Bill Grossman, President, welcomed all Board Members and visitors. Board Members in attendance are: Larry Adams, Joyce Amacher, Stephen Barton, Kent Brooks, Robin Burch, Dennis Crean, Greg Crnkovich, Barbara Dodds, Tom Dwyer, Bill Grossman, Susan Harper, Stacy Harris, Renate Herod, Alan Mothner, Gerri Penn, Bill Robinson, Al Tiede, Joe Tuttle, Howard Wescott, and Jean Williams.
Approval of Minutes
The minutes for the November 7, 2010 Regular Board Meeting were approved unanimously.
Zoning and related issues
- Georgetown Kroger, Coro Realty –Paul Ludwig went over some of the changes they have made since the November meeting. They reworked the parking lot so that they can have canoe sidewalks with trees and plantings. To address the traffic back up at the main entrance at the light they have closed off the part of the lot near the front to minimize cross traffic. There will be a sidewalk from Chamblee Dunwoody Road across the lot to the shops. The new design allows for more parking spaces. They are not sure about the ground/monument sign at this time. They want to remove 3 mature holly trees for the streetscape. One gets in the way of pedestrian traffic and two are just old. They have made their best attempt for a streetscape but since there is no Master Plan yet, they can’t match it.
- Chik –fil-a – Marianne McKay showed us some things they have incorporated since our last meeting. They reduced the curb cut from two to one. The traffic per day prediction is 924 trips per day. With their 4 other area stores 55% of their business is drive thru with 462-5554 trips during peak hours. They feel the peak hours for the new store will be an hour at lunch and an hour at dinner. They hired URS to do a traffic study. They think the new store will be 75% of the chain average and said the Sandy Springs store is 141% of the chain average. They have spoken to Michael Smith, Director of Public Works, to address the traffic issues. They discussed a possible restriping of the street to allow for a left turn lane. They also spoke to staff to condition only that piece of the property to C1. They will need a variance for parking since there will be 19 spaces for parking which Bob Lundsten said is a 66% reduction. If they were to get the C1 spot rezoning Bob said they cannot use parking from the rest of the center as that would be cross parking in two different zonings. They will also need a variance for landscaping strips. Bob Lundsten addressed the rezoning as not fitting in with the newly adopted CLUP. It does not meet the standards of the Jett Ferry Gateway. He also asked whether we would feel the same way if it were a Krystal applying for the rezoning. Bill Robinson told us what he would motion during the voting session of the meeting in support of the rezoning with conditions.
- Chase Bank – Bill Grossman said that the Village Committee had met with Chase representatives and approved what they are proposing tonight. Seth Swisher said they would locate by the vacant Texaco, the Dry Cleaners/Pilate Building, and an easement. They will require a modification to zoning where the easement is located next to Just Brakes. They will also need two variances for parking and the front building setback. City staff suggested they move the building closer to the sidewalk. There will be five phases of development. They will have three drive thru lanes and an ATM in the final phase. The dry cleaner will move back to their original location where the bank is now located in Dunwoody Hall. They think it will take 22 months to complete. They have not started the architectural aspect of the project. This won’t be a prototypical of a Chase Bank and they have to make changes and enhancements to comply with the overlay district. This is the preliminary stage.
Community Affairs
- Light Up Dunwoody – Renate said there was great weather, a great parade and that it really went well. Greg said the one concern he had was that the kids were playing too close to Chamblee Dunwoody. They will work on that for next year. Renate said the Peachtree Charter Middle School Band will go first next year. Bill G. congratulated Renate on the great job she did. Bill also said in order for the tree to go higher, they would need a cement pad and they are working with the Dunwoody Preservation Trust. They used the profit from the 4th of July Parade to fund LUD. Al Tiede mentioned that Santa is retiring and should receive an honor.
- Code Enforcement – Gerri said that Tom LaPenna was selected to be the Sergeant in Arms for the Georgia Association of Code Enforcement. They did a sweep of the Manhattan Condos and there were minor violations. Tom said they have an excellent building engineer. Peachtree Place North has 6 months from the date of inspection to comply and they will need permits. The first 3rd party inspection of interiors was completed at Ashwood Apartments. Because North Chase is o large of a complex they are inspecting every other week building by building.
Messages and Updates from the President
- Membership mailing review – Bill G. said we have 1100 renewals and new members which is pretty typical. We did not mail to 30350 (Sandy Springs) but did mail to 75 people in that zip who are members. Some people feel we should mail to the 30350 that is part of the DHA map. The cost for adding them to the mailings is unknown. Dennis said we should include them or change our boundaries to the city boundaries. Some of these areas have no non city representation. Drop Bill a note about this issue.
- Future Surveys of the membership via Survey Monkey – Bill G. said we have an account with Survey Monkey for $20.00 a month but have not conducted a survey yet. Bill would like to survey existing members for instance about Chik –fil-a. Drop Bill a note about ideas for surveys.
- Nancy Jester, District 1’s new Board of Ed. Member thanked everyone for their support and she will attend DHA meetings. She is working on a new web site and will be conducting surveys. She will sworn in on January 3, 2011.
Board only discussion
- Chase Bank – Greg is concerned about the location of the building 15’ from the curb. Any roadscaping could interfere with the 15’ pedestrian buffer and perhaps it should be 25’.
- Georgetown Kroger – Susan felt we should vote since Coro is going before the ZBA in January. Bill G. thinks the City will ask them to enlarge planting areas so trees can grow. Susan met with them about the current walkway which is not stroller or wheelchair friendly. She said they mentioned last month that they are working on that issue. Stacy made a motion to approve which was seconded and approved with two abstentions from Gerri and Joe.
- Chik-Fil-a – Bill Robinson offered the following motion to the DHA Board: DHA approves the Chik-fil-a rezoning to C-1 if Chik- fil-a agrees to a 20 year lease and Mark Burkholder agrees to 20 year covenants that limit the site to one drive thru restaurant, and disallows vehicle sales and service, hotels and motels, and homeless shelters and transitional housing. The motion was seconded. Susan Harper was concerned about this rezoning as it is not the only NS shopping space in the City. She said the City wanted to correct what was wrong with DeKalb county when they threw away their CLUP and this is not adhering to our newly adopted CLUP. She said we should consider the ramifications of this rezoning not just for this location but city wide. Stacy is concerned that with a 22 car drive thru and 19 parking spaces it is not catering to a family restaurant . Larry brought up the Glaze Dr lawsuit as it applies to the conditions and how they were not complied with by original owner and new owner. Greg did not feel it is the best use of space. The vote on the motion to approve Bill R.’s motion failed with 3 for, 11 against, and 6 abstentions by Bill G., Robin, Joe, Dennis, Renate, and Gerri. Susan motioned to oppose the rezoning which was seconded with a vote of 11 in favor, 2 against, and 6 abstentions by Bill G., Robin, Joe, Dennis, Renate, and Gerri.
The meeting was adjourned.