Haunted Trail & Fall Festival 2023

 Info and tickets available in the Haunted Trail & Fall Festival page!

Go to the Haunted Trail & Fall Festival page for details!

North Decatur Road Initiative: Design Presentation [June 21]

From June 7, 2023 presentation

 Per Decatur Next...

Proposed designs, based on prior input from prior sessions, will be shared on Wednesday, June 21 from 6-8pm, at the North Decatur Presbyterian Church, 611 Medlock Road. There will be a presentation, followed by Q&A, followed by an opportunity for further community input. Please arrive by 6pm. 

Notes and slides from the presentation on June 7 can be found here.

North Decatur Road Initiative Notes (6-7-2023)

From June 7, 2023 presentation

Big thanks to Monica Morgan for providing this summmary of the June 7 meeting:

"Quick recap of the meeting this evening in case you missed it, and info below on the meeting tomorrow.

The section of N. Decatur Rd. and sidewalks from approx the six-way intersection up to Webster Dr. will have some changes - could be minimal, could be quite significant, dependent on public input.

WHAT: Presentation of N. Decatur road study- a range of options were presented to address safety concerns, traffic, and drainage. Details, impacts, and costs were all presented. Lane changes, turn lanes, roundabout, sidewalks, crosswalks… etc.

GOAL: To gather public comment and determine what the neighbors’ priorities are.

If you weren’t able to attend the meeting but want to learn more and give your feedback there’s another meeting on JUNE 8th 6-8pm at Decatur Recreation Center (231 Sycamore Street). The same information will be shared.

If you are able, please attend tomorrow and give your feedback! This is how they’ll decide what direction to go with the design. They did a quick digital poll with us while we were in the room using our mobile devices."

To access the slides of the presentation, click here.

Findings of North Decatur Rd. Initiative

The City of Decatur is sharing findings of its North Decatur Initiative Transportation Study. This relates to improvements to the North Decatur Rd and Superior Ave. intersection.

Image from https://www.decaturnext.com/2022/11/17/n-decatur-road-kickoff/

 

Please join 6-8PM on June 7th at North Decatur Presbyterian Church (611 Medlock Road) or June 8th at Decatur Recreation Center (231 Sycamore Street) for a presentation of the findings and an opportunity for the public to provide input regarding the path forward. 
The same information will be shared at both meetings; please join at 6PM to avoid missing the presentation. 

Do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.

CARA SCHARER, PE (she/her)
Senior Engineer
City of Decatur
Public Works Department

South Peachtree Creek PATH and Tax Allocation District updates

 Some very brief updates:

PATH UPDATE: connecting North DeKalb Mall to the Medlock Park neighborhood. Seep page 14 on this link for specifics on our neighborhood https://drive.google.com/file/d/1glTAFKCsVjUxbL-nCqhwvVIvfqdf8wwP/view

TAX ALLOCATION DISTRICT: With the North DeKalb Mall redevelopment are plans to establish a Tax Allocation District (TAD), which would be used to pay for infrastructure and other improvements in the nearby vicinity of the redevelopment. These are essentially tax dollars that would be earmarked for use only in our area. The current TAD area includes North DeKalb Mall, Clyde Shepherd Nature Preserve, Little Creek Horse Farm, Laurel Ridge Elementary, Druid Hills Middle, University Heights UMC, Shamrock Forest, Medlock Park, the International Community School, Shamrock Plaza, and several businesses along N Druid Hills Rd and Lawrenceville Hwy. This proposal is pending final approval from the DeKalb County Commissioners at this time. You can review this proposal here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/12zk2KITJOKc-JFuiRClU3vxECHIZa8J_/view

Fall Festival and Haunted Trail [Oct 22]

 See UPDATE below!

 

Online tickets are now sold out; there will be a very limited number of tickets available on-site on October 22.

Food will be available for sale. See the Fall Festival and Halloween page for more details.

DeKalb's Comprehensive Land Use Plan needs additional review and input

Commissioner Jeff Rader requested that we distribute his message below, to share his concerns about the DeKalb County Comprehensive Land Use Plan which, in his opinion, requires more review before it is approved. See the relevant files and his concerns below

DeKalb County Comprehensive Land Use Plan 2050

Comprehensive Land Use Plan Resolution

Agenda Items (July 12)

"This document should get a lot of review and comment from the public, particularly our ITP neighborhoods represented by CAN.

The most notable section is the creation of a new extensive “Walkable Neighborhood” Character Area which, if you review the map on p 42, encompasses much of D2, D3 and D4.  To me, it is problematic because it suggests disrupting current stable patterns of development with the introduction of more mixed use and higher density housing without a strong foundation of infrastructure, including street grid, bike/pedestrian , and public amenities necessary to support the evolution they prescribe for the Character Area. 

Note also the zoning table, which eliminates R-100 as a compatible zoning classification and suggests new uses more extensively distributed throughout the new “Walkable Neighborhood” areas.

As you know, our stakeholders intensively negotiate new urban development serving our neighborhoods to insure the density, diversity of use and development design actually perform as advertised.  In my opinion, this site based focus would be diluted under the new Character Area, and we would be faced with a lot of new proposals that better match a builder’s proforma rather than the community’s needs.  I believe that diffusing development through our neighborhoods would also reduce the market imperative to plan and execute truly urban projects replacing obsolete commercial districts as was accomplished at North DeKalb Mall.

In any event, stakeholders need to dissect this draft and weigh in before it goes to DCA.  Once approved by them, there will be resistance to further amendment.

I hope you can get this out and alert our neighbors that they should speak up at the public hearing on July 12 and ask for more review.

I’ve attached the plan, and will follow with the public hearing agenda item and other supporting documentation for circulation to CAN and others.  Let me know if you have questions."

 

Jeff Rader

Commissioner, District 2

DeKalb County

jrader@dekalbcountyga.gov