Sandy Springs Reporter www.ReporterNewspapers.net
SEPT. 18 — OCT. 1, 2015 • VOL. 9 — NO. 19
Inside
Fall Education Guide
In good hands
Barber not just about hair MAKING A DIFFERENCE 4
Electric avenue Inventor creates cycle COMMUNITY 8
So glad I’m here
Pages 11-27
City Council wrestles with sidewalk changes and funding BY JOHN RUCH
johnruch@reporternewspapers.net
PHIL MOSIER
Elaine Waidelich, center, shares a laugh with her two grandchildren, Henry Waidelich, 5, left, and Knoxie Burson, 8, during the final “Concerts by the Springs” featuring fan favorite Banks and Shane on Sept 6. The band entertained well into the evening in front of a large crowd. See additional photos on page 38.
City Council frequently wrestles with methods to expand the city’s sidewalk network, and its Sept. 15 meeting brought another bout. The council approved a new buy-out formula for homeowners who are required to build sidewalks, but split in a contentious vote over funding a long-demanded Brandon Mill Road sidewalk. For months the council has wrangled with its controversial sidewalk creation policy, which had been sticking some homeowners with added costs that can reach more than $10,000. The council previously changed the policy to exempt single-family houses not on the city’s Sidewalk Master Plan streets, as well as renovations and accessory-use projects. At the Sept. 15 meeting, the council approved a final change: a payment in lieu of building a required sidewalk. Assistant City Manager Jim Tolbert said the buy-out will be allowed if a city sidewalk project is already planned for the area, or if the property owner faces a “special hardship” that would make the sidewalk difficult. The buy-out amount will be $100 per linear foot of sidewalk. Tolbert said that SEE CITY COUNCIL, PAGE 31
City Center to get new name, logo and up to $222 million in bonds BY JOHN RUCH
johnruch@reporternewspapers.net
Sandy Springs City Center redevelopment is getting a new name, a new logo and up to $222 million in revenue bonds to pay for it all. The name and logo were to be unveiled during a public ceremony at the construction site at Roswell Road, Johnson Ferry Road and Mount Vernon Highway on Sept. 20, after the close of the annual Sandy Springs Festival on nearby Heritage Green. The $220 million, public-private redevelopment will include a new City Hall, apartments, commercial space, and concert and theater halls. When it is finished in late 2017, it is expected to anchor a downtown district that city officials believe will unify the city. “Sandy Springs is a wonderful collection of neighborhoods,” Mayor Rusty Paul said in an email. “Community is happening within these cul-de-sacs. You see a couple of neighbors connecting as they walk their dogs or collect the mail, and pretty soon, it’s a neighborhood gettogether. We want to create that camaraderie on a larger scale. “This project will do that. This development will create the community’s neighborhood,” SEE CITY CENTER, PAGE 6
The city released a rendering of what the performing arts center will look like.
SPECIAL