Residents of the Midway Woods neighborhood met with DeKalb County Commissioner Ted Terry earlier this year, at which point, During that call, Commissioner Terry mentioned that he wanted to set up a planning call to start working with neighbors interested in working with his office, specifically on the Unified Development Plan that the county was working on.
That follow-up meeting occurred on Monday, October 11 via Zoom.
Here’s a recap of what we heard and what came out of that meeting:
A few updates related to the Midway Woods area were shared to kick things off:
- A CHaRM (Center for Hard to Recycle Materials) facility has been approved for behind Belvedere Plaza, off Memorial Drive. Check out https://livethrive.org/charm/ for information on Atlanta’s CHaRM facility.
- There is additional space at Belvedere Plaza that can be put to additional use. Under consideration is a community garden, perhaps as a source for produce for the Fresh-on-DEK mobile farmer’s market program that brings fresh produce to food deserts throughout Dekalb County. (See https://extension.uga.edu/county-offices/dekalb/fresh-on-dek.html for more information.)
- Related programs already underway in Dekalb County include the Edible Libraries initiative (https://www.rootsdownga.com/edible-libraries), where a pilot program has been started at the Clarksdale Public Library, and a community gardens program in place at Clarkdale High School.
UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT PLAN UPDATE
We received an update on the Dekalb County Unified Development Plan. The county’s 2050 Unified Plan will combine two of the County’s long-range plans into one: a Comprehensive Transportation Plan that identifies priority transportation projects and policy recommendations and a Comprehensive Land Use Plan that establishes the framework for future growth and development.
Sylvia Smith, DeKalb County Project Manager, along with other county staffers presented an overview of that plan and how it is coming together. County officials will use that plan to assess proposals and determine priorities for projects, so it’s important for our neighborhood and its collective priorities be reflected in that plan.
The good news is that the county is still collecting and analyzing feedback on that plan. The first round of public meetings collecting feedback on that plan have already transpired, but it’s not too late for us to make our voices known and to provide feedback and comments.
https://dekalb2050unifiedplan.com/ is where information on the plan can be found, and where the latest developments will be posted. Thoughts as to what should be included in the plan can be emailed to 2050unifiedplan@dekalbcountyga.gov.
What sort of comments is the county looking for?
Cedric Hudson with the county, said, “We are still in the information-gathering stage, so if you have comments, feedback or requests from citizens, send an email to the Unified Plan.”
Dekalb County’s Davis Fox said, “Be as detailed as possible. If you’re looking at how trails might be connected to other trails throughout the region, let us know. Nothing is too big or too small. If there is something that has been bothering you for 10 years, mention it. The plan will have details that will help the county make decisions moving forward.”
Ted Terry added, “I encourage associations to use this as an opportunity to come together — and determine what are our priorities as a neighborhood? Don’t be afraid to say things like, ‘I’d love you to fix the sidewalks here.’ Getting these needs documented helps with government planning and priorities.”
SMALL AREA PLANS
The Unified Development Plan helps set priorities for the entire county, but a Small Area Plan is one way to plan and set priorities for a smaller area. Said Commissioner Terry, “The Unified Plan is a good north star. A Small Area Plan allows you to get together and see what you want to see in terms of a smaller area.”
Small Area Plan studies have been conducted to help guide development and planning for the intersection of Glenwood and Columbia, as well as the Memorial Drive corridor northeast of our neighborhood, from I-285 to Ponce de Leon Avenue. Those plans include guidance for commercial redevelopment, road diets and lane reductions, recommendations for trails and other usage.
More information (and links to previous Small Area Plans) can be found at https://www.dekalbcountyga.gov/planning-and-sustainability/long-range-small-area-plans-and-studies.
“The predominant purpose of county commissioners is to oversee land use and zoning. And things like the Unified Development Plan and Small Area Plans provide direction so that the county commissions can craft zoning to help those visions actually happen.”
HOW TO GET A SMALL AREA PLAN ENACTED
Commissioner Terry suggested reaching out to his office as well as the offices of his fellow commissioners Steve Bradshaw, Larry Johnson and Lorraine Cochran-Johnson. “Email all four of us,” he said. “Don’t be afraid to ask. Encourage others to speak. The area involved in a Small Area Plan can be as small or as large as you want. Work with the Belvedere Park Association and others to get that going.”
Brian Brewer with the county posted a link to the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Community Development Assistance Program, noting “There are some helpful regional goals to consider advocating around for your area.” https://atlantaregional.org/community-development-assistance-program
The Community Development Assistance Program (CDAP) provides planning assistance to local governments, CIDs, & non-profits across the metro Atlanta region to undertake local planning activities that advance the goals of the Atlanta Region’s Plan. In short, CDAP matches technical planning help and expertise with projects in communities who need it.
Some of the areas of our neighborhood that were discussed during the meeting for which some of the above efforts might be helpful.
- Memorial Drive between Line Street and Columbia Drive. Drag-racing along that part of Memorial and the noise it brings with it is one concern mentioned. Conducting a study create a database of noise levels on Memorial Drive, as well as a study of traffic patterns are a couple of things a Small Area Plan might encapsulate. https://www.dekalbcountyga.gov/planning-and-sustainability/memorial-drive-tool-box has some more information about plans for Memorial Drive that may help our efforts here.
- County Sewage capacity. Three is actually a Capital Improvement Plan in place and an agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency that outlines $2 billion worth of exhaustive repairs that are in the works and scheduled to be completed over the course of the next 10 years. Commissioner Terry added “As more sewer capacity is opened up around key sewage lines, that means that other development can be opened up. And that will affect the ability or certain (development) projects to move forward.”
- Trails and community connectivity. The DeKalb County SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) is a one-cent sales tax that has been enacted to provide funding exclusively for capital projects – roads, buildings, vehicles and major equipment, and other long-lived improvements. The idea of enacting an E-SPLOST was brought up, to help target funds for environmental projects.
Commissioner Ted: “We CAN do trails on sewer easements. It IS possible. Take Big Creek Greenway for example — that’s only 40 minutes away — half of that trail is on the county sewer easement. We can do an environmental SPLOST. That plan could include solar improvements and a host of things. In 2001 and 2006, there were park and green space easement programs put in place and the money there was used to buy land to build and develop parks. Pretty sure there were some trails acquired there. It’s important to get people to raise their hands to get those programs included, to put a parks and greenspace initiate on the ballot. Those efforts could fund stream easement, or solar, or could buy land to keep it undeveloped (we need to do that for storm water).
NEXT STEPS:
As individuals, we can all find out more about the Unified Development Plan and provide our comments and ideas for what it should include to the county by:
- Emailing the county at 2050unifiedplan@dekalbcountyga.gov
- Leaving a comment on the website: https://dekalb2050unifiedplan.com/
A new Midway Woods Association board is about to be elected and once that board is in place, we will meet to discuss how we could help gather neighborhood opinions and priorities and see how best to communicate and work with the county on those priorities. If you have ideas or thoughts about what you’d like to see us tackle or look into, email us at midwaywoodscommunications@gmail.com with your ideas and suggestions.
MORE DOCS AND LINKS
A recap of the June meeting with Commissioner Terry that kicked all this off: