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Buckhead Reporter
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Word on the street Residents talk holiday shopping COMMENTARY 6
Catching up: BCN
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Most Buckhead residents included COMMUNITY 19
DEC. 12 — DEC. 25, 2014 • VOL. 8 — NO. 25
Candles and carols
MAKING A DIFFERENCE 10-11
NPU votes against Fuqua’s proposal, but city committee approves it BY COLLIN KELLEY
A candle-lighting ceremony was part of Peachtree Road United Methodist Church’s Carols by Candlelight service on Dec. 7. Here, Sean Kelly and niece Kate Calhoun share the light of their two candles. The service also included lessons and sing-along caroling that highlight the Christmas season. See more photos on page 20.
PHIL MOSIER
A developer’s latest plan to build a grocery store on Lindbergh Drive is meeting neighborhood opposition, but has won approval from a City Council committee. Buckhead’s Neighborhood Planning Unit-B voted 17-to-8 on Dec. 2 to oppose a request by Fuqua Development to rezone 13 acres between Morosgo and Lindbergh drives for a mixed-use development. But on Dec. 9, the Atlanta City Council Community Development Committee voted to approve the plan. The request is expected to be considered by Atlanta City Council in January. Fuqua wants to build an 82,000-squarefoot Kroger supermarket in partnership with Greystar Development, which would build more than 190 apartments. Some of SEE NPU, PAGE 20
Proposed North Buckhead plan will be ready for city review soon BY JOE EARLE
joeearle@reporternewspapers.net
Joey Wilkinson liked much of what he saw when the North Buckhead Civic Association’s consultants unveiled a draft of their proposed plans for his neighborhood’s future transportation, parks and land use. “There’re definitely some ideas I like,” Wilkinson said, holding a bicycle helmet beneath his arm as he looked over one of the easel-mounted maps shown to association members Dec. 4. “I think it’s ambitious.” Planners working with the neighborhood group are drafting a proposed community plan for the neighborhood to adopt and then present to city of Atlanta officials in January. City officials will then look over and solicit comment on the proposals, which are scheduled to go to Atlanta City Council for formal consideration next March, said Caleb Racicot, who works
with consultants TSW. The plan was developed through a series of public meetings and after discussions with neighborhood groups, planners said. “We have made our best effort to respond to the wide variety of opinions we have heard [about what should be included in the plan],” Racicot told about 40 residents who attended the final plan presentation at St. James United Methodist Church. The draft proposal called for adding sidewalks, bike lanes and new crosswalks to some streets; developing new trails in the area; encouraging a mix of types of development along Roswell Road; and maintaining the single-family character of the overall neighborhood. “I like the pedestrian-friendly improvements,” resident Ted SEE RESIDENTS, PAGE 4
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Peter Rogers reviews proposals for a new transportation plan for the North Buckhead neighborhood.
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