City Council Update - Feb 2020

February Update from Council Member Jennifer Ide

Our Atlanta City Councilmember for District 6, Jennifer Ide, just released her latest newsletter for February 2020. It’s chock full of interesting updates affecting our part of the city.

Here’s a rundown, below, of just a few items that have the potential to affect Lindridge-Martin Manor during the next few weeks and months. Read the newsletter for lots more. (You can subscribe to it, too.)

If you have questions, contact Jennifer Ide at (404) 330-6049 or jnide@atlantaga.gov. You also might contact her Chief of Staff Lance Orchid at (404) 330-6049 or lorchid@atlanta.gov.

Lindridge-Martin Manor Updates

• Our LMMNA community partners at Park Pride will hold their 19th Annual Park Pride Conference Monday, March 23, from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Tickets and more information are available online.

• This past year, Renew Atlanta Infrastructure Bond funds were approved across the city. “Putting it in action,” Jennifer says that Lenox Road resurfacing is set to begin mid-2020. Also: Pedestrian safety improvements will be made on Lenox. Piedmont Avenue resurfacing is also set to begin in late-2020, but it’s unclear where these will be.

• Don’t forget: The Municipal Option Sales Tax will be a city item for all of us to vote on in the March 24 presidential preference ballot. It’s related to our 1-cent sales tax to help pay for federally mandated improvements to our city sewer and watershed management system. We’ve already shared some information on it and you can find primary voting information on our website.

• Jennifer has sponsored legislation to approve Speed Cameras in School Zones (19-R-4335). She says: “I sponsored this resolution to bring the City and Atlanta Public Schools together to allow for and implement ticketing by camera for speeding over 10 miles per hour in marked school zones. The COA and APS are in the planning stages of this program.”

• Jennifer also sponsored legislation last year Establishing Permitting and Administration of Scooters and e-Bikes (18-O-1322) and Putting a Hold on Scooters (19-O-1429). We can expect new regulations on scooters in the next few months, she says.

• Update on Re-baselining of TSPLOST/Renew Projects (19-R-3445). Several LMMNA members asked her about this at last year’s meetings. The Monroe Complete Street project was fully funded in the rebaselining. (Here’s a Curbed Atlanta story explaining the whole thing.)

• Creation of the Atlanta Department of Transportation (19-O-1159). All transportation functions will now be coordinated under a single department, the Atlanta DOT, which will lead to greater efficiencies and coordinate planning and implementation of projects. (Here’s an AJC article explaining the new office.) The new commissioner, Josh Rowan, will speak to us at the March 12 Buckhead Council of Neighborhoods meeting.

Bridge Construction Delays

Norfolk-Southern Construction Update

Expect brief traffic delays on Lindbergh Drive until August

Officials with Norfolk-Southern informed our neighborhood yesterday that the railroad bridge spanning Lindbergh Drive just past Pike's Nursery is being replaced.

This project has already begun and is on an estimated six month schedule. Crews will be working Mondays through Thursdays.  Road closures may occur at any time between 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on these weekdays.

The goal is to have vehicle and pedestrian traffic unaffected as much as possible. One sidewalk (but not both) may be closed at these times with a police officer present to help with crossings.

Please note that roads and sidewalks will not be closed every day and only when necessary.  The work times are set by City of Atlanta permits.

If you have questions, contact Shannon Eppers with Norfolk-Southern at Shannon.Eppers@nscorp.com. You also can call their customer service team for crossings and signals at 800-453-2530.

Buckhead Council Meets March 12

The March 2020 meeting of the Buckhead Council of Neighborhoods will have three important speakers coming up on March 12:

Chris Brasher
Chief Judge of Fulton County Superior Court

Josh Rowan
New City of Atlanta Transportation Commissioner

Chet Tisdale
Atlanta Tree Conservation Commission Board Member

Contact the council if you want to submit a question before the meeting.

They will update the 43 neighborhoods represented by BCoN (including ours) on three of our most important issues in Buckhead: Crime, Traffic, and Loss of Tree Canopy.

The meeting will be held Thursday, March 12, beginning at 6:45 p.m. All BCoN meetings are held at Peachtree Presbyterian Church, Room 2202.

It’s at 3434 Roswell Road NW, and here’s a map.

Crime and Safety Update for Q1 2020

New Zone Commander Provides Update on LMMNA Crime, Safety

Maj. Andrew Senzer, the new APD Zone 2 commander, came to address our quarterly meeting Wednesday, Feb. 5, along with Capt. Anthony Singh, the assistant zone commander.

