NPU-F Report: April 2021

NPU-F Report
April 19, 2021

Atlanta Fire and Rescue (AFD): conducting biannual hydrant inspections—draining hydrants; marked increase in call volume; will instal carbon monoxide detectors upon request

Atlanta Police Department (APD) Zone 2: property crimes have reduced by half since the beginning of 2021; several “crews” committing those crimes (such as car break-ins) have been arrested; Allure is appealing its attempted closure over the New Year; Platinum temporarily closed due to a change in ownership, however it still may operate under its old State liquor license; ownership and license issues in court; Manchester Road criminal activities subsidies after the installation a police camera in the area; APD joins Georgia State Patrol in street racing details on Friday and Saturday evenings

Zone 6 (east side of Cheshire Bridge Road and remainder of LMM to the Dekalb county line); APD made several arrests of people conducting illegal activities in Zoo (former location of the Poster Hut on CBR); these people illegally conducted a business in the the building unbeknownst to the owner

Intown Suites (former site of Ramada Inn located in Piedmont Heights at intersection of Monroe Drive, I-85, and Piedmont Circle); sale of property from Paces Properties to Fairchild Residents to be completed in July or August; in the meantime Paces Properties has committed to stronger measures to secure the site (including 24-hour on-site security) before it is demolished to make way for an apartment complex

311 system: Mayor’s initiative by calling 311 to arrange for transportation to get COVID-19 shots at Mercedes Benz Stadium

Stacey Evans (State Representative, District 57): will compile a fact sheet regarding the new voting law; contact her office to get a copy:

staceyevans.com

State of Georgia repealed the citizen’s arrest law; first state in the country to do this

Legislature passed H. B. 534 addressing street racing; provides additional tools for local law enforcement; racing vehicles may be confiscated; fist offense may involve $3,00 fine and 10-day jail sentence; event organizers may be jailed

State appropriated $6 million to MARTA

Legislature will meet in a special session in the fall to determine redistricting of federal, state, and county voting districts (based on the 2020 census)

Community Design Awards: NPU-F voted to approve the Armand Park nomination for the 2021 Community Design Award; winners will be announced virtually on May 18

GOAT Club liquor license application: NPU-F voted 21 to 6 recommending to the License Review Board (LRB) to deny the application: LMMNA will notify its residents the date and time of the LRB meeting

City conducting a review of public safety performance; please fill out the survey:

surveymonkey.com/r/ATLPoliceReform

Carter Coleman is the contact for this effort: ccolemen@apdurban.com

Next NPU-F meeting, May 17: NPU-F will hear Bryan Warnock’s application (CDP-212-020) to change the Comprehensive Development Plan for the properties at 910, 922, and 928 Lindbergh Drive from single family residential (SFR) to low density residential (LDR) —this would allow multi-family residential structures;

please attend this meeting; LMMNA will ensure that the agenda and link are made available.

Join Us: LMMNA Scavenger Hunt

Please Note: Due to chances of rain on April 24, the event has been moved to May 1.

Editor’s note: This event has been postponed until May 1 due to rain. Clues on May 1 will be posted to LMMNA social media channels on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook!

Also, look for posters on May 1 at stop signs throughout the neighborhood, or pick up a flyer from event chairs Juliana Caamano or Jane Simpkins down at Armand Park!

Please have fun and be safe.

NPU Report: March 2021

NPU-F Report
March 15, 2021

Atlanta Police Department (APD), Zone 2, Major Senzer: NBA weekend, APD extremely busy with 17 locations (adult entertainment venues) in Zones 2 and 5; fire marshals, alcohol licensing officers at the various locations; unusually high call for service at these locations; APD ensuring the venues operate within their licenses; APD Law Department unable to provide guidance for the carousel ride at Allure

Homeless Situation: Midtown Ministries estimates it takes an average of 9 interactions with service providers (like HOPE) to convince a homeless person to avail him/herself of services; call 311 to report a “homeless situation”

