October 2017 NORTHNorth Buckhead NewsletterBUCKHEAD Page 1 Newsletter North Buckhead Civic Association — October 2017 Mailed three times each year to 4,400 North Buckhead homes www.nbca.org - [email protected] - Newsletter Archive: www.nbca.org/newsletters.htm FALL FLING Moves to PATH400 at Old Ivy Park on Nov. 5 After a number of years on Mountain Way, our NBCA FALL FLING is moving to a new location. On Sunday, November 5, 2:30 to 5:30 pm, you’ll be able to join us at the location of North Buckhead’s newest park, Old Ivy Park, which will share some of $3 million in new park funding allocated to Buckhead parks. The location is also on PATH400, an easy half mile walk from Lenox Road, making it the first Fall Fling easily accessible for North Buckhead’s condominium residents living near Peachtree Road. For those who live too far to walk, parking will be available at Sarah Smith Elementary at 370 Old Ivy Road. A shuttle service will operate between the parking at the school and the Fling, or you can walk on the sidewalk. For the kids, confirmed entertainment includes: The event is free to members of the households • Face Painter of NBCA members. One-day memberships will • Balloon Artist be available for non-members. • Caricaturist We’ll have a variety of food from the Wing Factory (including vegetarian), as well as • P'tree Orthopedics will create fake casts. cookies, drinks and water. • Dr. Irving (the monkey) if at least 80o F. We’ll have live music and portable toilets. (Continued on page 9) Times Change: NBCA Discontinues Christmas Tree Sale For more than twenty years, NBCA tree sales As a neighborhood, we’ll miss the convenience were a convenience to residents and often a and the chance to see old friends. We deeply big money maker for NBCA. In 2006 NBCA’s appreciate the many dedicated volunteers who tree sale made $6,000. Last year, we lost helped us sell trees and hope they can help $1,300. Our decision to quit selling trees address neighborhood needs in other ways. wasn’t due to a single year’s loss. Sales and For many, the sale was a wonderful aspect of profits have trended downward for a decade, living in North Buckhead. But, times change. and having to change tree suppliers also hurt. Inside this Newsletter Recycling ………….………………………………..………. 2 School Discount Card ………………................. 2 Street Repaving Schedule ……………….…………. 3 Opinion Survey ……………………………………………. 3 BCN Candidates Forums …………………….………. 4 Voters Information …………………………..……….. 4 Election Candidates ……………………………........ 5 PATH400 Update ………………………………………… 6 Three Newsletters This Year ……………..………. 6 Follow Us on Facebook …………………….………... 7 Land Use and Zoning ………………….…..…………. 8 Residential Crime Way Down ……….…….…….. 10 Get your Boo Signs! ………………...……………….. 11 Sign Cleaning …………………………….……………….. 11 Transit and Mobility ……………...…………………… 12 Blue Heron Programs …………………………........ 13 Little Nancy Creek Park …………………….……….. 16 Page 2 North Buckhead Newsletter October 2017 Keep Atlanta Beautiful Recycling Events By Peggy Denby, The second Saturday event has relocated from Executive Director, Keep Atlanta Beautiful the former Irwin Street location in Old Fourth On the first Saturday of each month, for the Ward, to Kirkwood/Edgewood at Coan Middle past five years, Keep Atlanta Beautiful, Inc. has School, 1550 Hosea L. Williams Drive, NE, held community recycling events in Buckhead, Atlanta, GA 30317. The new site is about three at the Second Ponce de Leon Baptist Church at miles from the old site. 2715 Peachtree Road (turn onto East Wesley Directions to the new location are as follows: and left on West Bolling Road). The time of the From Midtown, take North Avenue or Ponce de event is 10 am to 3 pm. Items recycled are Leon Avenue driving east. Take a right turn Styrofoam, electronics, latex paint, paper onto Moreland Avenue, then turn left onto shredding, metals, glass, books. These events Hosea Williams Drive. have been a big hit with Buckhead residents. Everything else is the same as the Buckhead There is also a second Saturday event, at location, same time, same vendors. For more another location, which many of you have used details, visit www.keepatlantabeautiful.org/ as a back-up when you could not attend the recycle, or call 404-249-5853. Buckhead event on the first Saturday. Get Your Sarah Smith Discount Card By Jenn Ingham, Co-chair, By purchasing the card, enjoy discounts all year Sarah Smith Education Foundation Star Fund long (card expires 7/31/18) at your favorite local restaurants and retailers. Buy yours for Support Sarah Smith Elementary School by $35 (or two for $50). Cards will be mailed to purchasing a Dine & Shop card! 100% of the your address. proceeds benefit the Sarah Smith Education Foundation, a non-profit organization that Go to tinyurl.com/SRSCard to buy your card supports the quality of education at Sarah Smith today. The card pays for itself