Greater Decatur

Welcome to Greater Decatur

click on the image to see it enlarged

Greater Decatur is an organization of people who would like to see Greater Decatur (an area circumscribed by a cirle of radius of roughly 1.5-2 miles centered on the Historic Courthouse in Decatur, GA), which is already great, moving toward very more greatness. We welcome anyone who shares this goal, even if they live outside the highlighted circle.

Greater Decatur is larger than the 4.2 square miles of incorporated City of Decatur and the 30030 area code, but smaller than all the Decatur, GA addresses as defined by the USPS.

Nestled inside the I-285 perimeter around Atlanta, north of I-20, and southeast of I-85; Decatur is a small town (established 1822) which has been surrounded by the burgeoning Metro Atlanta. Even though it is the county seat of DeKalb County, has about twenty thousand residents,  and is less than six miles from downtown Atlanta; it still has the feel of a small town. Some say it's where Mayberry and Berkeley coexist.  This organization wants Greater Decatur to grow and prosper, while maintaining this highly desirable characteristic.

Southern Living names Decatur one of ten tastiest towns in the South

 The January 2012  issue of Southern Living announces the ten finalists in the search for the South's Tastiest Town.  Online voting begins 12/23/2012. 

N. Druid Hills-Briarcliff Patch conducts Walmart poll

Results of the unscientific N. Druid Hills-Briarcliff Patch poll, as of 9PM Monday (The article was posted at 7:55PM):

Even though this is unscientific, and most of those reading this patch are probably on the outer edges of Greater Decatur, it will be interesting to see the results by tomorrow.

Is Amazon a potential bigger threat than Walmart to "mom and pop" shops?

Do at least some of those opposed to a second Walmart in Greater Decatur (in part because it will hurt local small business) probably shop online with Amazon? If so, they may be supporting a growing "evil empire" which threatens the economic fabric of small towns:

From an article in Daily Finance:

"People who fired up Amazon's Price Check app at a bricks-and-mortar store could scan an item and submit the price the shop was charging. More often than not, the app will reply that it can be had at a cheaper price. However, on Dec. 10 Amazon made things interesting by offering customers an additional 5% off (up to $5) on up to three qualifying items.

In other words, Amazon was providing a financial incentive to folks to discover how out-of-touch retail pricing can be at some stores."

See full article from DailyFinance:http://srph.it/t8DS1m

Amazon can covertly invade our small towns without worrying about zoning laws, parking variances, or citizen petitions.

How fast are coyotes?

We know coyotes are not nearly as fast as road runners, but sad empirical data tells us they must be faster than cats and dogs, and online data verifies this:

National Geographic says 40 mph, but that's still faster than dogs and cats.

Coyotes are pretty much everywhere in the US now, and nobody wants more of them, which is why Georgia law specifies they be euthanized if trapped. That doesn't sit well with most greater Decaturites. And declaring open season on them is out of the question.  (Any sound like gunshots lights up Twitter with tweets with the #DecaturGA hashtag.) The City of Decatur recommends peaceful coexistence.

If you don't want to trap them and kill them, your best bet is to not leave your trash outside, and keep your small kids and pets inside (or in a high fenced in area). The good news is cases of coyotes attacking adults are very rare.

Audio of Selig argument for Suburban Plaza/Walmart parking variance

On 12/14/2011, the DeKalb County, Georgia Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBOA) heard the request of Selig Enterprises for a "special exception" (variance) from Section 27-585(m) of the County Zoning Ordinance for less parking per square foot of store space than required by County ordinance (5.5 spaces/1000 sq. ft. required, 3.9 requested).

The opening argument was made by Steve Rothman of  Wilson, Brock, & Irby, LLC.

He based the argument for fewer spaces based primarily on a 1.5 hour study of similar malls in metro Atlanta, using this poster (click for larger image):

Due to operator error, the first few minutes of his comments were not recorded. The audio picks up with him speaking about Chamblee Village.  To hear it, click on the bar below:

SPpkgVarZBOA20111214SeligWMopnTruncated3min49sec

Following this, 25-30 citizens commented for 26 minutes (see earlier post to hear the audio). Citizen comments were cut off with 5-10 people still in line.

Selig was allowed rebuttal time of 14 minutes. Scott Selig (Sr. VP, Acquisitons & Development, and the fourth generation to be in the Selig Enterprises family business)  starts, followed by Bill Stogner (Sr. VP, Retail Leasing, who says he's been trying to fill Suburban Plaza for six years) and others. At points, members of the board ask questions. Sometimes charts are held up to clarify. Representatives of supporting and non-opposing neighborhoods were called to speak. A copy of the the portion of the agreement between the Medlock Area Neighbors Association (MANA) and Selig/Walmart relevant to parking (linked in an earlier post) was submitted.

