Brookhaven Reporter - December 2020

Page 1

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DECEMBER 2020• VOL. 12 — NO. 12

Brookhaven Reporter

BY THE NUMBERS

Mapping Biden’s win in local communities P11

City withdraws tax break for Dresden Village

BY HOLLY R. PRICE AND JOHN RUCH

“It is truly transformational,” said Ayana, who oversaw implementation of the drone team. “We expect it to be very busy.”

A controversial Brookhaven development and its tax break are a no-go at this point, the city has announced. The city announced Nov. 18 that it is withdrawing a court petition for a tax break involving Dresden Village, a mixed-use plan on a 4-acre lot on Dresden Drive near Caldwell Road. The project is no longer “viable” for Connolly Investment & Development, according to a statement from city spokesperson Burke Brennan. J.R. Connolly II, the CEO of Connolly Investment, said the company intends to make unspecified changes to the plan and reintroduce it later. The company could not amend the current tax abatement application and so had to withdraw entirely, he said. “The city of Brookhaven and the Development Authority are disappointed about the loss of a quality redevelopment that augments and completes the Dresden corridor,” Brennan said in the statement. “The future revenues from this project would have positively benefited the city, county, and school board, while enhancing the corridor’s walkability, connection to transit at the Brookhaven-Oglethorpe MARTA Station, and ultimately the City Centre master plan area.” “To clarify the city’s comments, we wanted to retool the project to really reflect what is going on in the world today,” Connolly said in a phone interview. “In order to make the project changes that we wanted to make, there was a technicality, if you will, that we can’t amend our request for validation. We basically have to withdraw the validation without precedent. … Once we are ready, we will come back.” Asked whether political opposition to the project’s tax break from DeKalb County government and local residents played a role in the decision to withdraw, Connolly said, “You know, no, it really doesn’t.” The halt to the tax break was welcomed by officials and residents who opposed it. “Right now, I’m just glad the abatement is off the table,” said DeKalb County Commissioner Jeff Rader, who represents part of Brookhaven, of the withdrawal of the deal. Ricardo Kamenetzky, who represented

See POLICE on page 9

See CITY on page 22

Holiday Events P5 ROBIN’S NEST

A thankful farewell to readers P13

WORTH KNOWING

CAC leader’s legacy of helping others

A site plan of the Dresden Village proposal.

SPECIAL

Police drone program flies into uncharted territory BY MATT BRUCE

P20

The Brookhaven Reporter is mail delivered to homes on selected carrier routes in ZIP 30319 For information: delivery@reporternewspapers.net

The Brookhaven Police Department is launching itself into a new world of drone policing, with the aerial robots set to respond to 911 calls in a program officials say will save time and money. But that also means flying into uncharted territory of legal and ethical implications, as experts say there are no national standards for police drones.

The department has purchased four drones and plans to begin using them to respond to calls in early 2021. According to Brookhaven Lt. Abrem Ayana, it’s the first full-throttle drone response program of its kind outside the state of California.

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