in no time! through strategic investments in curriculum and instructional programs that directly enhance the Questions? [email protected]. school's mission of academic excellence for all Sarah Smith students. Visit sarahsmithelementary.com for information about the Sarah Education Foundation. October 2017 North Buckhead Newsletter Page 3 North Buckhead Repaving Schedule hood to recommend those in worst condition. Funding was identified in the RENEW ATLANTA plan for paving work on these North Buckhead streets: • Loridans Drive • Old Ivy Road • Mountain Way • West Wieuca Road • North Ivy Road • Wieuca Road Back in 2015, Atlanta voters approved the We recently asked the RENEW ATLANTA staff for RENEW ATLANTA TSPLOST (transportation a status report for this newsletter. Michele special local option sales tax), a five-year 0.4% Wynn, Program Management Officer, responded increase in sales taxes to address some of promptly on September 29 as this newsletter Atlanta’s transportation infrastructure problems. was in final edit. The table below shows her NBCA surveyed roads throughout the neighbor- response, reorganized for the newsletter. Construction Start* Road Status If Weather Permits Loridans Drive Completed - Mountain Way Completed - North Ivy Road Currently advertising. Bids are due October 4. December-January Old Ivy Currently advertising. Bids are due October 4. December-January West Wieuca Road Procurement scheduled to advertise in October. January-February Wieuca Road Procurement scheduled to advertise in October. January-February *Construction schedule will be more defined when contractor is on-board. Neighborhood Opinion Survey—Tell Us What You Think Periodically, NBCA asks residents how they feel MARTA’s role in North Buckhead about current issues. This issue we’re asking Last fall, Atlanta voters approved a 40-year about two topics that we haven’t explored in sales tax increase to fund improvements to much detail: The Park Over 400 proposal and MARTA within the city limits. Some are excited MARTA’s role in North Buckhead. about this initiative helping to address one of Park Over 400 the city’s biggest problems: traffic. Others wonder if North Buckhead will see any benefits This is a proposal approved in a 4-3 vote by the Buckhead Community Improvement District at all. We want to explore your thoughts about (BCID) board for a new park. It would be a MARTA. Would you ride MARTA if the “last mile” issues in North Buckhead were addressed? Or, major gathering space built in the space above GA 400. It would be big, extending north-south is there nothing that you can think of that would get you on a MARTA bus or train? half a mile between Lenox Road and Peachtree Road. It would be very expensive; cost Our October 2017 Opinion Survey includes these estimates mention amounts around a quarter of two topics as well as others that may concern a billion dollars! Most people wonder who’s you. The survey is being announced both in this going to provide that kind of money (and hope newsletter and by email. If you don’t get it by it’s someone else). Some think it somehow email, take it at www.nbca.org/survey17. won’t make our traffic congestion worse. We’ll publish all responses (fit to print) without Others wonder how that could possibly be. But, identifying names or exact addresses. it would definitely raise Buckhead’s profile, so do these issues matter? Page 4 North Buckhead Newsletter October 2017 BCN Conducts Forums for Candidates for City Offices The Buckhead Council of Neighborhoods, Questions asked in both forums were based on founded in 2008 by NBCA and three other questions proposed by BCN neighborhoods neighborhoods adjoining Roswell Road, now (including North Buckhead). If you want to includes 21 Buckhead neighborhoods. It review those questions, go to http:// provides a non-political forum for Buckhead tinyurl.com/BCN-2017-Forum-Questions. neighborhoods to explore common interests and solutions to common problems involving all levels of government, as well as non- governmental issues such as area history. One of the services BCN has provided is forums for candidates for city, county, and state offices. In 2009, BCN’s Mayoral Forum was reportedly the most heavily attended in the entire city. BCN’s 2017 Atlanta City Council Candidates BCN City Council Forum participants, above, await Forum was held on September 27 in the North the beginning of the forum. Atlanta High School Auditorium. The moderator The three candidates for City Council President are was Loretta Lapore. BCN invited candidates for on the left are (L-R) Felicia Moore, C. T. Martin, District 8, President, Post 1 At-large and Post 2 and Alex Wan. All currently serve on the City Coun- At-large. BCN had previously set a requirement cil. that City Council candidates must have raised In the middle are City Council Post 1 At-Large $5,000 in campaign contributions.