Click on the bar below to hear this segment:

SPpkgVarZBOA20111214SeligRebuttal14min19sec

Then the ZBOA deliberated for 26 minutes (see earlier post to hear the audio), ultimately voting to grant the special exception.

The County Zoning Administrator confirmed something closer to 3 parking spaces per thosand square feet of store space is the current thinking for malls, and DeKalb County is considering moving closer to that, especially for Living Community Initiatives (LCIs). 

How big is Walmart?

This ingraphic in the continuation is only indirectly related to a probable second Walmart in Greater Decatur, but it's interesting to see just how big Walmart is globally. [I can not certify its accuracy. The source links are listed at the bottom, if you want to verify or refute it.]

I found this at the Frugal Dad site (as linked from the Tell Selig: No Walmart in Decatur Facebook page.

Agreement between MANA, Selig, and Walmart regarding Suburban Plaza development

The website of the Medlock Area Neighborhood Association reports the details of the agreement MANA signed with Selig and Walmart.

• The Memo of Understanding (MOU) outlines non-binding agreements between MANA and Selig Enterprises. We believe Selig enters this agreement in good faith. 

• The Conditions document lists conditions that Selig agreed to as part of negotiating neighborhood support for their request to the ZBA. 

The documents can be viewed at the MANA website.

The Conditions document was attached to the special exception for parking the DeKalb County Zoning Board of Appeals granted Wednesday, 12/14/2012.  See previous posts for audio from that meeting.

While MANA was the lead, representatives of a number of other nearby neighborhoods participated in the lengthy and painstaking negotiations, including (but perhaps not limited to) Clairmont Heights Civic Association, Medlock Commons, Decatur Heights, Springdale Heights, Sycamore Ridge, Sycamore Station, Glendale Estates, and the Christian Towers.  For various reasons (one being most are not incorporated), no other neighborhood organization co-signed the document. Some neighborhood organizations elected to remain neutral, neither opposing nor supporting the parking variance. None took an opposing position. [That honor goes to Not in My Neighborhood, an area-wide organization claiming 378 names on its petition as of the meeting.] All should benefit from the concessions Selig and Walmart made.

As is typically the case, not all neighbors agreed with the postion taken by their representing organizations. They were free to speak individually at the ZBOA meeting.  Some felt they were not sufficiently involved in the process, and were not given an opportunity to vote on their neighborhood's position. That's for the neighbors and their organizations to resolve.

The focus now moves to what most concerns many in the area: Traffic.  As Commissioner Gannon stated in her letter (see previous post), a lot of work is ahead in this area.

Nearby neighbors are generally excited about the potential other merchants which will be drawn by a nearby Walmart as anchor store, and a revitalization of a center which even Selig admits has been in long decline. Bill Stogner of Selig mentioned some expressing possible interest: Staples, Michaels, H.H.Gregg, Dicks Sporting Goods, Home Goods, TJ Maxx, and LA Fitness.

Here is the "community" in which Suburban Plaza has "lived" since opening in 1960, with only some of the nearby (within 3/4 of a mile - roughly inside the largest highlighted circle) neighborhoods labeled. During those 51 years, I'm not aware of any organized effort to change the DeKalb County zoning from that which allows "big boxes" since DeKalb has had zoning.

click on the image to see a larger one

Commissioner Gannon's comments on Walmart at Suburban Plaza

DeKalb Commissioner Kathie Gannon's comments (prior to the 12/14 ZBOA meeting) were posted at the website for the Clairmont Heights Civic Association (CHCA).

A quote from her letter:

"DeKalb County and Commissioner Gannon are very concerned about the traffic generated by Wal-Mart and specifically how it affects the surrounding neighborhoods. The County Transportation Department will be making recommendations concerning the intersections, road widths and sidewalks in the immediate vicinity of the store." 

Audio of citizen comments about Suburban Plaza Walmart parking variance request

Beginning 2PM on Wednesday, 12/14/2011, the DeKalb County [GA} Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBOA) heard the request by Selig Enterprises (owner/developer of Suburban Plaza just northeast of the city limits of the City of Decatur, GA) for a "special exception" (commonly known as a parking variance) to accommodate a Walmart SuperCenter (with underground parking) at the corner of N. Decatur Rd. and Medlock, near the busy six-way intersection with Scott Blvd (click on the image to see it slightly larger).

Here's the request (click to see larger):

A large crowd (over a third of which were with the "Stop Walmart" movement -- which has 378 signatures on a petition -- and stood up when asked by a lady making an evangelical anti-Walmart rant) showed up, even though the meeting was on an afternoon of a work day:

Following the arguing of the case for the variance (LESS parking per square foot of store space), which lasted roughly 7-8 minutes, citizens were allowed to comment. Something like 25-30 lined up.

