DEC. 23, 2016 - JAN. 5, 2017 • VOL. 10 — NO. 26
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► Bike/pedestrian tunnels suggested for I-285/ Ga. 400 rebuild project PAGE 8 ► Local leaders offer their forecasts for 2017 PAGE 18
2016
YEAR IN REVIEW
GIFTS, DECOR MAKE MEMORIES | P20
City will pay auto shop to move for park and roundabouts BY JOHN RUCH johnruch@reporternewspapers.net
The city of will pay an auto shop’s $73,600 cost to move from the Johnson Ferry Road/Mount Vernon Highway triangle to make way for roundabouts and a new park. Meanwhile, the city is in the midst of a legal effort to take the triangle land by condemnation. The relocation “settlement” with Magic Mike’s Automotive—which maintains the city’s police car fleet, among other work— was approved by the City Council Dec. 20 following a discussion in executive session. Magic Mike’s is the successor to the former Eddie’s Automotive, which first opened in the 260 Mount Vernon Highway spot in 1972. According to employee John Pavlosky, Magic Mike’s is moving to a former Midas shop location at 6560B Roswell Road, with an opening scheduled for Jan. 2. The Mount Vernon Highway location reSee CITY on page 3
Tech start-up center to open in 2017 BY JOHN RUCH johnruch@reporternewspapers.net
F O R MO R E O F T H E Y EA R ’ S BEST PH OTOS, SE E PAG E 12
The Sandy Springs Technology and Innovation Center, a long-planned effort from the Sandy Springs Perimeter Chamber of Commerce to boost tech start-up businesses and attract corporations, will open in early 2017 in the Northpark Town Center towers, the chamber has announced. “The Innovation and Technology Center will visibly demonstrate Sandy Springs’ commitment to the technology industry,” Chamber Chairman Lever Stewart said in a press release. “We want these companies, both established and start-ups, to think of See TECH on page 10
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German grocer reportedly changing designs to speed local openings BY JOHN RUCH johnruch@reporternewspapers.net
The German discount grocer Lidl has agreed to improve its standard store design in Sandy Springs as part of its entry into the U.S. market, according to Trisha Thompson, the president of the Sandy Springs Council of Neighborhoods. Lidl still won’t confirm or deny that it is the unnamed grocer that Stream Realty Partners wants to bring to two Roswell Road locations. But Thompson said that she met in October with Lidl and Stream representatives about store designs. The companies agreed to hire the architecture firm DPZ to redesign the standard big-box look, Thompson said. “They’re bending over backwards to give the community a better product,” Thompson said of Stream. “They are trying wildly.” The meeting, Thompson said, was held to address Council of Neighborhoods concerns about stores at the North River Shopping Center at 8877 Roswell Road and the old Marshall’s Plaza at 6337 Roswell. Those concerns are that Lidl (pronounced “lee-dil”) will bring an unwanted big-box look and lower-quality retail and also that the city planning staff is suggesting a zoning change specifically to help the grocery chain. Jack Arnold, Stream’s manager of retail projects, declined to comment. He has previously said the company is contractually bound not to disclose the grocer’s identity. However, Stream’s site plan for North River is very similar to Lidl’s ideal store layout and size. DPZ did not respond to a phone call and email seeking comment. Will Harwood of Lidl US would not comment directly on any meetings or store plans beyond the company’s general intent to open stores in Georgia. More broadly, he said the company has a standard store model and sells quality goods. “Our preferred build is a stand-alone, 36,000-square-foot store, and we’ve worked with some of the best architects to design an attractive and convenient store,” Harwood said. “We are fully committed to delivering the highest quality goods to our customers at outstanding prices, and are confident Lidl will make a great shopping destination for customers in the area.”
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Lidl and discount grocery competitor Aldi, also based in Germany, are pushing to expand internationally. The Marshall’s Plaza site is directly across the street from an existing Aldi. The Marshall’s site is in a special zoning district that limits retail uses to 30,000 square feet and encourages pedestrian-oriented design. Earlier this year, city staff members proposed a zoning text amendment to allow up to 40,000 square feet, without mentioning any specific stores or other reason. That proposed change has gone before the City Council and Planning Commission several times since then, but been repeatedly withdrawn. Thompson said her organization “pushed back on that like crazy.” The concern is that the proposed change is designed to suit one business and “will just open the door for other big-box stores” in the city’s downtown, she said. City spokesperson Sharon Kraun said the proposed zoning change “has been placed on hold at the request of the City Council.” She said the city has no comment on the grocery concept as no formal plans have been filed. Thompson, whose group is a coalition of citywide neighborhood associations, said a particular concern in the city’s north end is what sort of Lidl they might get. Some media reports suggest Lidl is planning a higher-end version for the U.S. market. Thompson said local residents don’t want a lower-quality store or one that will undercut existing grocers like Kroger’s and Publix. “They don’t want a garbage-y, big-box discounter,” Thompson said. “And they also don’t want a store-killer up there … with their barracuda-in-a-koi-pond attitude.” Lidl US’s Harwood, speaking generally about the company’s nationwide plans, said “our markets will offer customers top-quality fresh meat, produce and bakery items, as well as a wide selection of household goods.” The local concerns led to the October meeting, Thompson said, where Stream was open to altering the store’s exterior looks. “They don’t control the Lidl. They don’t control what’s inside the box,” she said, but she praised the effort in getting a firm to rethink the exterior design.
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DEC. 23, 2016 - JAN. 5, 2017 ■ www.ReporterNewspapers.net
Police raid strip clubs, make solicitation arrests BY JOHN RUCH johnruch@reporternewspapers.net Sandy Springs Police raided three strip clubs on Dec. 14, charging three people with sexual solicitation and issuing a total of 34 citations for “physical contact” and unlicensed workers, according to a police statement. The city and the three clubs — Flashers, Main Stage/Coronet Club and Mardi Gras — have been in legal battles for more than a decade as officials say the clubs create crime. All three clubs have lawsuits or appeals pending against the city alleging violations of their constitutional rights. The Dec. 14 raids are described in a police press release as “compliance checks” that come from an investigation started in September “involving illegal activity taking place inside the clubs.” One arrest was made at each location on charges of “solicitation of an illegal sexual act,” according to the press release and Sandy Springs Police Capt. Mike Lindstrom. Under Sandy Springs city code, solicitation could mean prostitution, “sodomy for hire” or “masturbation for hire.” In addition, a total of 34 citations were issued to employees at the three clubs, according to the police statement. The statement did not provide any list of specific citations, but did cite three sections of city code that various employees were accused of violating. Those sections include a ban on strip-club customers having any physical contact with dancers’ bodies or clothes; a requirement that all employees have special work permits; and a ban on employing minors or anyone without those work permits. The Police Department did not respond to a request for more details about the citations.
Magic Mike’s Automotive at 260 Mount Vernon Highway.
FILE PHOTO
City will pay auto shop to move for park and roundabouts Continued from page 1 mains in business until then, he said. Pavlosky said the council’s decision to pay for the relocation is good news. He said moving an auto shop is a complex job and joked about the “parts and tools and bears, oh my!” A few other businesses located on the triangle already closed. The city wants the land for two projects. One is a park planned for the Roswell Road side of the triangle, facing the new City Springs town center. The other is a reconstruction of the Johnson Ferry/Mount Vernon intersection into dual roundabouts. The building housing Magic Mike’s became a sticking point in those plans. It dates to the 1960s and was considered historic by the state preservation office in a review required as part of the roundabouts project’s federal funding. That put the roundabouts on hold while the city SS
had to address ways to preserve or mitigate its planned demolition of the building. The city is now avoiding the historic designation issue by dropping the federal funding and instead paying for the project itself via a recently approved transportation special local option sales tax. Now the city needs to acquire triangle—consisting of four parcels—and has filed a condemnation order in court to take it, according to City Attorney Wendell Willard. The properties are owned by W.B. Holdings Triangle LLC, according to Fulton County records, and Willard identified its principal as Adam Orkin. A hearing with a court-appointed “special master” on the condemnation attempt is scheduled for late January, Willard said. Orkin is also the registered agent of the LLC that owns another property the city is attempting to take by eminent domain nearby at 170 Hilderbrand Drive.
According to WSB-TV, one of its reporters got to ride along with police on the unannounced raids. Cary Wiggins, an attorney representing Flashers and Mardi Gras in lawsuits against the city, declined to comment beyond saying he is “still trying to figure out what happened and why it happened.” Alan Begner, an attorney representing Main Stage/Coronet Club, did not respond to a phone message. City Attorney Wendell Willard said the police raids do not affect or involve the pending lawsuits and appeals. “The arrests are totally separate from the litigation,” Willard said in an email. “Work by city police found numerous criminal and city code violations. Any business operating in the city shall comply with the laws governing business operation and conduct of its employees. If they don’t, charges will be brought and they will answer to a judge.” Earlier this year, the city won a major lawsuit from Flashers, Mardi Gras and the adult bookstore Inserection that alleged new zoning rules essentially banned adult businesses from the city. That case is under appeal. The city won another recent adult-business lawsuit, in which Inserection challenged the city’s ban on selling sex toys, but the store is appealing that decision. Main Stage/Coronet Club has a lawsuit pending against the city, alleging the city is violating the club’s civil rights. Meanwhile, the city has a pending lawsuit of its own dating to 2011, where it alleges the clubs were involved in previous illegal activity. Also this year, the city established a new ordinance allowing certain businesses to be ruled “public nuisances” for repeated sexual activities violations, meaning the landowner could be punished, not just the business. Sandy Springs’ legal restrictions on strip clubs and adult bookstores have been organized and defended in court by Scott Bergthold, a Tennessee attorney specializing in such crackdowns on sexually oriented businesses. Several other local cities also have employed Bergthold, who was criticized this summer in anonymous mailers calling on the city to settle the strip club lawsuits. Jill Chambers, a former Dunwoody state representative who regularly advocates for the Doraville strip club Oasis at that city’s council meetings, said she designed those cards but did not mail them. Flashers and Main Stage/Coronet Club operate along Roswell Road, while Mardi Gras is located in the shopping center at Powers Ferry Road and New Northside Drive.
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Pavilion project on Pill Hill goes back to the drawing board BY ARIELLA PHILLIPS Plans for an urban-style, mixed-use development near the Medical Center MARTA station are on pause amid traffic concerns. The Sandy Springs Planning Commission on Dec. 15 unanimously approved the withdrawal of plans for the proposed Peachtree Dunwoody Pavilion redevelopment project. The developer, Simpson Organization, plans to reapply for permits in the summer, said Carl Westmoreland, lawyer for the developer. “We didn’t see it going forward,” Westmoreland said. Plans for the 20-acre site at the intersection of PeachtreeDunwoody Road and Lake Hearn Drive have been in the works since March. In recent months, the proposal to redevelop the office park on Pill Hill drew community support, but city staff expressed doubts about the plan having too many parking spaces and generating too much traffic. A traffic report completed in August recommended extensive changes
An illustration of the Peachtree Dunwoody Pavilion project presented at a March meeting.
to many nearby intersections. The commission recommended deferral of the project earlier this year. Since the plans have been withdrawn, zoning and traffic reports will have to be redone, if the developer chooses to reapply in the summer. Most notably, the traffic report rec-
ommended lanes be converted or built at Peachtree-Dunwoody Road and Johnson Ferry Road, Peachtree-Dunwoody Road and Lake Hearn Drive, and Peachtree-Dunwoody Road and Hammond Drive. Extra lanes to the I-285 exits on Peachtree-Dunwoody Road were also recommended.