APD Code Enforcement: Hearing on Intown Suites (I-85/Monroe Drive) to determine whether it should be secured or demolished to take place on April 22; this location has become a hang-out for squatters and for drug use/dealing; major long-term negative impact on our Piedmont Heights neighbors

Atlanta City Council: still debating the Short Term Rental legislation; contact Jennifer Ide’s office for update; Tree Ordinance work session to take place on April 27; send your comments to Jennifer Ide’s office

Kay Stephenson, Vice Chair of NPU-F, has been selected to serve on the Alcohol License Review Board study group; this group will come up with recommendations to improve the alcohol licensing process

NPU-F voted not to support the alcohol license application for a change of agent at Platinum, 1905 Piedmont Road (between Cheshire Bridge Road and I-85)

Music Midtown (MM) is scheduled to occur in Piedmont Park on September 20 and 21.  The sponsors are working out details related to COVID with the city and its health officials.  NPU-F voted to support this event conditioned on its approval by Grady High School and its PTA, the bicycling community, and the Midtown neighborhoods.  MM representatives will meet regularly with the Chairs of NPU-F and E (Ansley Park) to address concerns.  The MM rep will report again to NPU-F at its May meeting on progress that has been made by that time in planning for the event.  

Winter Garden Update

Winter Garden Update
Get Your Bloomers and Pollinators Ready!

Georgia Pollinator Plants of the Year, led by the State Botanical Garden of Georgia, this year began recognizing four top-performing landscape plants that support pollinators. The selections are guided by a committee of entomologists, horticulturists, green industry professionals, and plant conservationists in order to promote species that look stunning in the garden and provide high ecological value.

The winning plants fall into the following four categories: Spring Bloomer, Summer Bloomer, Fall Bloomer and Georgia Native. Start your pollinator garden by including these four winning plants in your garden to ensure that pollinators are provided nectar and pollen throughout the growing season and that food is provided for the larval insect phase.

Spring Bloomer: Conradina (Conradina canescens) is a delightfully scented and fine-textured evergreen foliage. Plants look great trailing down a container and have a fantastic architectural growth habit. These bloom profusely in spring and support many native bees.

Summer Bloomer: Sweet Pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia) produces intoxicatingly fragrant flowers in the summer when most other plants have stopped blooming. It provides nectar for a variety of pollinators and birds, and other animals feed on the seeds in fall and winter.

Fall Bloomer: Downy Goldenrod (Solidago petiolaris) is an excellent plant for supporting pollinators such as bees, wasps and at least 112 species of butterflies and moths.

Georgia Native: Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) has striking orange flowers; few other plants have such a bright orange color. It is excellent for sunny borders, meadows and containers. This plant is the larval host plant for Monarch Butterfly and Milkweed Tussock Moth and a nectar source for bees, butterflies and hummingbirds

To learn more about the program, and to nominate your favorite pollinator plants, visit https://botgarden.uga.edu/conservation-science/pollinator-plant-program/

NPU-F Report February 2021

NPU-F Report
February 15, 2021

Atlanta City Council: The will hold work sessions on the three following topics: Short-Term Rentals, Revisions to the Tree Ordinance, and Atlanta BeltLine challenges.

Atlanta Police Department (APD): Captain Theocy Williams has replaced Captain Singh as the assistant commander for APD Zone 2, which covers Lindridge-Martin Manor. Capt. Singh has been promoted to major and is in charge of the Community Oriented Policing Section (COPS).

APD Licensing and Permits Division (LP&D): The officers in charge of license and permit enforcement are putting together the second “due cause” case against Girls Galore, LLC, D/B/A Allure Gentleman’s Club at 2284 Cheshire Bridge Rd NE. The citation is based on the club being open on New Years Eve (Dec. 31, 2020 - Jan. 1, 2021 ) after being served with an order to close for seven days. L&PD also stated it is conducting an investigation of The Man Cave Lounge, 2139 Liddell Drive.