The board expanded the time allowed from the normal five minutes to 15-20 minutes (the chair saying "Let's see how it goes.") It actually went over 20 minutes, followed by rebuttal comments by Scott Selig (4th generation) and Bill Stogner representing Selig Enterprises and representatives for Walmart. They called neighborhood leadership groups speaking in favor of the variance.

A number spoke not about the subject at hand, parking, but rather about traffic on surrounding arteries or their objection to Walmart in the community. 

At least one person wanted to speak after Selig and Walmart, but was not allowed, as you will hear.

Click on the bar below to hear the 33 minute (amplified) audio:

SPpkgVarZBOA20111214CitizenComments

more in the continuation

Audio of ZBOA deliberations on Suburban Plaza parking variance request

On Wednesday, 12/14/2011, from 2PM to 3:30PM, the DeKalb County Zoning Board of Appeals considered a request for a special exception (commonly called a variance) for parking submitted officially by Stephen Selig of Selig Enterprises, the owner and developer of Suburban Plaza just outside (by 500 yards) of the city limits of the City of Decatur, GA.  At the end, it voted to approve it, clearing the way for construction of a 147K sq. ft. Walmart SuperCenter with underground parking a the corner of N. Decatur Rd. and Medlock, adjacent to the six-way intersection with Scott Blvd. (The property has been zoned C-2 commercial -- which allows big boxes -- for decades and nobody has made any concerted effort to change that.)

This author broke the news with a tweet sent round the world at 3:30PM, and retweeted multiple times by those interested around the city (even by our local State Senator):

Here's how the variance read [click on image -- formatted for an upcoming video -- to see it in a more readable size]:

The meeting started at 1PM, but other items came first. This item came up at 1:57PM. The developer was given extra time, over and above the customary 5 minutes, to present the case, which primarily consisted of presenting a study of an hour or two on a Saturday afternoon at similar developments around metro Atlanta, using this chart (pieced together from images taken after the meeting):

Something like 25-30 citizens then stood in line to state their opposition at the podium.  (About 1/3 of the crowd was affiliated with the "Stop Walmart" movement.) They were given 20 minutes, and went over that. The developer was then given some time for rebuttal, during which time those representing neighborhood groups stated either approval or a neutral stance.  (In earlier comments, some individuals voiced disagreement with their boards' agreement, and felt the process was more clandestine than consensus building.) The board asked questions of the developer. The final 26 minutes, from 3:02 to 3:28PM were consumed by the board in deliberations. (Three people standing at the podium were allowed to speak, on the condition they were addressing parking. One "gentleman" shouting out "point of order" was not.)  A motion to defer for 30 days was voted down. The board voted (with two votes against, by the Chairperson and Liz Beyer) to grant the special exception.

Video is coming, but since many complain they cannot play the video, given their connection speeds, the 26-minute audio (amplified, because the recorder was on the front row which is still 20-25 feet from the elevated platform where the members sit in a semicircle)  is being presented first.

To help you put a face to the voices, here's the board -- along with the districts represented [again, click on the image to see a larger one]:

The predominant (slightly deeper) voice is that of the Chairperson, Bonnie Jackson. The second-most predominant female voice is that of Liz Beyer.  The predominant male voice belongs to Darryl Jennings (who can barely be seen in the image, due to the camera angle). The rather testy interchange is between Lez and Darryl. Rebecca Williams speaks some, early on.  (She and Bonnie disagreed on whether parking and traffic are related.) Tyrone Magby speaks once or twice. Nadie Rivers-Johnson speaks once (maybe twice). 

Bonnie Jackson and Liz Beyer voted against (mainly to allow more time to review the case and to allow opponents to pay for and present an independent traffic study). They were not the majority, so the special exception was approved. 

To hear the audio, click on the bar below (assuming you have audio playback capability, of course):

SPpkgVarZBOA20111214BoadDisc26min09sec

You should be able to hear everything, but you may have to adjust your volume up or down at times, because 1) The volume was not balanced between speakers, and 2) The recorder was on the front row which was still about 25 feet from the platform. It would be GREAT is board meetings were audiotaped by the County so all citizens (many of whom work during a weekday) could see/hear them. (Ch. 2 did present a video blurb of a minute or two that evening, but nothing as comprehensive as this.) Until then, VSM (very small media) productions like this will have to suffice.

After the meeting, the Stop Walmart crowd vowed to fight on. 

Future audio posts will provide the opening argument by Selig and the community arguments. A future video post (with poorer audio) will show the deliberations as seen from the front row. [Sorry, this is VSM -- very small media.]

You are encouraged to comment, but please abide by site standards for civil discourse. The author reserves the right to edit or delete comments deemed not to rise to these standards.

Greater Decatur is officially impartial and will post (within limits) pro and con information regarding this development.