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Totaling just over 1 million square feet, the large-scale plan would have had lower density than allowed under its current zoning, which helped the developers gain support from the Sandy Springs Council of Neighborhoods. The mixed-use development aimed to bring an urban feel to the area with a bike path and street-front shops and restaurants surrounding the lake. A hotel and a multi-family housing development would join existing office buildings in the Medical Center area. A hotel would have included over 300 rooms. The development would have had access to nearby Medical Center MARTA station. At a planning commission meeting in July, the developer announced many of the structures in the large-scale project would be getting even larger. A 9-story parking garage nearly doubled in the number of spaces. A multi-family housing development added 85 units. Three existing office buildings, totaling 340,000 square feet, will be renovated. The withdrawal was approved quickly, without public comment. The Buckhead-based developer owns many prominent local properties, including the office park where Sandy Springs City Hall rents space and the Sterling Pointe office complex in Dunwoody. The Pavilion is the second massive mixed-use project on that stretch of Peachtree-Dunwoody to gain community support only to withdraw after city planning staff objections. A similar plan for housing, restaurants and a hotel in the Concourse Center at Peachtree-Dunwoody and Hammond Drive was returned to the drawing board after city officials warned the apartment component likely would not be approved by City Council.
Community | 5
DEC. 23, 2016 - JAN. 5, 2017 ■ www.ReporterNewspapers.net
Latest dam inspection reports show minor issues BY JOHN RUCH johnruch@reporternewspapers.net
The latest state inspection reports for several “high-hazard” dams in the area appear to show only minor issues with their conditions. Gaps and long delays in issuing the reports also shows staffing challenges for the Safe Dams Program, the state agency that monitors dams. Some reports were only recently completed for inspections conducted in February; others are for inspections dating to May 2015, but only recently became available in state files. A few dams still don’t have reports available at all. The state keeps a database of dams and categorizes 11 local ones as “high-hazard,” meaning that if they failed, the resulting flood likely would kill people. There are 474 high-hazard dams in Georgia, many of them privately owned, which can make condition and repairs hard to track. No high-hazard dam in the state has failed since the 1990s, and the Safe Dams Program aims to keep it that way, but it has only 11 staff engineers to conduct inspections and issue reports. The local dams were inspected in two rounds of visits in early 2015 and early 2016. Only one report from those inspections was previously available, for Brookhaven’s Silver Lake Dam, which showed it to be in good condition. Reports recently provided by the Safe Dams Program did not include the findings for three dams: Capital City Country Club Lake in Buckhead; Murphey Candler Lake in Brookhaven; and Tera Lake in Sandy Springs. Safe Dams officials did not respond to requests for those reports. Tom Woosley, head of the Safe Dams Program, has previously said Tera Lake needs repair work. Also missing was a report for Dunwoody Club Crossing Dam in Dunwoody, but that may be because the owners are appealing its high-hazard classification, the Safe Dams Program previously said. The inspection reports are brief technical descriptions of the dams. They do not include an overall comment on a dam’s conditions or what work might need to be done on them. That information comes in a separate letter the Safe Dams Program issues to owners, and those letters are still in process for this year’s inspections, Woosley said. The reports also do not necessarily include all of the concerns that the Safe Dams Program may have. One example is Lake Forrest Dam, which runs beneath the 4600 block of Lake Forrest Drive on the Buckhead-Sandy Springs border. The inspection report notes some issues, such as trees growing atop the dam. But it does not go into details about the ongoing private inspections, jointly conducted by the cities of Atlanta and Sandy Springs, to investigate possible water leakage within the dam’s embank-
ment. That controversial and expensive effort, spearheaded by Sandy Springs, has gone on for years. The private inspections are expected to determine the fate of that dam sometime next year. Options range from dam repairs to building a retention pond upstream to breaching the embankment permanently to make it a culvert instead of a dam. Recent survey work for Lake Forrest inspections drew a complaint from Buckhead resident Todd Rinck, who said in an email to Sandy Springs city officials that a surveyor entered his property without permission. Sandy Springs City Attorney Wendell Willard said in an email that studying the
possible dam alternative “requires survey work within the vicinity of the lake and topography of surrounding and adjacent properties to the lake. This will be used to determine what effect the level of lake water will have on adjacent property, based upon the various alternatives.”
Safe Dams Program engineer Bobby Sauer inspects Powers Lake in Sandy Springs in February 2016.
JOHN RUCH
TH E F OL LOWING ARE WHAT THE L AT EST STATE REP ORTS SAY AB OUT S O ME O TH ER LO C AL H IGH -H AZARD DAMS .
Scott Candler reservoir, Dunwoody
May 2015: Some minor areas of erosion to address and some seepage to monitor. One area had a crushed culvert pipe and some debris blocking drains.
Cherokee Country Club, Sandy Springs February 2016: “Significant erosion” on part of one slope. Inspectors could not find the principal outlet for the dam, writing, “It may have been submerged or buried.”
Lake Northridge, Sandy Springs February 2016: “Significant erosion” on a side spillway, not the main one, and some seepage.
Peppertree Lake, Sandy Springs
Feb. 2016: Erosion in several places and “shallow sloughs” on both slopes. Continuing concerns about brush and trees encroaching on the waterway.
Powers Lake, Sandy Springs
February 2016: Minor seepage and some animal-type holes on the slope.
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Sandy Springs author releases her ‘ode to Georgia’ chicken cookbook BY JACLYN TURNER
er’s fried chicken and her other grandmother’s luncheon chicken specialties. Graubart says her interest in food stemmed from experimentation and no formal training. “The real nucleus of my passion was self-driven,” Graubart said. “My mother was not a good cook. She had limited cooking skills, and I would come home from school with a pound of ground meat thawing on the counter, and that was my signal to turn it into something for dinner— usually a meatloaf or spaghetti.” During her college years at the University of Georgia, the passion amplified when she was introduced to new flavors and foods and cooked for her friends. Upon graduating with a degree in journalism, Graubart went on to be an independent television producer at Georgia Public Television. In 1985, she helped get on the air a cooking show starring chef Nathalie
Dupree. “New Southern Cooking” was the first nationally Books appear to cram every inch of syndicated program to come wall space in cookbook author Cynthia out of the state of Georgia. It Graubart’s Sandy Springs home. Inalso was where Graubart realcluded in that collection are more than ly started to learn about cook4,000 cookbooks. They fill her home ing. office and living room. “I never knew that there Graubart uses these for was a technique to cooking,” inspiration, to learn othsaid Graubart. “I thought, oh ers techniques and for great, I don’t have to be a bad research. cook; there is a technique to While she already this I can learn!” may be able to call herWith two grown children, self an author, a cook, Graubart collaborated with an instructor, a mothDupree on the James Beard er, and a James Beard Award-winning cookbook award recipient, Grau“Mastering the Art of Southbart now can consider ern Cooking,” published in herself an authority on 2012. a food the world knows “The challenge for writand loves: chicken. ing recipes is writing a recThis household ipe as fool-proof as possimainstay held a special ble, so it can be duplicated place in her heart growby almost any cook in their ing up in Jacksonville, own home,” she said. “I keep SPECIAL Fla., she says. In the introduction to her in mind the challenges that Cynthia Graubart, author of “Chicken.” newest cookbook, “Chicken,” part of the all home cooks have such as “Savor the South” cookbook series pubtime, availability of ingredilished by University of North Carolina ents.” every occasion, with seven dedicated Press, she recalls discovering the differThe recipes in “Chicken” work for to mastering the Georgian mainstay ences in her country-cook grandmothof fried chicken, or what Graubart referred to as her “ode to Georgia.” All 53 of the book’s recipes were created and tested in her Sandy Springs home, in a basic kitchen. “I’m a home cook, writing for home cooks,” she said. Her cookbook provides recipes for everyday dishes and holiday roasts and explores subjects as varied as the history of the chicken to consumer information about the many ways to prepare it. “I wanted to introduce people to the many techniques of making chicken,” Graubart said. She sees her audience as two main groups of readers: the new cook trying to figure out life in the kitchen and those who don’t have time to cook and want to try new things in the kitchen. She says her favorite everyday recipe is “Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs and Sweet Potatoes” because it involves tossing everything onto a sheet pan. She also pointed out the “Country Captain” recipe, a curry dish that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt would eat when he visited Georgia. For the holiday season, Graubart From our Family to yours suggested more people experiment have a Happy Holiday Season more with fennel, and to add chicken thighs with fennel and lemon to our celebratory menus. “I give a lot of thought to special-occasion meals. I want the food to be apPlease call or come in to see how we can be of assistance for your loved ones. proachable and familiar, and as unforgettable as I can possibly make it,” 690 Mount Vernon Hwy. NE, Sandy Springs, GA 30328 Graubart said. “For the winter holidays, it’s usually a beef tenderloin and
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DEC. 23, 2016 - JAN. 5, 2017 ■ www.ReporterNewspapers.net
C H I C K EN TH I GH S WI TH F EN N EL AND LEM O N “There are practically no words to describe this dish,” wrote Cynthia Graubart in her cookbook. “The kitchen while it bakes is heavenly.” Makes 6-8 servings
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Ingredients: ¼ cup fresh lemon juice 2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard 2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon 1 tablespoon fennel seed 1 teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/3 cup olive oil 2 fennel bulbs, cut into 6 or 8 wedges each 8 bone-in, skin-on thighs 2 tablespoons light or dark brown sugar ½ cup dry white wine 2 lemons, thinly sliced 1 tablespoon chopped fennel fronds, optional
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Combine the lemon juice, mustard, tarragon, fennel seed, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Slowly whisk in the oil to emulsify the marinade. Transfer the marinade to a large resealable plastic bag. Add the fennel and chicken thighs, seal the bag, and turn to coat with the marinade. Refrigerator for at least 1 hour or overnight.
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When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 350°. Transfer the chicken to one or two large, shallow baking dishes or pans so the chicken rests in a single layer. Scatter the fennel wedges around the chicken. Pour the excess marinade evenly over the chicken. Stir together the sugar and wine in a small bowl and pour the mixture over the chicken. Arrange the lemon slices around the pan. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until the thickest part of a chicken thigh reaches 175° on an instant-read thermometer. Transfer the chicken and fennel to a serving platter. Tent with foil to keep warm. Pour the sauce from the baking dish(es) into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the sauce is reduced in volume by about half; pour it over the chicken. Top the finished dish with fennel fronds, if using, and serve hot.
