On Sept. 14, a letter was sent from Neighborhood Planning Unit-B to the
members of the Atlanta City Council, which was forwarded to BuckheadView by
Livable Buckhead Executive Director Denise Starling, who stated, “This is the
best communication about the concerns over the proposed Lindbergh development
that I have seen.”
 |
| NPU-B Development &Transportation Committee Chair Andrea Bennett |
The cover letter from NPU-B Development & Transportation Committee
Chair Andrea Bennett, who also was the author of the attached main letter to
council, urged council members to read carefully before casting their votes on
Monday the reasons set forth in the NPU-B’s letter urging denial of
Z-11-19/CDP-11-06.
It also points out that the items related to the requested land-use and
zoning changes for the proposed “big box” development on Piedmont Road, between
Morosgo Drive and Lindbergh Drive will come before the full City Council on
Monday without recommendations from the Zoning and Community Development/Human
Resources committees.
“For the reasons set
forth in our letter, NPU-B urges denial,” Bennett wrote in her cover letter. “This
legislation would be a significant step backward for our city. NPU-B
urges the council to stick to its guns and uphold the current 2011 CDP and
SPI-15 zoning regulations by voting to deny the legislation.”
The following is the
text of Bennett’s main Sept. 14 letter to members of the Atlanta City Council.
Re:
Z-11-19 and CDP-11-06
“I am writing on behalf
of NPU-B to urge denial of the above two pieces of legislation.
“At the outset I want to
emphasize that NPU-B is neither anti-development nor anti Walmart. To the
contrary, NPU-B favors redevelopment of the parcel in question, but believes strongly
that any redevelopment must comply with the city’s long range plan as
established in the CDP and SPI-15. Our
position is based not on the tenant but the failure to meet land use and zoning
requirements.
“In enacting SPI-15 back
in 2001, the Council stated: “The intent
of the council in establishing SPI-15 Lindbergh Transit Station Area Special
Public Interest District as a zoning district is to…enhance and protect the
Lindbergh Transit Station area as a model for retrofitting an existing
automobile-oriented commercial strip into a transit and pedestrian oriented
mixed-use and multifamily urban neighborhood.”
 |
| This map of the Lindbergh area where the development is proposed to go was prepared by Gordon Certain of the North Buckhead Civic Association and includes the last site plan for the development that NPU-B has seen. The plan reportedly has since been changed to reduce the surface parking to 200 or so spaces with another 200 or so in a parking deck. |
“The present applicant,
a shopping center developer, seeks to overturn both the land use and zoning in
order to construct a very large (4.2 acre) surface parking lot and an adjacent
one-story big box (3.7 acre) superstore.
“NPU-B recommends denial
for three specific reasons:
“1.
The applicant has not provided any factual basis to support a land use change. “In fact, real world conditions
strongly suggest that such action would not be justified. For example:
• “The applicant has not
done a traffic study, but claims its project is pedestrian and transit oriented.
However, under industry standard
guidelines, a superstore of this size would generate 10,541 daily auto trips.
• “The developer has
suggested there is no market for multi-family residential at this site. In reality, the occupancy rate for apartments
in this area is 95.8 percent.
• “The developer
contends it is not feasible to put parking underneath the store. That is directly contradicted by the Walmart
anchored center it is developing in Denver, where parking is placed underneath
the store.
• “According to
Walmart’s website, supercenters employ 300 people, not 600 as suggested by the
developer.
• ”The applicant has
asserted there is no grocery store in this area. However, there is a Target Fresh Grocery
approximately 300 feet away. Within 1.5 miles
there is a Kroger, a Trader Joe’s, a Whole Foods and 2 Publix stores. There is also an abundance of vacant retail
stores and other undeveloped tracts that are designated for retail use.
“2.
The proposed use is incompatible with SPI-15’s mandates for transit- and
pedestrian-oriented development.
 |
| This photo was taken the last time the attorney for the developers presented the development plans to the NPU-B in June of this year. |
“The largest single
component of this proposal is a surface parking lot of approximately 4.2 acres. This directly contravenes Subsection 8 of the
SPI which mandates that any re-development within SPI-15 must “provide parking
in an unobtrusive manner.”
“Large surface lots are
specifically deplored in the city’s long term plan for Lindbergh. In the 2011
CDP, the Planning Department stated as follows:
““Over time [the city's]
built environment gave way to suburban-style, automobile-oriented strip
shopping centers, the creation of large Super blocks, large parking lots
abutting streets, buildings with blank walls, and isolated residential
subdivisions and gated communities as a result of zoning regulations that
placed the emphasis on the automobile and separation of land uses. The result
has been a breakdown in pedestrian-scaled streets and the urban fabric and character
of the City. This type of development does not support a livable character or a
human scale within commercial and residential districts.” (p. 314).
