If you have thoughts about scooters and bike lanes in Atlanta, the City of Atlanta is hosting a Town Hall meeting on Monday, Aug. 26th at 6 pm at City Hall. Please spread the word. #inmanpark repost @atlcouncil

Need a flag so you can fly your IP Pride? They come in 3 sizes and are sold before the monthly IPNA meeting each month on the 3rd Wednesday at the Trolley Barn. Questions? Email [email protected]

Inman Park Festival
April 29-30 

There will be lots to do: Juried arts show | Crafts show | Three stages of Live music |Quality Eats | Craft beer, Wine, Mixed drinks | Tour of homes | Dance festival | Kid-zone and last but not least…The PARADE on Saturday at 2PM.

Festival hours are Sat 12PM-7PM, and Sun 12PM-6PM.  You can read more about Festival at www.inmanparkfestival.org

Last week approximately 250 people turned out for our monthly meeting. Most were there to consider the Special Use Permit application of the Druid Hills preschool, proposing to move into St. Joseph's Church at the corner of Seminole and Sinclair. The previous week, the immediate neighbors voted 44-7 to oppose the application. At the IPNA meeting, the Preschool presented its proposal to the full neighborhood and the immediate neighbors presented their concerns, which focused on traffic. After more than one hour of question-and-answer, discussion, and advocacy, the neighborhood voted, 110-82, to support the immediate neighbors and to oppose the preschool's application. The neighborhood's vote is not legally binding; it is a recommendation to the City.

The next step in the process is for the applicant to present its application to the Neighborhood Planning Unit. The NPU will consider the application at its next meeting. The meeting is open to the public and anyone interested in the issue should plan to attend, though you should also know that the discussion and opportunity for public input is much more limited than the opportunity afforded at our monthly meeting. As with the decision at the IPNA meeting, the decision of the NPU is a non-binding recommmendation to the City. Rick Bizot, our Inman Park Representative to the NPU, has prepared a description of the procedures that the NPU follows:

Druid Hills Preschool for a Special use Permit

As Board of the Inman Park Neighborhood Association, we are aware that the pending application of the Druid Hills Preschool for a Special use Permit has generated a great deal of interest. The neighborhood will be voting on the proposal at our next monthly meeting on Wednesday February 15 at 7:30 at the Trolley Barn. Below, we set forth the procedures and some other points for any resident who plans to attend to bear in mind.

DELIBERATION.
First, the applicant (Druid Hills Preschool) will have 10 minutes to present its proposal. At the conclusion of the applicant’s presentation, the chair will recognize an immediate neighbor for 5 minutes to present their objections. After these presentations, we will open the floor for 25 minutes for questions and discussion. After the period for questions and discussion, we will devote 20 minutes total to advocacy. Those wishing to speak will form two lines. One line will be for opponents of the application, the other for supporters of the application. We will alternate comments between the opponents and supporters. Each line, opponents and supporters, will be allotted a total of 10 minutes. No individual may speak for more than one minute. Because we have allotted 20 minutes for advocacy, the Board asks that participants refrain from engaging in advocacy during the period for questions and discussion.

We recognize that our procedure requires that all meeting participants act in good faith. The meeting chair may determine, in his sole discretion, that it is appropriate to reduce, extend, or otherwise revise time allotments. The Board understands that there is disagreement regarding the benefits and burdens of the application. We are committed to deliberating constructively on the substance of these points. We urge both supporters and opponents of the application to confer in advance to ensure, to the extent possible, that the individuals making comments do not make duplicative points.

Engineering Project for Dekalb Ave.

The City of Atlanta is planning to undertake a major reconstruction and engineering project for Dekalb Ave. Right now, the City is at the most preliminary planning stage and is seeking public input as to what shape the project should take. The first step in that process occurred Thursday evening at a community meeting convened by Renew Atlanta (the City Office that is leading the planning effort).

At this stage, the City does not have a plan. The purpose of Thursday’s meeting was for Renew Atlanta planning officials to hear from individuals regarding their preferences and priorities for Dekalb Ave. This meeting represented the beginning of the process of community engagement. For those of you who were unable to attend, you may submit your comments on the Renew Atlanta website here. The public comment period will remain open until December 8. After that, Renew Atlanta officials will conduct formal studies of the options and priorities that the found preference during the public engagement process. The closest Renew Atlanta officials came to presenting a concrete plan was the recognition that the TSPLOST measure that passed at the last election includes funding for a multi-use trail from Inman Park to Rocky Ford Rd. (where it would link with the existing PATH trail).