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a leg of lamb, but I will also cook chicken.” At home, those holiday meals can include from six to 30 guests. But on a typical morning when both Graubart and her husband Cliff, owner of The Old New York Bookshop, are home together, they have established a routine that divides the kitchen labors. “Cliff is the master of breakfast,” said Graubart, praising his scrambled eggs. Graubart, her writing career in high gear, is always working on her next project. While keeping up her speaking engagements and cooking demonstrations, Graubart has two more cookbooks in the works. One offers recipes for Jewish interfaith families and particularly highlights holiday foods. She also is researching the history of community cookbooks for a book honoring the causes and important cultural contributions these books have made in Georgia “I don’t want them to go unnoticed or unappreciated in history,” she said. “There is so much we can learn about what people were eating across the decade, and I have thoroughly loved getting involved with the research.” “Chicken: A Savor the South Cookbook” (UNC Press, hardcover, $20) is available now at local retailers and Amazon.
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Tunnel, bike lanes suggested for I-285/Ga. 400 project
The rough plan for two tunnels (yellow arrows) and a side path (green arrow) in the forthcoming Abernathy Road/Ga. 400 diverging diamond interchange as shown on Joe Seconder’s Bike Walk Dunwoody blog page
BY JOHN RUCH johnruch@reporternewspapers.net
Advocates are pushing for better bicycle and pedestrian facilities on Sandy Springs streets altered by the upcoming I-285/Ga. 400 rebuild project—with at least bike lanes, and possibly bike/pedestrian tunnels under highway ramps on Abernathy Road.
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Joe Seconder of Georgia Bikes raised the tunnel idea in a Dec. 6 meeting with Georgia Department of Transportation officials — ncluding I-285/Ga. 400 project manager Butch Welch — and he says they were willing to think it over. It’s a big idea, but there is precedent in GDOT’s agreement to build part of the PATH400 multi-use trail through the in-
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terchange, also a request by Seconder’s set up, and Seconder says it can scare or group and other advocates. But the clock discourage cyclists and pedestrians. is ticking, as GDOT’s contractors are slated “We don’t see pedestrians walking to finalize the design of the project and to across Ashford-Dunwoody … It’s just not a start construction in February. friendly, inviting place,” Seconder said. “The idea is definitely, who has the priDallas isn’t as critical — “It’s OK,” he ority? What is the greater safety for everysays of the Ashford-Dunwoody interone?” said Seconder. change — but agrees that it can be diffiOfficials from GDOT and other organicult for first-time users to understand and zations involved in street planning, includlooks like it would take longer to cross than ing the Perimeter Center Improvement it does. Districts and the city of Sandy Springs, did A recent Reporter visit found a pedestrinot have comment on the proposals. an crossing at Ashford-Dunwoody to take While the I-285/Ga. 400 project is largeless than three minutes. Less attractive ly about those highways, it also affects were damaged street signs that indicated some city streets and its work actually will that cars frequently drive onto the pedesstart, in February, with two of them in Santrian islands that are part of the system. dy Springs. One Seconder is a reconstrucand Dallas said tion of the Mount their basic reVernon Highquest for the way bridge over Abernathy diGa. 400. The othamond is adder is reconstrucing 5-foot bike tion of the Aberlanes. That will nathy/Ga. 400 be safer for “exintersection into perienced” cya “diverging diclists, but could amond interstill discourage change,” where everyday comtraffic switches muters, SecondSPECIAL to the other side er said. The existing diverging diamond interchange at Ashford-Dunwoody Road and I-285 in of the road beLate in the Brookhaven and Dunwoody, from the Perimeter tween traffic sigDec. 6 meetCenter Improvement Districts website. nals to speed veing, Seconder hicle flow around highway ramps. tossed out a new idea he has seen in othDiverging diamonds are a relatively er states: tunnels under the Ga. 400 ramps new concept; an early local model, built in that would allow bikes and pedestrians to 2012, is the Ashford-Dunwoody Road/I-285 pass alongside the interchange instead of interchange between Brookhaven and taking the twisting path through it. He said Dunwoody. That Ashford-Dunwoody diGDOT officials did not dismiss the idea. verging diamond is on a bridge over the “They said, ‘Let us know. We got a highway; the Abernathy version will go becouple months,’” he said. neath a highway overpass. What they wanted to know about For two years, bike and pedestrian adwas cost and feasibility. Seconder said vocates have met with GDOT about better he got a rough estimate from the PATH accommodations on those streets. Joining Foundation, which funds multi-use Seconder in recent meetings was Bob Daltrails, for $7,000 per linear foot to build las, a Dunwoody resident who chairs the such tunnels, which would mean milAtlanta-based pedestrian advocacy group lions of dollars for two, 200-foot segPEDS. Seconder noted that GDOT has a ments under the ramps. “Complete Streets” policy requiring many But Seconder believes local corporanon-highway projects to accommodate all tions whose employees would benefit types of roadway users. from easier commuting via the nearby Seconder and Dallas said GDOT Sandy Springs MARTA Station might agreed to one basic request: 5-foot bike be willing to pony up funds. lanes on the Mount Vernon bridge. Dallas said the tunnels are an “intriguGDOT is considering a further request ing idea.” He cautioned that cost and right to separate the bike lane from vehicle of way could be major challenges. lanes with some type of amenity rangBut he also noted that all current Peing from reflective bumps to plantings rimeter Center planning is “very pedestrior a low curb, Dallas and Seconder said. an-focused,” and the I-285/Ga. 400 projects The Abernathy diverging diamond are“50-year improvements that will be here has bigger challenges. Seconder said the long past when we’re gone.” current plans lack any bike lanes and “The Abernathy interchange is a very have an unusual pedestrian crossing: key one,” Dallas said, noting that Mercedestwo separate lights to cross the ramps, Benz USA is building its new headquarters with pedestrians then walking on a mealong Abernathy in part due to that MARdian before making a double-crossing TA access. For that reason, “pedestrian and to exit again. The current Ashford-Duncycling improvements ought to be of the woody diverging diamond has the same highest order” in that area, he said.
Community | 9
DEC. 23, 2016 - JAN. 5, 2017 ■ www.ReporterNewspapers.net
johnruch@reporternewspapers.net
Three local residents have joined the ever-growing ranks of potential candidates for Tom Price’s Sixth Congressional District seat, which covers parts of Brookhaven, Dunwoody and Sandy Springs. They include a former state senator, a former mayoral candidate and a movie prop-maker. Price is nominated as president-elect Donald Trump’s secretary of Health and Human Services. His nomination still must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, and he has not yet resigned his Congressional office. But the possible race has drawn several candidates, with state Sen. Judson Hill (R-Marietta), whose district includes parts of Buckhead and Sandy Springs, as the first to formally announce and file paperwork.
Donnie Bolena
Donnie Bolena of Sandy Springs said he will run as a Trump-inspired conservative Christian Republican. He unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 2009. “I’m the outsider,” Bolena, 51, said in a phone interview. “I’m one of the people. I’m one of them. I’m not an elitist.” He cites a better, more competitive national health insurance market as a domestic priority, and fighting terrorism as the top global issue. DeSPECIAL scribing himself as a “deplorable” — Hillary ClinDonnie Bolena ton’s infamous insult for some Trump supporters — Bolena also uses Trump-style “hard language,” slurs and talk of beating up political opponents in his social media, which he said he would tone down if elected. Bolena is self-employed in trading stocks at his Sandy Springs home and sometimes does motivational speaking; he also sells self-published inspirational books with such titles as “Master Manipulator.”
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Alexander Hernandez
SPECIAL
Alexander Hernandez
Alexander Hernandez, a Dunwoody resident who works as a property crafts person in the film and TV industry, launched an exploratory committee for a potential run on Dec. 12. “I look forward to continuing to talk with my fellow Georgians to determine the best way we can meet challenges ahead,” said Hernandez, who would run as an independent, in a press release. Hernandez said he was born in Illinois and grew up in Indiana. He completed his studies in Florida where he received a bachelor of science in film. He moved to Dunwoody this year.
Ron Slotin
Ron Slotin, a former Democratic state senator in the 1990s, lives in Sandy Springs and works there as well in marketing for the staffing firmer BrightWell Talent Solutions. Slotin said he’s running to “improve the quality of life for people in the district,” including traffic, schools and environmental protection. In a press release, he used the campaign slogan, “Votin’ for Slotin–Fiscally Smart and Socially Progressive.” SPECIAL “On the national front, we need a progressive Ron Slotin voice in Washington who will fight to protect the progress we have made on many issues, including a woman’s right to choose; affordable healthcare coverage, including covering pre-existing conditions; protection of Social Security; and care for our growing number of senior citizens and marriage equality,” Slotin said in the release. “I will work to bring people together.”
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Three locals consider running for Price’s Congressional seat
10 | Community
“Knock, knock.” “Who’s there?” “God.” “God who?” Need you ask? Maybe it’s a good question. How well do we know God? Well enough to claim a personal relationship with Him? He knows every hair on our heads, yet how well do we know His purpose for us?
Want help answering these questions? Join us for Discovering Christ, a 7-session series with free dinner, talks and discussion, starting January 4, 2017.
Holy Spirit Catholic Church 4465 Northside Drive NW, Atlanta 30327
Visit www.hsccatl.com for info and to register.
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Tech start-up center to open in 2017 Continued from page 1 Sandy Springs as the ideal location for their businesses.” The 3,700-square-foot center will be a nonprofit managed by the chamber. The center’s own start-up funds, to the tune of $50,000, came from the Sandy Springs Development Authority, which approved a request in August. The authority is an independent economic development nonprofit with members appointed by the mayor, but is not a city department. City spokesperson Sharon Kraun said the city is “supportive” of the center’s concept, but will not be involved in its funding or operations. In an interview, Stewart said the Chamber intends for the center to be self-funding via memberships and corporate sponsorships. Several corporations are in talks for sponsorship deals, he said. In May, the chamber announced it was working on the idea of a technology center that could be a temporary home for startup tech companies as well as a space for educational seminars and a general marketing tool to attract businesses. The concept was based on the Alpharetta Innovation Center, which opened last year. The center has a variety of intended uses, according to the release, which calls the site “a gathering place for collaboration, research and social events… [that will] provide an out-of-the-office location for local employees to work, as well as innovators seeking to create start-up companies.” Stewart said that the exact ways these intended uses play out are still in development. One intent is to offer monthly memberships that individual entrepreneurs could buy to use workspace in the facility. Other ideas are to educate people about how to start a tech business and to promote Sandy Springs as a good place to open or relocate a technology company. One education element is essentially to offer a written list of instructions for looking up internet information, possibly with volunteers – or, down the road, paid staff members – offering assistance. “You liter-
ally have available in the innovation center instructions for how to go online … and find information you need,” Stewart said. The facility also could hold seminars or other training sessions. There are currently no plans for the center to have its own director, though that could be possible, depending on funding later, Stewart said. The chamber has been working with a former technology executive in organizing the center, Stewart said. He declined to identify that executive. Exactly how the center will showcase Sandy Springs as a tech-friendly city also remains to be seen, based partly on what major corporations may get involved. Stewart likened it to a “marketing booth” that may have some type of exhibit, as well as a “neutral ground” where representatives of major tech companies can meet and exchange ideas. In part, the idea is that center’s existence is a sort of advertisement. “I think it is accurate to say it’s a physical manifestation to demonstrate the attributes that Sandy Springs can provide in the way of innovation and technology,” Stewart said. The Sandy Springs center aims to open in January or February, though there is “no absolute commitment” to that timeframe, Stewart said. The Northpark space at Abernathy and Peachtree-Dunwoody roads is being rented to the chamber by Cousins Properties at a “below market rate,” the release quotes chamber President Tom Mahaffey as saying. Sandy Springs has at least one startup-oriented workspace-rental business, Roam, which is a chamber member. Asked about the center possibly competing with local businesses, Stewart said that is not a concern because “we view our idea as being unique” with a mix of uses that no for-profit workspace has. Businesses interested in the center can contact Stewart at lstewart@mlqas. com or 404-386-0126, or Mahaffey at tom@sandysprings.org.
