Sandy Springs Reporter www.ReporterNewspapers.net
Inside
It’s in the cards
A smoother ride Work slated for Morgan Falls Road COMMUNITY 5
On the plus side Apartments can be beneficial COMMENTARY 6
MAY 15 — MAY 28, 2015 • VOL. 9 — NO. 10
Sharing the good times
MAKING A DIFFERENCE 8-9
Mount Vernon, Spalding construction work causing frustration BY ELLEN ELDRIDGE
elleneldridge@reporternewspapers.net
Gaytha Burg directs traffic along the 1800 block of Mount Vernon Road in Dunwoody, taking in the comments from motorists. “You have no idea what you’re doing,” one man yells out his open window. On an 83-degree day, Burg keeps her cool, mumbling something about traffic having to stop so the truck can move the pipe. DeKalb County is in the process of replacing a water main along Mount Vernon, but the construction and road delays don’t stop there. As soon as the county finishes its work, the city plans to start paving. But Dunwoody drivers aren’t the only ones who might want to seriously consider alternate routes to Mount Vernon Road
PHOTOS BY PHIL MOSIER
Above, Leigh Tyson, center, enjoys her evening at the first “Concerts by the Springs” event of the season at Heritage Green on May 10. Right, J.J. McKee and Lulu Piccirillo, 6, take in the sounds of the Douglas Cameron Orchestra, who performed Big Band music.
SEE CONSTRUCTION, PAGE 20
City reviewing policy that results in ‘sidewalks to nowhere’ BY HOLLY ROBERSON
Jody Novotny and her husband want to construct a new home in Glenridge Forest, but city policy says they must also build a sidewalk.
holly@reporternewspapers.net
Jody Novotny and her husband want to knock down a house in the Glenridge Forest neighborhood and build a new one. It will cost them $13,500 to put a sidewalk in front of it, as required by the city, according to Novotny. “I don’t think we need a sidewalk in front of every house,” Novotny said. None of the other homes in the cul-de-sac have sidewalks, or in the neighborhood for that matter, she said. A relatively new policy in Sandy Springs is running into opposition due to its cost and what city officials called a “one size fits all” mentality
that could result in “sidewalks to nowhere.” New development and redevelopments in Sandy Springs are required to construct sidewalks along road frontage. If a homeowner or contractor must obtain a building permit, he or she has to build a sidewalk. A waiver is possible, but only due to drainage or topographical hardships. “We need to change this and we need to change this right away,” Councilman Andy Bauman said during a May 5 City Council meeting. Council members decided to delay a decision on changes to the ordinance. They told city staff members to research changes and to propose
HOLLY ROBERSON
SEE THINKING, PAGE 19
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