Coming real soon, there will be new signage at all City Parks.
Monday evening the Dunwoody City Council approved the new Dunwoody Village zoning regulations having worked diligently with many of the surrounding neighbors to ensure buffering protections are in place, therefore we also lifted the moratorium that was put into place. Over the weekend before the Council meeting, the City was served with a lawsuit from the Shops of Dunwoody (including the Car Wash) disputing agreements and covenants that were put into place many years ago therefore the City carved them out of the rezoning and will attempt to settle facts and a way forward to add those properties back into the Village zoning along with proper neighbor buffering protections for larger buildings that may someday be built there.
Roberts Drive Rezoning - Monday night council approved the allowance to build thirteen new homes where three once stood across the street from the Dunwoody Nature Center. Residents on all sides were conflicted as to wanting or not wanting the new development as to the impacts to their property could be negative or positive depending on the layout, topography and concessions from the developer. Even the Dunwoody Homeowners Association weighed in thinking the variances and the scope of the project was too problematic for approval. In a rare 4 to 3 vote of Council the project was approved by Mayor Deutsch, councilors Tallmadge, Riticher and Seconder with Harris, Lambert and myself voting against. The R-50 single home development should not exceed 40% lot coverage by code and these homes don't come close at 70% lot coverage. The next step for the developer is the Zoning Board of Appeals who is meeting tonight at 6 pm to see if the request for approval falls within their allowances to legally approve the plan?
Council was briefed by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to discuss hunting in Dunwoody where we learned of the state allowance for bow hunting in any section of the state and how we as a City can not modify or limit those activities on private owned land. Hunting to me in Dunwoody is both a safety and property rights issue whereby gun hunting is already outlawed and bow and arrow hunting is allowed by the State with the hope that common sense is used as there are limited safety requirements for bow hunting.
If we had five acre tracts with little chance of hunters, or wounded deer trespassing onto neighbors property, thereby forcing neighbors to participate / witness the hunting process, arrows might be fine with bow hunting; but with ¼ acre lots an injured deer will run and drop where not intended. We have witnessed people (hunters) with no intention of following the laws on the books as they are running around shooting guns (breaking numerous laws) for hunting. More laws on the books can not stop that from happening again. In the case of the shooting that was caught on video on Mount Vernon, the tags were discovered on a camera and Dunwoody PD found out that hunters actually stole the pickup truck from Gwinnett County inorder to hunt in Dunwoody with a weapon.
I also discovered that State Law to limit bow hunting will be hard to change because of a Georgia Constitutional Amendment that was passed in 2006.
https://ballotpedia.org/Georgia_Right_to_Fish_and_Hunt,_Amendment_2_(2006)
We (the City) will be exploring options with the State but unsure where this issue will finally land, but I am guessing nothing is going to happen fast. Long story short, gun hunting is illegal in Dunwoody and bow and arrow hunting is allowed by the State, whereby it cannot be controlled / limited by the municipality but instead would need State action (possibly another Constitutional Amendment) to change the law.
For the last couple of months, the City Manager, Mr. Eric Linton provides Council (the Community) highlights from the various city departments and the many things they are working on at Council's direction. This week the update is 13 pages long and it is filled with numerous tidbits of information.
Save the date of December 12th at 6 pm when the City will light the Holiday Lights at Brook Run Park and playground with over 25,000 lights, complete with a 20' mega tree, reindeer barn, and 24' wooden train, perfect for photos! Please enjoy this self-guided lighted display safely by wearing masks and social distancing. The FREE lighted display will remain on until December 28 for you and your family to enjoy.
Today is the deadline for dropping new, unwrapped toys and gifts for kids aged 0-15 years old. You may drop off gift donations at the Dunwoody Police Department 24/7 (ring intercom after-hours). Monday, 12/7/20, 5pm-7pm.
A fun community volunteer opportunity to help wrap gifts for our CFK registered families. Spots will be limited due to social distancing guidelines. Contact diane.sanford@dunwoodyga.gov or 678-382-6919 to volunteer.
4 comments:
John, does new zoning in village allow up to 2,000 new units, if all land owners go for the maximum? Or is the number closer to 1,000 or 3,000?
Rick, every multi-family residential unit going into the Village will be approved via a SLUP therefore Council controls density.
I guess my question is that with an increased density, what is the position of individual Council members on how this comports with school overcrowding?
Thank you for your comments two council meetings ago regarding protecting the buffers on the west side of the village. All of the neighbors who worked with staff for months on the plan were shocked to learn of the law suit AFTER public comment. To take action on the rest of the plan with out including the shops seems very bizarre. What is negotiated there could impact the entire village plan and may have lead to DUMC not even needing to be included in the plan at all. To end what had been such a collaborative process in such a rushed way is very unexpected. Extending the moratorium for all of the village until we at least could assess the lawsuit would have been appreciated. Now, the council has established that you all are ok with only requiring a TY (immature landscaping and no fence) along existing properties. You left some of us homeowners next to DUMC without protections and weakened your negotiation with the shops. Can’t begin to explain our disappointment.
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