PUBLIC NOTICE The City of Sandy Springs has completed construction plans for Windsor Meadows Park at 835 Windsor Parkway. The design for the 4.6 acre site includes landscaping, fencing, a bicycle rack, three picnic tables, three benches, three swing benches, a pervious slatescape trail approximately 1,500 linear feet long,two trash receptacles, and an informal gravel parking area for three cars. The park will be located within parcels that once held residential properties at 825, 835, and 845 Windsor Parkway. Pursuant to FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program deed restrictions, Section 1.a. allows for “parks for outdoor recreational activities…”. The public is invited to participate in identifying and analyzing any impact this proposed project may have. Interested persons may obtain information about these actions or this specific project by contacting Ward Alexander, Project Coordinator for the City of Sandy Springs at walexander@sandyspringsga.gov. Comments should be received within 30 days of the date of notice: January 6, 2017. SS
2016
Community | 11
DEC. 23, 2016 - JAN. 5, 2017 ■ www.ReporterNewspapers.net
YEAR IN REVIEW TOP STORIES
BY JOHN RUCH
JOHN RUCH
Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul welcomes a crowd of 150 residents to the Next Ten planning presentation at Heritage Hall.
johnruch@reporternewspapers.net
After celebrating its 10th birthday in 2015, Sandy Springs spent 2016 planning for the next decade and its evolution into a more urban area. A new land-use plan to shape development and new tactics for reining in traffic were among the year’s top stories.
A land-use plan for the next decade is approved
JOHN RUCH
Draft “boulevard” designs for Roswell Road displayed at the July 20 Next Ten meeting.
JOHN RUCH
Cobb County Commissioner Bob Ott, left, and Georgia Department of Transportation board member Jeff Lewis at the Sept. 21 Braves stadium traffic forum.
Tackling traffic ‘nightmares’
Ever-worsening traffic remained a top challenge, with the city trying several tactics to rein it in. When Cobb County announced that its traffic plan for the new Braves stadium, opening next spring, consisted of routing cars off I-285 onto local streets, Mayor Rusty Paul blasted it as “our nightmare” in a fiery City Council meeting. That led to better city-county planning, but enough questions remained for 250 residents to attend a September traffic forum. The city also got Pill Hill’s hospitals to coordinate traffic and parking planning in a model for other employers. And voters approved a TSPLOST to fund not only road projects, but also multi-use paths and possible Perimeter Center alternative transit. Officials held a ceremonial groundbreaking for the I-285/Ga. 400 interchange reconstruction. Starting next year and opening in 2020, the project is intended to make the highways safer and more efficient, but will produce short-term traffic headaches. SS
The city’s vision for the next 10 years of its redevelopment wrapped up following an 18-month public process. The new Comprehensive Land Use Plan preserves about 67 percent of the city as “protected neighborhoods” of singlefamily houses, while targeting certain areas — Roswell Road, Perimeter Center, MARTA stations and Powers Ferry Landing — for higher-density, mixeduse projects. The Comp Plan also gives details for specific ideas that could change the city’s look and feel, including turning Roswell Road into a tree-lined “boulevard”; creating a new street grid and possible alternative transit lines in Perimeter Center; and capping Ga. 400 with a park in the medical center area. The Comp Plan is just one part of the city’s “Next Ten” planning process. It will serve as the basis for a new city zoning code that is already in the early writing stages and will kick into high gear with community meetings in 2017.
Gigantic mixed-use projects proposed for Perimeter Center
Mixed-use is the hot real estate trend — white-hot on Perimeter Center’s Peachtree-Dunwoody Road corridor, which saw several mega-projects proposed or start construction that could bring hundreds of new apartments and businesses. One factor: interim land-use guidelines adopted by the city late last year that encourage high-density, mixed-use projects in that area. Long-planned mixes of apartments, retail and office space began going up at the Palisades office park and a site near the North Springs MARTA Station. The Concourse Center, home to the King and Queen skyscrapers, announced a $90 million mixed-use addition, and the Peachtree-Dunwoody Pavilion office park on Pill Hill has a similar plan. Biggest of all: a $2 billion plan for 1117 Perimeter Center West involving five skyscrapers up to 35 stories tall. It remains to be seen how many will actually be built; Concourse already went back to the drawing board.
A rendering of a commercial streetfront within the 1117 Perimeter Center West redevelopment. The existing hexagonal office building is shown to the left with a heavily modified facade. An illustration of the upgraded courtyard, including a skating rink, in the 1117 Perimeter Center West redevelopment. SPECIAL
Political drama leads to new state representative, city councilmember
Political intrigue in House District 52 resulted in Sandy Springs getting a new state representative, Deborah Silcox, and a new city councilmember, Chris Burnett. The drama began when two candidates — Silcox and City Councilmember Graham McDonald — announced campaigns to challenge longtime HD 52 incumbent Joe Wilkinson. Wilkinson said he had been grooming both challengers as potential SPECIAL From left, State House candidate Deborah Silcox, replacements when he retired, but that McDonald’s candidacy State Rep. Joe Wilkinson, and former Sandy Springs “blindsided” him. A short time later, Wilkinson announced his City Councilman Graham McDonald. resignation and endorsed Silcox, while also claiming McDonald’s candidacy was part of a “plot” to replace him hatched by Mayor Rusty Paul and District 51 state Rep. Wendell Willard, which both men denied. Silcox beat McDonald in the Republican primary. Burnett, a banker, won a special election for McDonald’s open City Council seat.
12 | Community
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2016
Fourth-grader Juan Jimenez, center, plays with his mother, Olga Jimenez, and his brother, Oliver Jimenez, 3, before winning Lake Forest Elementary School’s second annual Family Fun Run in March.
PHIL MOSIER
YEAR IN REVIEW BEST PHOTOS
PHIL MOSIER
Mayor Rusty Paul and council members check out progress at the City Springs construction site on Aug. 12.
PHIL MOSIER
Brian Oliveira, gets a turn to walk in the big air ball at Hammond Park on “National Kids to Parks Day” in a May event sponsored by the Sandy Springs Parks and Recreation Department.
COVER CAPTIONS
Page 1 photos: At top, Ohio Gov. John Kasich speaks during a February town hall for his presidential campaign at Sandy Springs City Hall. (Photo by John Ruch) In the inset, Aila Courtenay, a second grader at Woodland Elementary School, inspects her Swiss chard that is ready to plant. The school’s environmental science program includes 23 raised garden beds, fruit trees and an aquatic garden containing tilapia. (Photo by Phil Mosier) At bottom, Jean Wynne, 5, takes a September walk on the trail at the Lost Corner Preserve. (Photo by Phil Mosier) SS
2016
Community | 13
DEC. 23, 2016 - JAN. 5, 2017 ■ www.ReporterNewspapers.net
YEAR IN REVIEW TOP STORIES
With an eye to streetwidening, city buys up Hammond Drive houses
The city spent $2.5 million buying up residential properties on Hammond Drive as placeholders for a controversial possible widening of the roadway, a trend of “protective buys” that is likely to continue in 2017. The city also launched an affordable housing program for police officers and firefighters by renting some of those homes at below-market rates pending any widening, which would be at least a decade away.
JOHN RUCH
The house at 550 Hammond Drive.
Sandy Springs Circle design triggers re-thinking of walkable streets plan
SPECIAL
The first full design for Sandy Springs Circle as presented at a March 9 public meeting.
Since 2012, the city has planned a new grid of walkable, tree-lined streets in the downtown area. But an early effort to start building that type of system on Sandy Springs Circle ran into major opposition from hundreds of residents and the Sandy Springs United Methodist Church, ultimately triggering a design change. The street plan, including converting two travel lanes into on-street parking, was approved by the public in 2012 as a general concept. However, nothing more was heard about the specific, full design for the roadway and streetscape until March, when the city unveiled it in an open house with less context and no formal presentation. The design had some new features that even confused city officials. After a City Hall meeting drew 125 people, the city tweaked the design to restore a travel lane and promised better communication about future streetscape plans.
City gets greener with two new parks
Two new parks joined the city’s inventory: Lost Corner Preserve on Brandon Mill Road and the Marsh Creek Rain Garden on Johnson Ferry Road near City Springs. The city already owned Lost Corner for years, but its full opening finally came in March to celebrate the renovation of its historic 1920s cottage into a community gathering space. The Rain Garden is a stormwater pond facility that doubles as a park. A pilot program in filtering stormwater pollutants with aquatic plants, it may become the model for similar pond-parks around town.
An overview of Marsh Creek Rain Garden Park and the boardwalk overlook at the park.
KATE AWTREY
Performing arts center takes shape
City Springs, the city’s giant downtown development on Roswell Road, is almost exactly a year away from its opening date. In 2016, the project, anchored by a new City Hall and performing arts center, began rising from the ground. The 1,000-seat theater was the first recognizable building to take shape; meanwhile, the city released some new design concepts for its interior and started the process of hiring a general manager to begin booking shows.
Presidential politics come to town Out with the old city logo, in with a new one
SS
A new city logo of abstract blue-and-green brushstrokes was quietly developed and adopted by the city council. It replaced the 10-year-old city’s first and only other logo, which showed a line of trees and a river. Officials said the new logo, developed at a cost of more than $90,000, will be more modern and more flexible in its uses.
JOHN RUCH
Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul (left) joins Kasich in speaking to the large overflow crowd outside City Hall at the Feb. 23 town hall.
The U.S. presidential race came to town in February, when Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican candidate, made a campaign stop at City Hall with Mayor Rusty Paul and several city councilmembers in support. Kasich praised Sandy Springs, which has privatized and outsourced most city departments, as a model for “Uber-izing” government. Late in the race, Donald Trump’s state campaign headquarters moved to the city. After winning the election, Trump nominated local Congressman Tom Price to be secretary of Health and Human Services. That nomination could have a ripple effect of other open legislative seats as officials consider a run to replace Price. State Sen. Judson Hill (R-Marietta), who represents part of the city, already declared his intent to run.
2016
14 | Community
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Alternative transit businesses make their pitches
YEAR IN REVIEW Perimeter Business BY JOHN RUCH johnruch@reporternewspapers.net
Business never sleeps in Perimeter Center. But sometimes it changes, drawing in the new industries like video games and short-term housing rentals. And it’s always looking for easier ways to get around, which in turn attracts alternative-transit start-ups. Here are a few of the year’s top stories from the Reporter’s monthly section Perimeter Business.