 Maj. Senzer shared several safety updates, including this about the homeless issue and issue with camps near our neighborhood:

• He has been meeting with Georgia Department of Transportation officials on this topic

• GDOT has agreed to complete and finalize a Memorandum of Understanding with the city; this is being done by a person named Stacy Keys at GDOT

• Also being driven by Atlanta City Councilmember Jennifer Ide and city Legal Department

• This MOU will give APD officers authority to serve as "an agent for arrests" or similar language on behalf of GDOT for trespassing violations

• Related: Our neighborhood partner, the Atlanta Neighborhood Safety Coalition, sent a letter to DOT in October 2019 about our shared concerns. We later received the following response from GDOT in December 2019. We continue to monitor this issue closely and work with other neighborhood associations to keep this topic front-and-center.

• If you want our FULL BACKSTORY on this issue (going back many years), then here are our working notes. Rest assured, it’s a complex and thorny issue and we’re all very sensitive to the needs of our homeless in Atlanta.

Neighbor issues being tracked by LMMNA board:

• Homelessness: The HOPE Team came out to begin a survey and headcount of homeless in Zone 2 Maj. Senzer said he will share their report with us so we have data/statistics from 2020

• Trail Safety: Capt. Singh said APD stopped patrolling the trails several months ago, even though board members and South Fork Conservancy officials were told by Sgt. Severance that they were still underway this past fall. This has been handed over to "The PATH Task Force," and they're supposed to come up with new patrol system for the trails. He said he will report on the status. Currently, no patrol, though.

• Mail theft: Police made an arrest in past few days that may have been a major culprit. Still gathering info. For now, still report mail theft to APD and to USPS. They respond together, according to Maj. Senzer.

• Cut-Through Traffic: Maj. Senzer has agreed to take a fresh look at our through-traffic in LMM and will ask for a new traffic study to be conducted. This will determine if we can have new signage or traffic calming measures on certain streets.

• Club Allure: This club on Cheshire Bridge has been monitored consistently since our neighborhood began having issues with parking, loitering, and litter. Officers found it was open and operating on a recent Sunday, so they notified the APD license and permitting team. The club will be issued a "due cause" citation at the February 2020 License Review Board meeting. This may effectively create an embargo for the current business to operate on this property. (See the November 2018 issue of LMMNA Neighbor for more back story.)

• The Goat Club: The owners of this proposed restaurant and bar (site of old New Baby Products) have withdrawn its original liquor license request filed with city License Review Board and has reapplied for construction and building permits operating as a restaurant. Two of the three owners plus their attorney came to speak to LMMNA on Feb. 5 and answer questions. They plan to go before the NPU-F meeting on Feb. 17.

Other general updates from Zone 2:

• About 95% of our crimes are property crimes

• Chief Erika Shields is now bringing investigators from all APD zones together to meet once/twice a week

• Investigators still work independently in their zones, but are now comparing notes to watch for trends and overlaps in crime

• APD narcotics unit has been disbanded. All those officers re-assigned to Auto Crime, the APEX Unit, and the Fugitive Unit. (The APEX Unit focuses on violent crime and gun control.)

READ: Atlanta Police Department - Zone 2 | Crime Reports

NPU-F Votes on The Goat Club Feb. 17

Neighborhood Planning Unit - F to Vote on The Goat Club on Monday

The Goat Club, a restaurant and bar proposed for 2200 Cheshire Bridge Road (the former site of the New Baby Products store), has filed an application with the City to Atlanta for a license to serve alcoholic beverages at the location. The owners will present to NPU-F officials Monday, Feb. 17.

At its meeting on February 5, two of the three owners of the proposed club presented to the membership of the Lindridge-Martin Manor Neighborhood Association.

Mr. Osman Sak, Mr. Muhammet Erkek, and Mr. Kemal Karsli (not present, but the owner of The Sivas here in Atlanta), asked to have LMMNA’s support for a variance, since their facility is within 140 feet of one of our residences.

City code is for at least a 300-foot buffer zone. After the gentlemen’s presentation and a Q&A session about their plans, LMMNA voted overwhelmingly to oppose this application.  (See our meeting minutes for more information.)

On Monday, February 17, NPU-F will vote on this application (to approve or deny) and send its recommendation to the License Review Board.  Lindridge-Martin Manor neighbors are urged to attend the NPU-F meeting to make our community presence known.

The meeting is to be held at Hillside, 1301 Monroe Drive, 30306. This is a facility cross from the Monroe Drive entrance to the Atlanta Botanical Garden. (Click here for a map.) Residents are asked to please support LMMNA's opposition to the application.

LMMNA’s representatives to NPU-F, Rich Sussman and Jane Rawlings, will be present for the vote. Contact them at npu@lmmna.org if you have questions.

READ: NPU-F Agenda | Feb. 17, 2020

READ: The Goat Club License Application