum and turned it into a shopping area with an activated outdoor dining, drinking/recreation area with music events from time to time.
Maybe my heart was still pumping hard from this evenings spin class, or I ate too many treats at the Dunwoody Community Garden 10 year celebration or I was too hyped up from whipping my boys at Foosball; either way, I broke down and commented on a group Facebook post. My answer was detailed, addressing not only her question but also some of the other comments on the post and figured in the sense of transparency that it was worth me posting here as well.
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To loosely recap the question, it was Why can't Dunwoody have nice things like outdoor dining in a pretty park setting and then be able to walk around listening to music as I sip my wine?
My answer was ... I don't think anyone disagrees with you, we would all want that. The City of Dunwoody wishes they could buy a chunk of undeveloped land to do what Peachtree Corners did or be like Sandy Springs and be able to afford to buy out profitable businesses - but neither option is easy for us to do.
Regency owns the Village shopping center and we have made it easier for them to redevelop by unregulating the area including the corner property on Chamblee Dunwoody & Mount Vernon that sits vacant for years. Regency owns much of the property and they and the other owners decide if major changes are desired, not us - but we continue the discussions. If the City moved forward, purchasing a chunk of the parking lot from Regency and made it into a park, would Regency try to redevelop around it or would it be a patch of green surrounded by asphalt? Having the City buy a chunk of land from Regency in order to build a parking lot, what would Regency do with that multi-million dollar amenity?
The City redeveloped the old pipe farm off Chamblee Dunwoody and now has several restaurant parcels abutting open green space and a park available at Shallowford and Perimeter Park yet we can't find a developer willing to move this idea forward. Economics and the number of eyeballs driving by always come into play on developments like this and there are a lot more cars driving by on Peachtree Parkway in Peachtree Corners.
Dunwoody with the help of DHA puts forward Food Trucks with bands and the City hosts other events either by itself or partnering with the Dunwoody Nature Center, so you can't say we are not trying.
As far as permanent restaurants in Brook Run, I'm not against it (think Park Tavern or Tavern on the Green) but I am sure food trucks will be involved anytime crowds are expected. When the amphitheater is completed, I am guessing we will be scheduling a regular concert series with tables for purchase via subscription service and free concerts otherwise. I fully expect outside food and beverage service being available if you don't bring your own.
Long story, short - the City is trying to foster the items that you desire and are working towards the future with the funds we have available but when it comes to modifying existing commercial development sometimes it is easier said than done. Just because it is not easy, doesn't mean we are not working towards these goals behind the scenes.
Thanks
John Heneghan
Dunwoody City Council
PS: Earlier this week the High Street ATL huge development next to Perimeter Mall and the Marta Station which many compare to the Avalon in Alpharetta just dropped their phase 1 plan off at Dunwoody City Hall and this development will include hotel site, retail, office, parking, and about 600 apartments. The zoning on site that was put in many years ago allows up to 1,500 apartments and 1,500 condos and based on recent actions the development that has been on-again / off-again for many years may finally be coming out of the ground. I plan on reviewing and posting the High Street plans as soon as I get my hands on them.
5 comments:
DHA with the help of Dunwoody puts forward Food Trucks with bands ...
There. Fixed that for you.
Otherwise, thanks for wading into the discussion. Our newer residents are on a learning curve when it comes to how Dunwoody got to where it is. All of the developments and "hot spots" that are so coveted were planned 20 years ago by cities (Dunwoody wasn't one at the time) and are only seeing the results now. Dunwoody doesn't have huge swaths of undeveloped or blighted land on a 6-lane highway near railroad tracks to build sprawling adult playgrounds.
The solution is going to have to come from within, something unique to our city. Not copy and pasted from somewhere else. Snarky hashtags about banks isn't going to help w/ the progress.
There are lots of details to slog through in discovering what's going to work in the infrastructure we have. The time and work to get the result is longer than throwing a comment on social media. Who's in?
John, Thanks for sharing these "behind the scenes" goings-on. Wish this could be/could have been done on a continuing basis. Perhaps others in the greater community might have been/ be able to provide input/assistance/contacts, etc., to help move these ideas along. Re: High Street, sorry for the skepticism, but does that area really need yet more congestion and overloading with an eye toward cars,infrastructure,etc?? It's nigh on to impossible to maneuver through there as it is during peak hours, never mi d adding yet more of every category to the mix. Forget about Avalin, etc. Dunwoody will just be an extension of Buckhead-- and we all know what fun it is trying to get anywhere there no matter what time of day one tries.
I think a permanent restaurant in Brook Run would be a mistake. Brook Run is already heavily developed. Underscoring this is the fact that no one is interested in developing the restaurant parcels next to the park on Shallowford. I think that parks are not the right place for this kind of development. There are plenty of other locations in Dunwoody that would be better served by having better restaurant options.
There are Deed Restrictions on the Brook Run Park land that do not allow 'cash-register sales' The Skate Park is an exception, though I don't know how it get by.
Emulate Balboa Park in San Diego and set up a perpetual endowment fund - this will put most of the decision-making associated with the sporting, cultural, and beautification projects in the hands of a non-profit foundation instead of the city council.
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