Wayne Sisco’s map of a proposed “SkyWays” gondola network connecting Perimeter Mall and various corporate buildings in Perimeter Center.
SPECIAL
From Marietta to Massachusetts, companies came out of the woodwork to pitch alternative transit ideas in Perimeter Center. They were drawn by a Perimeter Center Improvement Districts study about possible mass-transit circulator systems in the congested area, which could result in a request for proposals by mid-2018. Some companies dusted off plans dating to the 1980s construction boom and 1996 Summer Olympics; others were trying to break new ground. What they all shared was a cool factor. The companies included Center Perimeter Plus’s network of gondolas running between Perimeter Center parking decks and MARTA stations; Owen Transit Group’s HighRoad monorail; Zagster’s bike rental system; American Maglev Technology’s magnetic-levitation train.
Hollywood and video games pump money into Perimeter economy
The entertainment business is booming in Perimeter Center, enough for local luncheons and conferences to be staged to discuss the bounty from the movie and video game industries. Georgia’s $2 billion filmmaking economy has brought a lot of business to local lumber companies, caterers and antique stores. Oglethorpe University is among the sites often used for filmmaking. Launch Media Network, a prominent video game journalism, marketing and social media company, moved from Buckhead to Sandy Springs as part of an expansion. It organized a conference about the state’s $550 million gaming economy that included Andrew Greenberg, the chair of DeKalb County’s new Film, Music and Digital Entertainment Commission.
PCIDs leader Williams announces surprise resignation
SPECIAL
A collection of screenshots of local short-term rentals offered on the Airbnb.com website.
Airbnb rentals challenge some suburban zoning codes
Short-term housing rental services like Airbnb, best known in urban areas, had a suburban boom notable in Perimeter communities. The services allow homeowners and apartment tenants to make extra cash by arranging online rentals of their homes. But that raises such concerns as absentee owners, misbehaving guests and violations of condo rules. A local example came in May, when an Airbnb rental of a Buckhead mansion turned out to be cover for a midnight hip hop concert where a guest allegedly flashed a pistol. The cities of Atlanta and Dunwoody said their zoning codes restrict such shortterm rentals, while Brookhaven and Sandy Springs had no regulations.
LISA LARSON
Oglethorpe University students majoring in film production work behind the scenes at their college, an attractive location for filmmakers.
JESSICA MCGOWAN/PCIDS
Yvonne Williams
In a surprise move, Yvonne Williams resigned after 17 years as the Perimeter Center Improvement Districts’ first and only president and CEO. The PCIDs, two jointly operated, self-taxing business districts, took three weeks to announce her resignation and have yet to hire a new staff leader. “I guess maybe what I did is wear myself out with passion,” Williams said of her resignation, also attributing her resignation partly to time demands of her daughter heading to college and her mother’s health issues. She has remained visible at such local functions as the I-285/Ga. 400 interchange reconstruction project groundbreaking.
Many proposed skyscrapers will never get built, experts say
A sudden burst of skyscraper plans in Perimeter Center — 10 new towers proposed in addition to several already in construction or approved in rezonings — sparked questions for local residents and businesses: How will they impact traffic? Will they change the character of local cities? But some experts said that many of those towers won’t do anything because they will never exist anywhere except on paper. The actual demand for Perimeter Center office space is far lower than the 10 million square feet or more proposed in all the grand plans, they said. The area has a long history of unbuilt skyscrapers dating back to the 1980s, they noted. One developer sure his skyscrapers would rise off the page was Charlie Brown, whose Dunwoody Crown Towers plan had five tall buildings. But a few months later, he withdrew the plan from rezoning consideration with no timeline for its return.
DYANA BAGBY
Charlie Brown, the developer who proposed Dunwoody Crown Towers off Ashford-Dunwoody Road, said he is not concerned about not having enough office space for his proposed project.
SS
Community | 15
DEC. 23, 2016 - JAN. 5, 2017 ■ www.ReporterNewspapers.net
‘Nightmare’ plan to put Braves stadium traffic on Sandy Springs streets draws City Council outrage
Mercedes-Benz USA CEO talks new headquarters
1
2 Mercedes-Benz USA releases images of new Sandy Springs headquarters
2016
4 Sandy Springs shopping center to hit market, but needs chemical cleanup
3
YEAR IN REVIEW TOP ONLINE STORIES
Online readers’ favorite stories New Church of Scientology in Sandy Springs opens to public April 3 31 townhomes proposed for site on Sandy Springs’ Roswell Road
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5
ReporterNewspapers.net, the Reporter website, offers breaking news alongside our regular local coverage. Here are the top 10 local stories as clicked by our online readers.
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5-skyscraper project proposed next to Sandy Springs MARTA Station
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GDOT: 285/400 interchange work likely to start in October
5-skyscraper plan gets ARC backing, heads to Sandy Springs meeting
10 SS
Officials question Sandy Springs Circle roadway plan
16 | Out & About
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ZYDECO YA YA
Saturday, Jan. 7, 8-11 p.m.
BROOKHAVEN
•
BUCKHEAD
•
DUNWOODY
•
SANDY SPRINGS
CONCERTS MATISYAHU
Saturday, Jan. 7 and Sunday, Jan. 8, 8 p.m.
The Grammy-nominated reggae vocalist returns to Atlanta in “An Acoustic Evening with Matisyahu,” presented by the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta. The Jan. 7 concert will be at the Morris & Rae Frank Theatre at the MJCCA, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. The Jan. 8 show is at City Winery in Ponce City Market, 650 North Avenue, Atlanta. Tickets range from $45 to $100. Info: atlantajcc. org/pldb-live/an-acoustic-evening-withmatisyahu-32955 or 678-812-4002.
HERITAGE WINTER CLASSICS Sunday, Jan. 8, 4:30-6:30 p.m.
Heritage Sandy Springs continues its Winter Classics concert series with CoResonance, a string quartet that blends classical, jazz and pop music. Doors open at 4 p.m. Admission: $5 for members, $10 for nonmembers. Cash bar and complimentary snacks. Eight bistro tables are available for purchase at each concert ($45 for members, $65 for nonmembers) and include seating for four guests and four drink tickets. Reserve tables in advance. General admission tickets are sold at the door. Heritage Hall, 6110 Blue Stone Road, Sandy Springs. Reservations: send email to events@heritagesandysprings. org or call 404-851-9111.
GET ACTIVE
Ring in the new year with a band that delivers a true Louisiana dance hall sound with fiddle, accordion and frottoir (a
rub board). Zydeco Ya Ya plays everything from traditional zydeco to swamp pop and Cajun swing. Free dance lesson 7-8 p.m. $18; $5 students, $14 active military. No partner necessary. All ages welcome. Cajun food for sale. Dorothy Benson Senior Multipurpose Complex, 6500 Vernon Woods Drive, Sandy Springs. Sponsored by the Atlanta Cajun Zydeco Association. Info: aczadance.org or 877-338-2420.
FREE WEEK OF FITNESS
Sunday, Jan. 8 to Saturday, Jan. 14, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sandy Springs 5975 Roswell Road, Ste. A-103 Sandy Springs, GA 30328 (404) 236-2114 nothingbundtcakes.com Expires 12/31/16. Limit one offer per guest. Cannot be combined with any other offer. Redeemable only at bakery listed. Must be claimed in-store during normal business hours. No cash value.
Sunday, Jan. 1, 10 a.m.
This Atlanta Track Club event features a 4-mile run for ages 9 and up, a 1-mile run for ages 7 and up and a 50-meter dash for ages 6 and under. See website for entry fees. Registration deadline is Dec. 29 at 11:59 p.m. Start/finish line is at the Brookhaven MARTA station, 4047 Peachtree Road N.E., Atlanta. Info: atlantatrackclub.org/2017-resolution-run.
EXHIBITS
Through Dec. 31
Dec. 27-Dec. 30; Jan. 2-4 or Jan. 2-5, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. plus free extended care
RESOLUTION RUN
Children can explore winter survival skills and participate in arts activities and games. Open to ages 3-12; must be potty trained. Full-day camp is for ages 5 and older. Register for one day or an entire week. Pricing and other info: bhnp. org/school-break-camps, send an email to Amy Zvonar at amyz@bhnp.org or call 678-315-0836.
ICHIYO IKEBANA OF ATLANTA
CHATTAHOOCHEE NATURE CENTER
$5 OFF
Dec. 26-Dec. 30; Jan. 2-3, 9 a.m. to noon or 1 p.m. half day, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. full day
The Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta invites adults to kick start the New Year with a free week of fitness activities at Zaban Park. Choose from a variety of group classes including yoga, Zumba, indoor swim and and tennis classes. The event is open to the community. MJCCA, Zaban Park, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. Info: atlantajcc.org/ events/2017/01/08/fitness/fitness-center-amenities-workoutfor-free-jan-8-14-2017, send an email to membership@atlantajcc.org, or call 678-812-4060.
WINTER BREAK CAMPS
the purchase of $25 or more
BLUE HERON NATURE PRESERVE
The Sandy Springs Branch Library hosts an exhibit of Ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arrangement — an art form steeped in the philosophy of developing a closeness with nature. Ichiyo Ikebana adds new interest to traditional asymmetrical forms through a strong emphasis on modern and creative 3-D designs. Hours: Mondays and Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays; Sundays from 2-6 p.m. and all other days from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 395 Mount Vernon Highway, Sandy Springs. Info: ichiyoart.com.
Live animal encounters, outdoor games, educational hikes and science activities will be offered to kids in kindergarten through seventh grade. Jan. 2-4 camp is for the Cobb County break; Jan. 2-5 camp is for the Fulton County break. Chattahoochee Nature Center, 9135 Willeo Road, Roswell. See registration form for pricing. Info: chattnaturecenter.org/camp-kingfisher/winterbreak-camp or 770-992-2055, SUBMIT YOUR EVENT LISTING WITH US AT ext. 222.
calendar@ReporterNewspapers.net
Out & About | 17
DEC. 23, 2016 - JAN. 5, 2017 ■ www.ReporterNewspapers.net
KIDS AND FAMILY Melissa Babcock, M.D.
The Babcock Dermatology Family wish you and yours a happy and healthy 2017 Procedures Performed: • Skin Cancer Surgery Specialist (Mohs) • Dermatologic Surgery
• General Dermatology • Chemical Peels • BOTOX® Cosmetic
• Cyst Removal • Mole Removal • Restylane®
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STARLAB
Saturday, Jan. 7, 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Visit the Chattahoochee Nature Center’s inflatable planetarium for a frontrow view of winter constellations. Learn how to locate prominent stars of the night sky and the stories behind some of the most famous constellations. Two, 25-minute presentations. Ages 6-adult. Included with general admission and free to CNC members. Info: chattnaturecenter.org or 770-992-2055.
TOASTY THEATER TREATS
Located at the corner of Roswell Road & Long Island Drive Info: atlantahistorycenter.com/programs/fulton-county-4-h-club-monthlymeeting or 404-332-2400.
Oriental & Area Rug Hand Washing
PUBLIC SERVICE COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE CENTER
Tuesday, Dec. 27 to Thursday, Dec. 29, 9 a.m. to noon and 1-4 p.m.