Policing Alternatives and Diversion (PAD) Initiative: Moki Mocias is executive director of the PAD Initiative in the City of Atlanta to intervene with people experiencing mental health challenges who may also be experiencing homelessness and who are not presenting a public safety issue for police or emergency officials. It was recently featured in the AJC. Once notified through a call to 311, a two-person team can be assigned to a case and arrive on the scene within 30 minutes to work with the individual experiencing a challenge. Transport, case management, and shelter may be offered. This initiative focuses on APD Zone 5 and 6 first, and then may move into the other parts of the city; a call to 311 will spark a response. (NOTE: Lindridge-Martin Manor is in APD Zone 2 - not currently in the PAD coverage area.)

Atlanta Fire Department (AFD): There is a new commander, Chief Roderick Smith. Also, they’re training personnel to administer COVID vaccine.

Department of Public Works (DPW): Amended and updated sanitation pick-up schedule implemented as of February 15 for 90 days; garbage (green can) will be picked up weekly; recycling (blue can) and lawn trimmings on alternate weeks, so Feb. 15 blue can, Feb. 22 lawn trimmings, March 1 blue can, March 8 lawn trimmings, etc.

Council Member Michael Bond: Alcohol Technical Advisory Group (ATAG) being formed to address the liquor licensing process. Each at-large council post may select four representatives. Contact Bond’s office if you are interested in serving.

Stacy Evans (State District 57 Representative): S.B.10 introduced to address street racing issue:

The bill imposes increased penalties for racing, elevating laying drag and street racing a "high and aggravated misdemeanor." A first offense would impose a mandatory $1,000 fine and six points on the offender’s drivers license (15 points within two years leads to a suspended driver's license). The highest penalty is a $2,500 fine and impounding the car at the driver’s expense until the legal case is resolved. It would also make it a misdemeanor to promote, advertise, or attend a drag race or street race. Additionally, high-performance vehicles, with or modified to have 650 horsepower or more, would require special license plates.

From Rep.Evans: “We certainly have a street racing problem in our neighborhoods, but I am not sure creating yet another crime on our books is the best way to deal with the situation. I've been working with other legislators and the Prosecuting Attorneys Council to make better use of existing laws to address street racing. Stay tuned.”

Legislation that passed in 2018 providing seniors with an additional $20,000 homestead exemption and limiting the annual tax assessment in Fulton County and the city of Atlanta continues indefinitely. If you turn 65 this year, make sure that you sign up with the county for the special exemption.

Office of Housing and Community Development; Carline Rodriquez; Report on Atlanta City Design Housing; go to bit.ly/acdhousing or send an email to housing@atlantaga.gov for more information

Department of Watershed Management (DWM); presentation about the North Fork Peachtree Creek Wastewater Diversion Project; part of the Clean Water Atlanta Program in compliance with several consent decrees issued in the early 2000s; will provide a wastewater collection system to prevent overflows of wastewater during heavy rain events; captures stormwater so it does not get into and overtax the sewer system; main facility will be located on GDOT triangle (I-85, SR400, Sidney Marcus Boulevard); secondary, diversion structure will be built on GDOT land, Cheshire Farm Trail (CFT); DWM has been consulting with the South Fork Conservancy about this project; the trail will be closed for approximately 2 years (2022-2024) but many trail improvements will incorporated into the design of the facility

Check out this link for a more detailed discussion.

Zoning/Legislation affecting Lindridge - Martin Manor:

V-20-139: At 2459 Elizabeth Ann Lane; this application had been deferred several times, applicant withdrawing the application; will proceed with improvements within existing setbacks; will require a building permit; NPU-F voted to “deny without prejudice” an action taken when an application is withdrawn

Proposed Ordinance 20-O-1656; addresses the regulation and taxation of Short-Term Rentals within the the city of Atlanta; there will be a work session by the Community Development/Human Services Committee of the Council on March 1, 2021 from 1pm to 3pm; NPU-F regarded this amended ordinance as a great improvement over the original legislation introduced in the summer of 2020; however NPU-F noted the need for neighborhood notice of certified STRs; and the need of adequate resources within the APD and the Department of City Planning to administer and enforce the provisions of the ordinance.