I live in Dunwoody, Ga. It is a small community (an unincorporated area of DeKalb County) which is a part of “Metro Atlanta.” Actually Metro Atlanta is 15 some-odd counties which are loosely held together by our infamous I-285 highway. I believe it is the only interstate highway in the county that runs east, south, west, and north… at the same time (AKA “The Perimeter”).
There has been a long debate among some of the “unincorporated” areas on whether we’re getting services back from the respective counties to which oodles of taxes are paid. A few of the communities have petitioned and won the right to vote for cityhood and self-determination. My Dunwoody is having its “big vote” today, July 15, 2008. Mind you, Dunwoody is the fourth major unincorporated area to go down this path. Recently the cities of Sandy Springs, Milton, and Johns Creek all took on the county and won. So I sit here at my desk wondering:
a) If it will make a difference to our daily lives
b) How as an architect (one of four I believe in the proposed “city”) I can assist and/or be in a position to make this proposed city a little bit better
c) What expertise I can offer
In the meantime what else can architects do (with our overriding sense of “good” versus “evil”) to step in and help the communities? What have you done? How can/should someone evaluate the possibilities?
—Lisa Stacholy, AIA, NCARB
Comments (4)
Now that the City of Dunwoody has held its first election and the mayor/council members are hard at work, the CEO of DeKalb County, Georgia, wants to use taxpayers' money (of the county) to sue the new City of Dunwoody. You won't believe this one... Read on.
http://www.thecrier.net/articles/2008/10/08/front/suit.txt
Posted by Lisa Stacholy, AIA, NCARB | October 8, 2008 2:26 PM
Posted on October 8, 2008 14:26
Wow, that is a great opportunity for city building. I hope that the new city takes the time to carefully consider the effectiveness of its eventual zoning ordinances. Take a look at Portland, Oregon; Ann Arbor, Michigan; and Asheville, North Carolina for how architects--especially in the AIA-- have helped to change the face not only of the present city but the future as well.
Good Luck!
Posted by Louis Smith, AIA, NOMA | July 18, 2008 9:22 AM
Posted on July 18, 2008 09:22
It's 7/17/08. The city of Dunwoody was voted a resounding "yes" by 84% of the residents in the area. I'm really surprised at the 84%; that is a huge margin. The neighborhood paper is having lots of fun, http://www.thecrier.net/articles/2008/07/16/front/election.txt, An article in the Atlanta newspaper http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/dekalb/stories/2008/07/12/Dunwoody_city_vote.html reports it also. Interestingly the article seems to point to how it's all about the dollars and sense--what the area feels it is not receiving under the present governmental situation. Stay tuned; this should be interesting.
Posted by Lisa Stacholy, AIA, NCARB | July 17, 2008 10:12 AM
Posted on July 17, 2008 10:12
Yesterday morning I was on a prospective job site with a client. The site was an abandoned gas station, near what is considered to be “the Heart of Dunwoody.” We were debating how and what could be put on the shopping center out parcel, how it could be accomplished, building type, area, drive-thru access possibilities, etc. Then a gentleman drove up to us and asked what we were doing. The property manager gave a brief description and the gentlemen said that he is the president of the local homeowners association and he is glad to see some activity on the site (yada, yada, yada). We chatted a bit and he was very confident that the cityhood measure would pass. He also relayed some of the recently approved redevelopment occurring in the area and further emphasized how great it will be to have a great project on that spot in the new city. It was really interesting because I had nearly the same discussion with the property manager not 6 minutes before the gentleman drove up to us. The property manager recognized the importance of the site not only with regard to its development and income potential for his company but also for the prospective tenant who might ultimately wind up in the building. He also made specific note of how we were in the unique position to be the first one under the new process if the cityhood was approved. I think he even said he wanted folks to come and look at our building, point to it, and say, ‘See, that is want we want in Dunwoody’; adding this could be really good... I hope so!
Posted by Lisa Stacholy, AIA, NCARB | July 16, 2008 8:46 AM
Posted on July 16, 2008 08:46