Volunteers high school age and older are needed for inventory. Volunteers are needed in an ongoing basis in the Mini Market Food Pantry and the CAC Boutique retail shop. To sign up: send an email to volunteer@ourcac.org. CAC also seeks volunteers to help others prepare and file their tax returns for free by joining the organization’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) team. No experience necessary, training required. To sign up: send an email to VITA@ourcac. org. General info: ourcac.org.
Monday, Jan. 2 to Saturday, Jan. 7, 11 a.m. to noon.
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Catch some of the new nature films acquired for the holiday season at the Chattahoochee Nature Center theater. A new film will be shown each day. Included with general admission and free to CNC members. 9135 Willeo Road, Roswell. Info: chattnaturecenter.org or 770992-2055.
Physicians/Providers: Gregory J. Cox, MD, Elizabeth M. Burns, MD, Shaanan S. Shetty, MD, and Pamela M. McElearney, PA-C
FULTON COUNTY 4-H CLUB Sunday, Jan. 8, 2-3:30 p.m.
Monthly meetings, community service projects and leadership training are offered by the Fulton 4-H Club at the Atlanta History Center. Activities include public speaking competitions, weekend trips and statewide summer camps. Meetings are hosted for kids in grades 4-12. Free. Presented in partnership with the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service.
RECYCLE
First Saturday of each month, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Keep Atlanta Beautiful, Inc. hosts a monthly community recycling and paper shredding event in Buckhead that serves Atlanta and surrounding areas (no residency restrictions apply). Check the website for restrictions on accepted items including electronics, Styrofoam, paint, metals and tires. Most items are free to drop off. Fees apply on some items. Lower parking lot of Second-Ponce de Leon Baptist Church, 2715 Peachtree Road N.E., Atlanta. Info: keepatlantabeautiful.org/ recycle/#buckhead.
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18 | Commentary
Reporter Newspapers
Our mission is to provide our readers with fresh and engaging information about life in their communities. Published by Springs Publishing LLC 6065 Roswell Road, Suite 225 Sandy Springs, GA 30328 Phone: 404-917-2200 • Fax: 404-917-2201 Brookhaven Reporter | Buckhead Reporter Dunwoody Reporter | Sandy Springs Reporter www.ReporterNewspapers.net Atlanta INtown www.AtlantaINtownPaper.com Atlanta Senior Life www.AtlantaSeniorLife.com
C O NTA C T US Founder & Publisher Steve Levene stevelevene@reporternewspapers.net Editorial Managing Editor John Ruch johnruch@reporternewspapers.net INtown Editor: Collin Kelley
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Opinion/ Looking into the political crystal ball for 2017 As 2016 wound down, we asked local leaders to look ahead and predict major events or issues they see coming in 2017. Here’s what they say we should expect next year.
2017 will mark our young city’s fifth birthday – a significant milestone. We’ll embark upon our first city charter review, implement master plans we have in place, and go to work on our zoning code rewrite. I personally would like the city to invest in more community engagement tools and methods of communication to get more residents involved in city affairs. Our fifth anniversary is also a good time for us to consider playing a larger role in regional affairs that affect our residents, and truly make Brookhaven the place to live, work and play.
Editor-at-Large Joe Earle
The community of Buckhead is in such good shape, the biggest “event” coming our way is the care needed to protect what we have as our Atlanta city government changes through the campaign for the November election. With no less than 19 rumored or announced candidates for mayor, four of whom are vacating City Council seats, plus an unknown overhaul of the Board of Education, we know what we have won’t be the same and must be carefully addressed.
Sam Massell
president, the Buckhead Coalition
The primary interest is to continue enhancing the quality of life for all of our citizens. This translates into consistent improvement of our infrastructure and facilities, and fostering a spirit of community stewardship which brings us together as one family with a common interest.
Staff Writer: Dyana Bagby
Mayor Denis Shortal Dunwoody
Copy Editor: Donna Williams Lewis Creative and Production Creative Director Rico Figliolini rico@reporternewspapers.net
Mayor John Ernst
Brookhaven
Graphic Designer: Soojin Yang Advertising Director of Sales Development Amy Arno amyarno@reporternewspapers.net Sales Executives Jeff Kremer, Janet Porter Jim Speakman, Janet Tassitano Office Manager Deborah Davis deborahdavis@reporternewspapers.net Contributors Robin Conte, Phil Mosier, Ariella Phillips, Clare S. Richie, Jaclyn Turner
Free Home Delivery 60,000 copies of Reporter Newspapers are delivered by carriers to homes in ZIP codes 30305, 30319, 30326, 30327, 30328, 30338, 30342 and 30350 and to more than 500 business/retail locations. For locations, check “Where To Find Us” at www.ReporterNewspapers.net For delivery requests, please email delivery@reporternewspapers.net.
Mobility remains our top focus in 2017. The state’s Ga. 400/I285 project will test our patience, so avoiding the area or taking MARTA for north-south trips will help. Our TSPLOST initiative will target bottlenecks and kinks within our existing road network. A roadmap of 1940s north Fulton County looks just like today’s map because, while some roads were widened, only two new arterials have been added: Ga. 400 and I-285. Modernizing a system of what began as old farm roads will be this area’s greatest challenge.
© 2016 with all rights reserved Publisher reserves the right to refuse editorial or advertising for any reason. Publisher assumes no responsibility for information contained in advertising. Any opinions expressed in print or online do not necessarily represent the views of Reporter Newspapers or Springs Publishing, LLC.
Mayor Rusty Paul Sandy Springs
I think one of the biggest issues in the state will be the new funding formula for kindergarten-12 education. We also will begin an outside review of postsecondary education (college and technical college) as respects affordability and efficiency. State Sen. Fran Millar (R-Dunwoody)
The biggest issues facing the part of Buckhead I represent are crime and traffic congestion, and early in the year I will be engaging the public with specific plans to address each. Howard Shook
Atlanta City Councilmember
In 2017, we will elect Atlanta’s next mayor. Only my constituents living in Atlanta vote in that election, but all metro citizens have a stake in it. Atlanta’s population is less than 10 percent of the metro region, so some think Atlanta’s mayor receives disproportionate press and more influence than the office warrants. But Atlanta’s success is important for all who live, work or play in Atlanta, or whose business depends on a successful core city.
Lee Morris
Fulton County Commission, District 3
Commentary | 19
DEC. 23, 2016 - JAN. 5, 2017 ■ www.ReporterNewspapers.net
Buckhead location Opening Spring 2017
Dunwoody will face decisions on investing in capital improvements at both Brook Run Park and the Dunwoody Nature Center in 2017. I also hope that the city will come to a consensus on their vision for Perimeter Center. This year, we gave huge tax breaks to encourage one set of office towers while refusing permission for two other proposed developments nearby.
Robert Wittenstein
president, Dunwoody Homeowners Association
JINYA Ramen Bar Atlanta Sandy Springs
Next to D. Gellers Jewelers in Lowe’s Plaza
5975 Roswell Rd, Ste 217 Sandy Springs, GA 30328 404-600-6975
There will be a number of big topics that will be on the agenda at the Capitol this year, including healthcare and education. We will also see old issues recycled — such as “campus carry” and the socalled “religious liberty” bills. I will continue to focus on local reform efforts for DeKalb County. State Rep. Scott Holcomb (D-Atlanta)
Among the fascinating people who
live and work at Canterbury Court: The biggest issue coming to our community is greater economic development and opportunity. Thanks to Gov. Nathan Deal and the leadership in our state to maintain our AAA bond rating, the prudence of our leaders to save over $2 billion dollars in our “rainy day” fund to run our state government, and the wisdom of the Legislature to vote in the transportation funds to initiate 11 Georgia Department of Transportation projects to improve our infrastructure and highways, our community is extremely well positioned to take advantage of the improving economy. I intend to focus on greater educational and economic opportunities for the citizens of Sandy Springs and Buckhead with an eye toward responsibly protecting our environment.
State Rep. Deborah Silcox (R-Sandy Springs)
I see two large issues in Dunwoody and DeKalb County that must be addressed ASAP in 2017. 1) Sewer capacity limitation: DeKalb County has a severe sewer capacity crunch at the worst possible time. Economic development in the Perimeter and North DeKalb area continues on an uptick, but sewer capacity is constrained with no significant solution underway. DeKalb County is significantly behind in its sewer progress. Each new project is subject to possible sewer line constraints that may chase away the opportunities and damage our tax base. 2) Emergency Medical Service response times: DeKalb County Fire & Rescue shuttered its EMS paramedic transport units and outsourced EMS transport to American Medical Response (AMR) on August 1, 2013. The county’s AMR contract requires a response time of 8 minutes, 59 seconds on 90 percent of EMS calls (supplemented by first responder arrival of DeKalb County fire engine paramedics). Year-to-date at Nov. 30, 2016 the EMS response times in Dunwoody averaged 10 minutes, 45 seconds. Worse is that response times on 13 percent of Dunwoody’s EMS calls exceeded 15 minutes, with quite a few with response time of as much as 30 minutes. I fully expect City Council to review this more extensively during 2017. Terry Nall
Mattie Hickey-Middleton Exercise Specialist since 2005 Dancer • Swimmer • Exercise Therapist • Teacher Music Lover • Volunteer • Canterbury Court Ambassador
My motto is exercise AND socialize.
IT’S ALL ABOUT HAVING FUN! Running 17 exercise classes each week, plus private sessions with people recovering from injury or surgery, would surely exhaust an average person. Of course, Mattie’s far from average. She’s a bundle of energy who loves to dance, works a variety of music into her classes, and joins Canterbury’s walking club whenever she can, especially when they’re training for the annual Peachtree Road 10k. She says residents and staff are so much like family that she’s always encouraging people to move here.
Mattie invites you to discover her Canterbury Court.
