MLPA Board Meeting Sept. 13, 2010
Call to order and welcome
Meeting called to order by Charlotte Gillis at 7:30pm. Board members present: Charlotte Gillis, Dianne Olansky, Mark Romzick, Susan Schlittler, Tracy Brown.
Reports from Elected Officials and Others
Officer Bandy from Zone 6 of the Atlanta Police Department was present. Reports limited success with cleaning out of urban campers at creek at Herbert Johnson Park. One repeat offender has been arrested 6 times but keeps coming back.
Security Committee Report
See attached report. Mark will order 100 more stickers for our MSP signs to get us through the year. Will continue to shop around to get sturdier signs and posts since we are seeing an increased number of warped and twisted signs that are relatively new. Tracy Brown who is now providing weekly crime reports to MSP members asked for more feedback from patrol officers to include in the weekly update.
Treasurer’s Report
There was no Treasurer’s report.
Events Committee Report
Susan reported that Morningside Cooks (Oct 16, 1-5pm) and the Monumental Ball (Oct. 29, 7-11pm at Magnolia Hall) are coming along as planned. Still need raffle items and gifts for the silent auction at the Ball. Contact Susan, 404-358-5929, or susan@14west.com
Susan reported the following PR: Atlanta Intown and Skirt are doing articles on the events.
Communications Committee Report : No report
Membership Committee Report:
Membership continues to increase slowly.
Traffic Committee Report:
Dianne reported that Tim Etherington, a resident on University Drive, borrowed the radar gun to do an independent speed study on University. He has heard from the city that University does qualify for speed humps if they can get 75% buy-in from residents there.
MES will be getting a large grant for its Safe Routes to School program. Ash Parker, a parent who has headed up the application process at the school, will join us next month for an overview of the plan and will hopefully have some type of timeline. I encourage you all to go to http://ivic02.residentinteractive.com/programs/kb.content_view?xowner=20... to review the draft plan. Radar signs will be put on East Rock in the school zone. The N. Highland/E. Rock Springs Road intersection will be realigned. Cumberland and N. Morningside will be made a 4 way stop with intersection tightened. N. Morningside and N. Highland intersection will be tightened. N. Morningside at Rock Springs will be improved by closing slip lane and reconfiguring the intersection. A Hawk signal will be placed at E. Rock Springs and E. Sussex. Several of these items were in the URS Morningside Traffic Calming Study done some years back for MLPA. Unfortunately, the city had no money to implement the URS plan. The total of all the above listed improvements is $448,000 and covered under the SRTS program.
Dianne will be focusing on Johnson Road and Lenox Road in the next few weeks, compiling speed info and video to show problem areas like some of the intersections along Johnson Rd. Several intersections there are blind to oncoming traffic from Johnson and make turning left or right extremely dangerous. I hope to have the info to the city by mid October.
Parks and Environmental Affairs Committee Report
Charlotte reported:
Old/Continuing
1. Construction continues for the new cable suspension bridge over S. Fork Peachtree Creek. It is a little behind schedule due to some site engineering problems and a change to a part of the bridge design. One problem has been solved and the other is in process. The bridge should be finished by November 1. Coordination continues between the City of Atlanta Parks Department, PATH Foundation, Morningside Place Homeowners Association, Morningside Nature Preserve Steering Committee and MLPA Parks & Environment Committee.
2. Construction of the new trail to connect the bridge to the other existing trails is complete.
3. The City of Atlanta website is back online.
4. The City Parks Dept. and the Morningside Place Homeowners Association (MPHOA), Morningside Nature Preserve Steering Committee and MLPA Parks & Environment Committee are working together to develop signs to better inform trail users in the MNP where the trail path is located so that they do not enter the private property of the condos.
5. Homeless issues on Johnson Road and along the South Fork Peachtree Creek: these are being addressed by the Atlanta police and city parks department.
New:
1. Stream Cleanup in Morningside Nature Preserve: On September 11th, Atlanta Area Returned Peace Corps Volunteers promoted environmental stewardship in the Morningside Nature Preserve. Working in the south fork of Peachtree Creek they hauled away 33 tires, and a very heavy and full garbage bag of broken glass to be recycled. They also filled one trash can and hauled away another station wagon full of items to recycle and properly dispose of! Dewey Grantham of Liberty Tire Recycling accepted the tires free of charge for recycling.
Zoning:
V-10-134 1268 East Rock Springs Road
Applicant, Susana M. Cabral, seeks a variance from zoning regulations to reduce the west side yard setback from the required 7 ft. to 3.5 ft. to increase roof pitch and attic space for a second story addition to an existing single-family house.
MLPA Action: MLPA board members present were in support of the variance as requested based on site plan dated August. 23, 2010. Applicant has letters of support from neighbors.