At the meeting on Thursday, Renew Atlanta officials asked the community to imagine an eraser that could be used to clean the slate on which Dekalb Ave. was drawn. What would we want to see in its place if money were no object? Comments focused on prioritizing among four modalities: car, bicycle, pedestrian, and transit. Among those who spoke on this issue, most emphasized bicycle over car traffic. Nonetheless, there were those who spoke up for the importance of maintaining an efficient corridor for the thousands of cars that use this route every day (or, perhaps more accurately, support was voiced for creating such a corridor). There were also many comments made expressing concern about safety. On this point, there was a broad consensus in favor of eliminating the infamous “suicide” lane.

The Beltline Project at 670-690 DeKalb
by Neil Kinkopf

To this point, much of our deliberation over the proposal for this site has centered on whether the development would preserve or inhibit the potential future placement of transit along the Beltline path. I am pleased to report that our goal of preserving the possibility of keeping trail and transit together has been achieved (more on this below). The zoning aspects of the project remain and will require the neighborhood to vote at our meeting on Wednesday.

This is a lengthy post, so I have divided it into three parts. The first section describes the issues we will be voting on Wednesday. We are asked whether the proposal is sufficiently beneficial to the neighborhood that we should support the developer’s request to deviate in two ways from applicable regulations. First, the proposal would exceed the applicable height limit. Second, the density of the residential component of the development exceeds the applicable limit. The second section lays out the compromise to resolve the Beltline transit issue. The third section responds to some questions that have been raised regarding the process the IPNA board has followed.

1. The Zoning Issues

The developer asks the neighborhood’s support for its requested height variance. Our historic preservation regulations contemplate that variances up to a certain height can be granted (though they need not be). The proposal’s height is within the limit that we may (but, again, need not) permit.

IPNA Meeting • 7:30 p.m. • Babysitting Available
The Trolley Barn • 963 Edgewood Ave. July 20, 2016

I. Welcome & Introduction of Newcomers

II. Minutes of Last Meeting

III. Announcements

Those of you who know me realize I seek amusement at every turn. Whether it be during IPNA meetings or slinging Festival trash while wearing a khaki cap bearing three butterflies, in my self-proclaimed role as Supreme Commander of Trash & Recycling.

I stole the latter title from no less than Dwight Eisenhower, who was Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe, and Douglas MacArthur (Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers). World War II? You’ve heard of it?

Upon his retirement, General MacArthur gave a memorable speech to Congress. I will unabashedly paraphrase his remarks by saying to you, the readers of this column, that “old (trash) generals don’t die, they just fade away”.

Summary of Proposed Revisions to IPNA By-Laws

 This is the first proposed set of revisions to IPNA’s By-Laws in several years. It is offered in support of IPNA’s expanded website and membership management capabilities, and in recognition of the fact that our lifestyles have all been impacted by the Internet.

The highlights of the revisions are as follows:

The revised By-Laws begin with provisions customary to those of well-organized non-profit organizations by referencing the Georgia Non-profit Code, which prevail in instances of conflict. The name of the organization and the boundaries of the neighborhood are delineated. The latter now ties to City of Atlanta maps, and replaces mention of the Southern Railroad Line with “Atlanta Beltline/historic rail bed”.

Walking the Walk

By Dennis Mobley    [email protected]

At the February meeting of the Inman Park Neighborhood Association (IPNA), we experienced not one but two examples of how we all might better “walk the walk”.

Our first example was an outgrowth of the remarks made and questions answered by Atlanta’s exciting new Planning Commissioner, Tim Keane. Of course the tenor of many attendees’ comments and questions were regarding traffic and pedestrian safety. (After all, it WAS an Inman Park meeting). In response, Tim (as he likes to be called) made a confession. He does not own a car. He also in effect issued a challenge: He cited statistics that calculate the average number of car-trips made per day by suburban households: Twelve (12). Further, he revealed the corresponding average for America’s truly great, urban, walkable cities is seven (7). He said that here in Atlanta we will not thrive as a genuinely great urban city if we simply “out-suburb the suburbs”.

WELCOME TO OUR NEW WEBSITE!

This is the very first web log (aka “blog”) that I, Dennis Mobley, have written in my year-and-a-half as Inman Park Neighborhood Association (IPNA) President. I thought it fitting that I write something to acknowledge the debut of our new MemberClicks®-powered website. So WELCOME TO OUR NEW WORLD!

What is significant about this new infrastructure is that the shiny new web pages are the front end of a robust Membership Management platform that will make it easier for each of you to join, support and STAY JOINED to IPNA!

Look out for our email!