3750 Peachtree Road, N.E. - Atlanta, Georgia 30319 - (404) 261-6611
c an t e r b u r yc o u r t . o r g
Dunwoody City Councilmember
Atlanta’s premier non-profit continuing care retirement community
20 | Commentary
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A Christmas evolution
THE TASTE OF EXCELLENCE
This December, as I wrestle with my holiday nemesis — the faux green garland monstrosity that I try to whack into submission and hang on my banister each year — I’m reminded of a simpler time when gifts were modest and decorations were tame and filled but one plastic storage container. That time was when we were first married. He gave me wool socks and an inflatable camping mattress pad (are you picking up on a theme?). I gave him a tweed hat. My best friend gave us a pair of mugs painted with a couple that kissed each other when the mugs were arranged just so. We each had a stocking. Mine was quilted and lace-trimmed, a gift from my former roommate; his was Robin Conte is a writer a red felt version purchased from a mall kiosk with his and mother of four who name written on it in tacky red glitter. There was a cryslives in Dunwoody. She tal ornament from my parents that said “Our first Christcan be contacted at mas together.” robinjm@earthlink.net. That was about it. Our family grew and things changed. There came the pregnant lady ornament, the Baby’s First Christmas ornament, the set of Pokémon ornaments. With each child came more stockings, stockings of all kinds from relatives of all sorts. And with each child came more ornaments, ornaments of all kinds from relatives of all sorts. I added angels and nutcrackers to the stockings and ornaments. I augmented with wreaths and stars. I began to feature a nativity scene in every room. Some people have all of their decorations in “the box.” I have accumulated enough boxes of Christmas stuff to decorate the country of Lichtenstein. As our family grew, the gifts changed, too. One minute, I was waving a multi-purpose rattle in front of my infant’s face, and before I knew it, I was standing at the Toys-R-Us in a line so long and studded with security guards that you’d think Bono was at the other end of it. I see the remnants and recall the years. There is the Goofy doll in a Santa suit. It was a gift from the nurses at our local hospital, where my daughter spent her first Christmas Eve with a raging upper respiratory infection. There is, believe it or not, a set SPECIAL Robin Conte, with her kissing couple of encyclopedias lined up neatly Christmas mugs, one of the gifts that on the basement bookshelves, givremind her of Christmases past. en years ago to my first son — who still prefers hard copy, God bless him. There is an old remote wired to the TV, from the year that I was awakened at 6:30 a.m. in mid-December by a phone call from a friend; she had insider information that Costco was getting a shipment of Wii video game consoles. She picked me up and drove us there, where we waited with a small crowd outside the building while clinging to our venti lattes. I remember looking around at the other bleary-eyed mothers and thinking to myself, they weren’t there for the poinsettias. Our kids are getting older, and the day after Thanksgiving no longer marks the beginning of gift-hunting season for me. Still, I’ll find them a few things. One son needs clothes, and he likes what I buy for him. One son wants a Tesla coil, and I do admire that particular, scientific wish. His twin never asks for anything, but he really likes bacon … and I did hear about a “bacon of the month” club. And my daughter has refused to buy herself new shoes for two years, so it’s time for me to intervene. They all still like chocolate oranges, and Santa will still put toothbrushes in their stockings. I look around the house. The faux green garland is clinging to the bannister. My angels are on the mantle, my nutcrackers are on the sideboard, there are stockings hanging all over the place. The kissing mugs are in the kitchen. And after 28 years together, he still wears the hat and I still wear the socks.
Robin’s Nest Robin Conte
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Classifieds | 21
DEC. 23, 2016 - JAN. 5, 2017 ■ www.ReporterNewspapers.net
Reporter Classifieds SERVICES AVAILABLE Home Tending – Regular inspections of your unoccupied property. Call Charles, 404-229-0490. Driveways & Walkways – Replaced or repaired. Masonry, grading, foundations repaired, waterproofing and retaining walls. Call Joe Sullivan 770-616-0576.
Matthew’s Handy Services – Small jobs and chores are my specialties. Shelves, organizers, carpentry, drywall, painting, and plumbing. Member of BBB – 404-547-2079 Email: mwarren8328@gmail.com.
REAL ESTATE Commercial Real Estate Services – Have a Commercial Building to Sell or Lease? Call Rick 678-209-3100. Proven local results.
CEMETERY PLOTS
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Good Rascal Dog Training – certified dog trainer. Private training in your home. Positive, Gentle methods. 770-401-7945.
HELP WANTED
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22 | Public Safety
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Police Blotter / Sandy Springs From Sandy Springs Police reports dated Dec. 11 through Dec. 18 . The following information was pulled from Sandy Springs’s Police-2-Citizen website and is presumed to be accurate.
6900 block of
Roswell Road — On Dec. 13, in the evening, forced entry reported.
6700 block of Roswell Road — On Dec.
17, police responded to a report of willful killing.
B U R G L A RY 1500 block of Huntcliff Village Court
— On Dec. 11, in the evening, forced entry reported. 1000 block of Summerbrook Drive —
On Dec. 11, at night, forced entry reported. 900 block of Preston Woods Trace —
On Dec. 12, forced entry reported at a residence. 100 block of Mount Paran Road — On
Dec. 13, forced entry reported at a residence.
block of Northwood Drive — On Dec. 14, forced entry reported. 1200 block of
18, in the evening, police responded to a simple assault call.
100 block of Dunwoody-Springs Drive
ARRESTS
— On Dec. 18, in the morning, burglary without forced entry reported.
100
MURDER
On Dec. 17, in the afternoon, forced entry reported at a residence.
2600 block of Spring Creek Lane — On
Dec. 18, in the morning, forced entry reported at a residence. CAPT. STEVE ROSE, SSPD srose@sandyspringsga.gov
Summit Springs Drive — On Dec. 14, forced entry reported at a residence. 2600 block of Spring Creek Lane — On
Dec. 14, forced entry reported at a residence.
R O B B E RY
6400 block of Roswell Road — On Dec.
11, a driver was arrested on a DUI charge. 400 NB/ Glenridge Connector — On
Dec. 12, a driver was arrested on a DUI charge. Roswell Road/ I-285— On Dec. 12, a
1000 block of Brentwood Way — On
driver was arrested on a DUI charge.
Dec. 11, in the early morning, an armed carjacking reported.
300 block of Northridge Road — On
8500 block of Roswell Road — On Dec.
18, a business was robbed at gunpoint.
THEFT
2600 block of Spring Creek Lane —
There were 8 incidents of
On Dec. 16, in the afternoon, forced entry reported at a residence.
larceny and shoplifting recorded the week of Dec. 11.
300 block of Winding River Drive —
There were 31 thefts from
On Dec. 17, in the afternoon, forced entry reported at a residence.
vehicles recorded during the week of Dec. 11.
2600 block of Spring Creek Lane —
There were 5 incidents of
motor vehicle theft recorded during the week of Dec. 11. There were 16 damage to
property reports recorded during the week of Dec. 11.
A S S AU LT 3100 block of Spring Creek Lane — On
Dec. 11, after midnight, a simple assault reported. 100 block of Cedar Run — On Dec. 11,
in the afternoon, a simple assault was reported. 1000 block of Brighton Point — On
Dec. 11, in the evening, police responded to a simple assault call. 6600 block of Peachtree-Dunwoody
Road — On Dec. 13, a simple assault was reported. 5500 block of Glenridge Drive — On
Dec. 15, in the evening, police responded to a simple assault call. 1000 block of Johnson Ferry Road —
On Dec. 16, in the morning, police responded to a simple assault call. 100 block of Allen Road — On Dec. 17,
in the morning, police responded to a simple assault call. 500 block of Northridge Road — On
Dec. 18, after midnight, police responded to a simple assault call. 5500 block of Roswell Road — On Dec.
Dec. 15, in the afternoon, a person was arrested on a charge of marijuana possession. I-285 WB/ Northside Drive — On Dec.
17, a driver was arrested on a DUI charge. 900 block of Abernathy Road/ GA-400 N — On Dec. 18, in the morning, a driver was arrested on a DUI charge.
5800 block of Roswell Road — On Dec. 18, a driver was arrested on a DUI charge.
OT H E R INCIDENTS I-285 WB/ Northside Drive — On Dec.
11, a driver was charged with driving without insurance. 8800 block of Dunwoody Place — On
Dec. 11, a driver was charged with driving with expired registration. Berkley Ridge/ Northridge Road — On
Dec. 11, police responded to a disorderly conduct call. 6900 block of Peachtree-Dunwoody
Road — On Dec. 12, a driver was charged with speeding. 6200 block of Peachtree-Dunwoody
Road — On Dec. 12, in the afternoon, police responded to a call about harassing communications. 8100 block of Colquitt Road — On Dec.
12, police responded to a call about a runaway juvenile. 2000 block of Riveredge Parkway —
On Dec. 12, police responded to a call about disorderly conduct. 7000 block of Roswell Road — On Dec.
13, a driver was charged with driving without insurance. 5600 block of Roswell Road — On Dec.
13, fraud was reported twice at the same SS
Public Safety | 23
DEC. 23, 2016 - JAN. 5, 2017 ■ www.ReporterNewspapers.net location. Another was reported the next day. 5900 block of Hilderbrand
Drive — On Dec. 13, a person was charged with providing alcohol to someone underage. 100 block of Greenland Trace
— On Dec. 15, police responded to a domestic dispute. 200 block of Franklin Road
— On Dec. 15, police opened a drug investigation. 100 block of North River Drive
— On Dec. 16, police responded to a criminal trespass call.
200 block of Sandy Springs Circle —
700 block of Summerbrook Drive — On Dec. 17, police responded to a criminal trespass call.
5600 block of Roswell Road —
On Dec. 18, in the early morning, a person was robbed in the street.
Petition Number:
AP16-00005
Petitioner:
Shireen Hormozdi
Location:
4579 Roswell Road
Request:
Appeal of a revocation of administrative permit AD16-00068 for a Christmas-tree stand
Public Hearings:
Board of Appeals January 12, 2017 at 6:00 p.m.
Location:
Sandy Springs City Hall Morgan Falls Office Park 7840 Roswell Road Building 500 Sandy Springs, Georgia 30350 770-730-5600
4500 block of Lake Forrest Drive — On Dec. 18, police responded to a criminal trespass call.
8600 block of Roswell Road — On Dec. 18, police responded to a fraud call.
P O L I C E: S A N DY SP RI N GS, C OBB C O U NTY KILLING S A R E REL ATED; SUSP EC T I N CU STO DY
Two killings in Sandy Springs and Cobb County on Dec. 17 are related and a suspect is in custody, according to the Sandy Springs Police Department. Justin Hess, 31, was arrested by a SWAT team Dec. 18 at the scene of a fatal shooting in Marietta, according to Reporter Newspapers broadcast partner CBS46. He is being held on charges of felony murder and aggravated assault, and was denied bond at a Dec. 19 court hearing in Cobb County. Hess is accused of killing his mother, Carol Hess, at the Marietta townhouse on Dec. 17, then killing William E. Haynes, 53, at Extra Space Storage at 6780 Roswell Road in Sandy Springs. Haynes was found dead from “multiple stab wounds” on the floor of that business, according to Sandy Springs Police. According to Sandy Springs Police, Carol Hess’s car was found SPECIAL Justin Hess, 31, in a Cobb County at the Sandy Springs business, Police booking photo. (CBS46) and Haynes’ car was found back at the scene of the Cobb County crime. Sandy Springs Police are seeking a warrant to arrest Hess on a murder charge, the press release said. CBS46 reported that anonymous neighbor of Justin Hess described him as “crazy.” “I thought, ‘He’s crazy.’ You don’t know what crazy people might do,” the neighbor said. “My parents and I always knew there was something wrong with him, and everybody knew that, but everybody was afraid to do something about it. I saw him with a gun driving into the woods and I also saw him doing doing karate at the pool. It was kind of weird.”
9 1 1 N OW A C C EP TS TEXT MESSAG ES
The 911 emergency service began accepting text messages as well as phone calls on Dec. 16. The new text service is intended to help residents who are deaf; who have reduced hearing or speaking challenges; or who cannot make an emergency call safely for any reason. Anyone texting 911 will be prompted to make a regular phone call if they can. After that, they can describe their emergency and will have to type in their address, according to a press release. The system will not accept photos or videos. The 911 service is provided by the Chattahoochee River 911 Authority, or ChatComm, a privatized joint program that also serves the cities of Brookhaven, Dunwoody and Johns Creek, where the text option also is available. SS
SANDY SPRINGS NOTICE OF APPEAL OF ADMINISTRATIVE DECISION
On Dec. 16, in the afternoon, the forgery of a check was reported.