No vote was taken because a quorum was not present.
Education Committee Report :
No report.
NPU-F Report
No report.
Alcohol Permits: Mr. Charib Touhami from Perla Tacqueria presented his plans for a Mexican restaurant at the old Mrs. Winner’s site, 1958 Piedmont Rd. Mr. Alex Braunstein presented his plans for Grindhouse Killer Burgers at 1842 Piedmont Rd. It was noted that Piedmont Heights had heard both applicants earlier with some concern on the city’s plan for egress onto Wimbledon Rd from Grindhouse.
New Business:
Sally Sears reported on the continuing work of South Fork Conservancy:
Along Peachtree Creek today, a few parks and greenways inadequately protect the water and habitat as it winds from Dunwoody, Norcross and Tucker to Atlanta. These tiny islands of green are often crowded with people, enjoying the sight and sounds of this historic urban creek. But the green spaces are isolated, not connected to each other. And the ecosystem continues to deteriorate. The parks and paths which do exist hint at the linear park which could wind along Peachtree Creek, reconnecting the wildlife, the water and the people who live along its banks.
The Conservancy seeks support of the communities the creek runs through.
Zoning Committee Report
V-10-052 1210 Zimmer; variance to reduce east side yard setback from 7 feet required to 1.5 feet to allow for an addition and expansion of deck. --- Approved 8-0-0 by the Zoning Committee as submitted, with request to include variance number on letters of support. Following a presentation by the applicant and discussion, the MLPA Board voted 6-0-1 to approve the application as submitted, noting that requested the variance had been properly described in the support letters.
V-10-063 1116 Amsterdam Ave. --- Approved 8-0-0 by the Zoning Committee as submitted, with request to include variance number on letters of support. Following a presentation by the applicant and discussion, the MLPA Board voted 6-0-1 to approve the application as submitted, noting that the requested variance had been properly described in the support letters.
V-10-068 844 Amsterdam Ave; Variance to reduce west side yard setback from 7 feet required to 1.5 feet to add steps to an existing deck--- Approved 8-0-0 by the Zoning Committee as submitted, with request to include variance number on letters of support. Following a presentation by the applicant and discussion, the MLPA Board voted 6-0-1 to approve the application as submitted, noting that the requested variance had been properly described in the support letters.
V-10-049 726 Amsterdam Ave; Variance to reduce west side yard setback from 7 feet required to 3 feet 6 inches to make a garage addition--- Applicant did not show. Zoning Committee voted 8-0-0 to defer consideration until next meeting. The MLPA Board voted 6-0-1 to defer consideration until next meeting.
Old Business
There was no old business to discuss.
New Business
The Board heard a presentation from the new owners of Oscar’s nightclub at 1510 Piedmont Rd. next to Ansley Mall regarding the transfer of the associated liquor license. This establishment is not in the neighborhood but was required to present because of its proximity.
The Board also discussed the possibility of acquiring a large screen for showing outdoor movies. Trav agreed to collect some more detailed information as to the cost but the Board was generally very supportive of the idea as a way to get neighbors together.
Adjourn
Safety and Security Report
MLPA Board Meeting of September 13, 2010
August like the preceding months in 2010, had few crimes reported to APD. Those reported continue to be property crimes. Fortunately, there were no violent crimes reported.
Recently, we have had two incidents of houses being egged in the neighborhood: one on Wildwood and another on University. MSP believes these may be the work of middle school or high school students. It might be a good idea to put this information on our website so that parents can address the topic with their children. Perhaps someone at the local schools is bragging about it.
Vehicle larceny is our most preventable crime and historically has been our most common crime. Please don’t leave anything in view inside your vehicle and keep it locked at all times. Vehicle larceny is a crime of opportunity. If the criminals don’t see anything, they don’t break into a vehicle. Please let your visitors and workers know this.
Please report all crime or suspected crime, no matter how small, by calling 911.
Please remember to keep the doors and windows of your house locked, even when you are at home. In addition, please be cautious when walking in the evening. Always be aware of your surroundings and other people in the area.
If you see or hear something that does not seem right, please call 911 immediately.
Our Morningside Security Patrol contributes to the safety of our neighborhood. The yard signs of the members and the MSP vehicle on patrol help keep the criminals away. MSP is staffed by off-duty APD officers who have their police radios with them at all times. If you are a former member, please renew. If you have never been a member of MSP, please consider joining. You can renew / join at www.mlpa.org.
Morningside Lenox Park residents - don't forget that Highland Wine & Crystal will accept delivery of packages so they don't have to be left on your front porch. Just stop by, sign their release, and have all your purchases delivered safely. You might say thanks to Skip for providing this service to our neighborhood by buying a bottle of wine!
