Sandy Springs Reporter
Inside
Fast, then feast Muslims celebrate Ramadan FAITH 6
Knee high
www.ReporterNewspapers.net
JULY 10 — JULY 23, 2015 • VOL. 9 — NO. 14
Head for the Hills
Tall, weedy lawns bring fines PUBLIC SAFETY 26
Oh, say can you see...me
PAGES 10-17
Council exempts some new homes from sidewalk policy BY JOHN RUCH
PHIL MOSIER
Alexander Mesquita, 3, dances to the music of the band “Shiloh,” during the city’s fireworks celebration on the Concourse Corporate Center Lawn July 5. The crowd was encourged to sit back, enjoy a picnic and live music, then wait for the skies to illuminate in a blaze of color. See additional photos on page 5.
Many single-family homebuilders will be exempt from a requirement to create sidewalks on their property, Sandy Springs City Council decided July 7. That’s an “interim step” while the council continues to revise its controversial sidewalk policy, with a final update expected within four weeks. “I think this is a good step,” Councilman Tibby DeJulio said before the council unanimously approved the policy change. Under previous rules, any project requiring a building permit was required to install a sidewalk on the property’s street frontage, if one did not already exist. It also has an alternative option to pay into a sidewalk construction fund instead. Now people building or renovating a single-family home will be exempt—with one big exception. Single-family projects within the city’s Sidewalk Master Plan area—mostly along major roadways—must still create sidewalks. Last year, the council heard growing public concern that the sidewalk requirement was slamming residents with sidewalk costs that could run north of $10,000. And the policy could result in “sidewalks to nowhere”—disconnected sections that will never link up. The council has spent months wrangling over the topic with no concrete results. At the June 16 council meeting, Mayor Rusty Paul SEE COUNCIL, PAGE 25
Nightclub appeals city’s denial of license BY JOHN RUCH The Taboo 2 Bistro and Bar is asking a court to overturn the city’s latest denial of its alcohol license application. In denying Sunita T. Smith’s application as license-holder at a fiery meeting on June 16, members of Sandy Springs City Council expressed concerns that she was a straw applicant on behalf of a former owner recently convicted of bribery. DeWayne Martin, Smith’s attorney, denied that claim at the meeting and said the council was making decisions based on irrelevant issues. “Taboo 2 Bistro has appealed the Sandy Springs City Council’s denial of Ms. Smith’s alcohol license application to the Fulton County Superior Court,” Martin later said in an email. “Taboo 2 Bistro will remain open and can sell alcohol during the appeal process.” This is the latest application controversy at the 6075 Roswell
Road nightclub in the wake of a fatal shooting in its parking lot last August. Meanwhile, the club is in a reorganization bankruptcy and, according to court papers, is contesting two federal employment lawsuits alleging wage violations and sex discrimination. After last year’s fatal shooting, the club temporarily changed its name to Taboo 3000, and a man named Kenneth Durden applied to become its alcohol-license holder. City Council eventually denied his application, expressing concern that he did not live locally. The company that owned the club, Sirdah Enterprises, Inc., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March of this year, according to court documents. The company’s bankruptcy attorney, Leonard Medley, referred questions to Martin and did not reSEE TABOO 2, PAGE 28
Where are you? What MARTA station features this public artwork? See more on pages 20-21, with answers on page 24.