SANDY SPRINGS NOTICE OF APPEAL Petition Number:
AP16-00006
Petitioner:
Eloise May
Property Location:
1165 Perimeter Center West
Present Zoning:
C-1
Request:
To appeal the denial of administrative permit AD16-00073
Public Hearings:
Board of Appeals January 12, 2017 at 6:00 p.m.
Location:
Sandy Springs City Hall Morgan Falls Office Park 7840 Roswell Road, Building 500 Sandy Springs, Georgia 30350 770-730-5600
SANDY SPRINGS NOTICE OF REZONING Petition Number: Petitioner: Property Location:
RZ16-0092, U16-0021, U16-0025 TSO PDP LP 5775 Peachtree Dunwoody Rd (Peachtree Dunwoody Pavilion) Present Zoning: O-I (Office Institutional District) Request: Rezone from O-I to MIX (Mixed-Use District) for the development of office, multifamily residential and a hotel, with concurrent variances, a use permit to exceed the maximum building height (Sec. 19.4.5), and a use permit for a college Sec. (Sec. 19.4.40). Remaining Public Hearing: Mayor and City Council January 17, 2017 at 6:00 p.m. Location: Sandy Springs City Hall Morgan Falls Office Park 7840 Roswell Road, Building 500 Sandy Springs, Georgia 30350 770-730-5600
SANDY SPRINGS NOTICE OF VARIANCE PETITION Petition Number:
V16-0152
Petitioner:
Esperanza Tolosa
Location:
190 Colewood Way
Request:
Two Variances to allow an existing carport to remain within the minimum side yard setback and within the impervious surface setback associated with a stream buffer.
Public Hearings:
Board of Appeals January 12, 2017 at 6:00 p.m.
Location:
Sandy Springs City Hall Morgan Falls Office Park 7840 Roswell Road Building 500 Sandy Springs, Georgia 30350 770-730-5600
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Authoriy Development The Dunwood million in to approve $780 ty voted July 28 breaks for property tax bonds to provide projects in Pedevelopment two separate complex and State Farm’s rimeter Center: tower next to planned office Transwestern’s station. y MARTA would the Dunwood the authority Under the deals, to the deand lease them own the properties lower propwould pay much velopers, who 14 See STATE on page
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LOOK FAT? | P9
Council candidates line up for special election
BY DYANA BAGBY
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State Farm, Transwestern get $780M in s tax break bond
P18-19
BY DYANA BAGBY
SMITH
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e fun ► High altitud
in the hills
Site-specific parks plans cost nearly $28 million
Largest expansion in MARTA’s history now rests with voters
■ w w w . A t l a n t a I N t o w n P a p e r. c o m
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The estimated cost to make all the changes and improvem BY JOHN RUCH ents in Brookhav en’s sitespecific Park johnruch@reporternew Master Plan is just shy of $28 spapers.net million, according to a presentat ion made to City Council At least five candidate on Feb. 9. s are planning run for the open Mayor John Ernst a Sandy Springs acknowledged City Council District 3 seat. tal estimated the tocost was a “big Official candidate number.” fying for the qualiBut the price May 24 special tag was not a election was surprise to due to wrap up city officials, April 15. City Councilw oman Jones said. It is Meanwhile, a third candidate part of a long-term Linley ly filed for the plan. brief“We anticipate House d all along the dropped out within District 52 race, but price tag for world-cla ly as this November. ss parks would Robbie Ashe hours of qualifying be very, very an unusual reopened high,” she said. MARTA Board Chairman in “This is an filing period. PHIL MOSIER aspirational ham McDonald number we can Graand work toward, 12 at incrementalmain the contende Deborah Silcox rely based on the See LARGEST on page Night Out event plans we were rs to succeed 33rd annual National were on hand given.” retiring Rep. Joe Wilkinson Liz Cole, project attending the and Sandy Springs in the May 24 manager camera while page 20. y, Brookhaven PHIL MOSIER lican primary. Repuba remote controlfor Greenber Farrow, photos, go to gts from Dunwood 9, works the city’s departmen consultan Carlos Peters, ip. To see additional The ts on the Aug. 2. Police ty partnersh onnded The field to fill recomme J.D. Clockadale plan, Nancy Creek Park. communi in Little and Perimeter Mall promote the City Council the police hispage cityand daughter survey all parks 14. ►Ella, 5, get on Spring” concert Center representing on to help e seat, determin into the spirit to on Feb. time before the “Bring central Sandy additional photos exact boundari 13. Attendees of things at Springs, 3, gets in a little play and family friendly activities. See were treated es, tree invenin recent days, tory, topograph Hudson Scouten, to a night of snacks,the second annual Daddy-Dau as county Republica grew music, food y and also ghter Dance at music, crafts event featured live PHIL MOSIER leader Suzi Voyles BY DYANA BAGBYternewspapers.net n Party underground and dancing. Lynwood Park utilities before See additional Recreation and former municipa by@repor any work begins. photos on page dyanabag judge im City Manager Larry Young l Inter12.► Volunteers waded declared candidaci is preGary Yandura They join previousl Hooch,” an event into the water to clear debris es. y City Council said it Dunwood sponsored y Thefrom $8 milthe Chattahoo dates Chris Burnett, announced candithe group of volunteers by Chattahoochee Riverkeep See SITE-SPEC chee than PHOTO BY PHIL down more River andcapIFIC on page 14 MOSIER its banks during Brian Eufinger , works to fillpared to plunker on April 9. needed BY JOE EARLE “Sweep the Joe Housema Here, the trash bag City Hall, but and Murray Brown, rs.net n. No candidate he wears at his l who lion for a new waist. s are official to additiona joeearle@reporternewspape See more photos, coordinated until the city ents add up clerk qualifies page 2.► nt Page 5 ital improvem them. of PATH400 g to an assessme Plans for expansions $659,500, accordin Page 10 . See COUNCIL on now feature two of due diligence page 13 through Buckhead done as part of the City Council adding pockets unAlso, the building more small parks, once at 4800 Ashford-D to an area that Page purchase to 17 public green space wants tenants, has four current had relatively little. woody Road pay to reto- Expert praises be required to The two parks could and the city will They businesses, which PATH400 tal about 3 acres. locate for those Page 16 on page 3 $550,000. join a .6-acre park our Procost another comments to is inof Comprehensive Respondents’ Page 18 Old Ivy that also Eric Johnson on the 15 community survey See NEW on page cluded in PATH400 conventions. presidential plans. Page 8 green spaces Sheffield Hale BY DYANA BAGBY One of the proposed BY JOHN RUCH CEO, 13 and Page president 13 TARY dyanabagb johnruch@ Center See COMMEN See PATH400 on page what underway for Plans are well largest funding expancould make for the of MARTA. sion in the history sesof the legislative On the last day Asthe Georgia General sion in March, a relegislation to allow sembly approved Atlanta. tax by the city of tail sales and use legisNathan Deal signed On April 26, Gov. decide way for voters to lation paving the as earsales tax increase on a half-percent
COMMUNITY r Pickleball is popula
Page 16
PATH400 plans include small parks
OUT & ABOUT REPORTER SURV EY rs al offe Festiv President ial & crafts, arts
et food, The past isPrimary gourmtic acous music always more EXCLUSIVE SERI ES complicated than it seems. Atlanta History
Page 10 See COMMENTARY
ES PARALYMPIC GAM have Prepping for Rio The Democrats n’s OUT & ABOUT taken over Reaga EXCEPTIONAL ism. DeKalb schooptim Join the treasure EDUCATOR ols hunt propose movTrump was humanized Lovett School’s ing be and shown to 1,700 students winning bandleade issue. on-point on every r
in Cross Keys redistricting
Is that log suppo sed to be here? Is it serving a purpo se?
Page 18
y@reporternewspape
Hospital | Emory
Saint Joseph’s Hospital
| Emory University
Thank you and Happy New Year from the Springs Publishing staff
BOBBY SAUER JR. INSPECTOR FOR STATE SAFE DAMS PROGRAM
Hospital | Emory
University Hospital
rs.net
About 1,700 students in six north DeKalb schools would move under a plan to try to address overcrow ding in the Cross Keys cluster. The DeKalb County School District announced its staff recomme ndations for redistrict ing overcrow ding at a Feb. 11 public meeting held at Cross Keys See DEKALB on page 15
New Vision for Turner Field page 6 time. Statefirst inspectors take right decision the a look at “high-hazard” Must-Read Books page 32 Cancer doesn’t wait. Make the dams Page 2 re.org/cancercare. at emoryhealthca location near you Pimento Cheese, Please page Find a38 Emory Johns Creek
New City Hall needs $659K in improvements
OUT & ABOUT val Butterfly Festi
Midtown
“[I’m] sad to see the Braves move out of Atlanta, but excited to see a brand-new stadium and Braves experience .” 23-YEAR-OLD ATLANTA
OUT & ABOUT ‘Monarchs & Margaritas’
reporternewspapers.net
Heritage Sandy Springs, the nonprofit dedicated to the city’s history and culture, spends a lot of time preservin g the past. But now it’s also drawing up big plans for its own future as a new major attraction, the City Springs project, rises This year, Heritage nearby. intends to build new facility to a better showcase its centerpiece attraction : the spring that gave Sandy Springs its name. A necting City Springs “Heritage Trail” conand Heritage with local See HERITAGE on page 14
WOMAN RESPONDING TO 1Q SURVEY ON OUR THE BRAVES’ LAST SEASON AT TURNER FIELD
See COMMENTARY
on page 10
Senior Lif e facebook.com
Heritage Sandy Springs plans future of historic site
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JANUARY 2017
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• Vol. 2 No. 1| AtlantaS en
iorLIFE.com
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Silver Strong
By Isado
T
ra Penning
ton
here’s no do is an impo ubt about it, regula rtant par r exercise t of and balan ced life. We living a healthy we we can all rec all when run as fas re kids, when it felt t as the wi nd, and no like you could ever hurt thing cou you ld exactly the . Over time, we lea rn that’s case. If you not they don’t don’t use stick aro your mu un scl added dif ficulty for d. With age comes es, do activities. ing even This is tru mundan e e esp seniors, wh o are at add ecially for atrophy ed risk for and due to ina chronic health pro muscle ctivity. blems Accordin by the Cen g to research con ducte ters for Dis Preventio ease Contr d n ol & older are (CDC), American s 18 and exe before. Fin rcising now mo re an and schedu cial concerns, acc than ever ling are som essibility frequent e of the exe seniors. For rcise can be a cha reasons llenge for tunately, that aim there are programs and approp to bridge the gap between riate exe eld program is SilverSn rcise routines. On ers initiative e such eakers, a that has na tional fitn partnered 13,000 fitn ess classes are ess locations acr with more than oss the cou often cov otherwise ntry. The ere very afford d by insurance, or members hips, which able compared to are for retire most gym es to afford makes them sub stantially . easier Continued
on page 4
SS