“Simply stated,
Lindbergh is not the place for a huge, suburban surface parking lot.
“3.
Throwing out the CDP and the requirements of SPI-15 profoundly undermines the planning
process and community participation.
 |
| This site plan for the proposed development was the last one presented to NPU-B for consideration and shows the 150,000-square-foot big box Walmart store at top left in brown and a 7-acre parking lot in front of it. Any new plan has not been sent to NPU-B nor is it available online, |
“A new wave of Americans – young and old -- is
flocking to cities because they want communities that offer more than the
suburban experience. Yet nothing
typifies that suburban experience more than the big box superstore sitting in a
huge parking lot.
“SPI-15 reflects a huge
investment in planning and seeks to capitalize on the unique transit
infrastructure at Lindbergh. The site in
question is adjacent to MARTA’s Red Line, Gold Line, the coming Clifton
Corridor line to Emory, and the Betline.
It is also the nexus for 6 bus lines.
“It would be tragic to
waste this opportunity to create a truly transit-oriented, pedestrian friendly
district here by placing a multi-acre surface lot in the middle of things.
“The harm has already
been addressed by many prominent stakeholders:
“The Atlanta Regional
Commission says “this proposal does not appear to support the City of Atlanta's
2011 Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP) or MARTA TOD Guidelines.”
“MARTA states, “The
proposed project is heavily automobile oriented and suburban in style.”
“The Chair of Congress
for a New Urbanism puts it even more bluntly: “(We) are gravely concerned about
the proposal and the precedent it could set. … It is with this in mind that we
believe the Lindbergh proposal would represent a step backwards if approved. What
concerns us more is the precedent that this disregard for the sound planning
would represent…Following on the heels of a drawn out rezoning for Lindbergh
City Center, the 2001 TSADS and ensuing SPI 15 were created to avoid future
battles and proactively plan for Lindbergh as a model transit-oriented
development. With this history in mind,
we ask you to carefully consider the negative ramifications for both the
Lindbergh area and Atlanta’s public planning process if the rezoning and CDP
amendments are approved, which we believe represent an unsettling deviation
from the vision of the TSADS, an assault on good urbanism, and a disregard for
the public process and the public trust.”
“In addition, over 500
citizens have individually set out their comments in opposition to this
proposal.
“And while the Beltline
has not yet weighed in, this development would literally be in their backyard. An auto-oriented, suburban style big box is
anathema to the Beltline’s goal of establishing new transit and pedestrian connectivity
throughout the city.
“Finally, the integrity
and meaning of the entire planning process and the NPU system would be profoundly
called into question if a single developer is allowed to override years of planning,
community involvement, the city’s long range plans as expressed in the CDP and
in Special Public Interest Districts such as SPI-15.
“If the land use and
zoning requirements of SPI-15 can be dispensed with without the presentation of
any factual data, what is to prevent the next developer from making the same contention
elsewhere in the city?
“NPU-B is made up of
some of the city’s most active and fastest growing neighborhoods. Our
population in 2010 had grown to 47,292. We include Lindbergh/Morosgo, Lenox, Brookhaven,
Buckhead Forest, Pine Hills, Buckhead Village, East Chastain Park, Peachtree
Park, Garden Hills, Peachtree Heights East, Ridgedale Park, Peachtree Heights
West, South Tuxedo Park, North Buckhead and Peachtree Hills.
“Not surprisingly, we
are joined in opposition to this proposal by our neighbor, NPU-F, which
includes the 23,641 residents of Atkins Park, Lindridge/Martin Manor, Morningside/Lenox
Park, Piedmont Heights and Virginia Highland.
“People all over Atlanta
are working hard to make our communities more livable, walkable and
sustainable. We also want to ensure that
the City of Atlanta does not fall behind its peers around the country and
internationally. In today’s world people
are drawn to urban environments that are known for their progressive goals and
the ability to make themselves unique.
They seek the human scale and the qualities and diversity that make a
place special and identifiable.
“We fully appreciate
that living in a big city requires give and take. I know that you on the council are always
striving to find the right balance of interests.
“In this case, NPU-B
strongly urges the Council to deny this application. It’s not what the city set out to do all
those years ago. And it’s far from the
best we can do now. Our process is at stake,
as is our future development. “
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