Dear neighbors,
Earlier today, the DeKalb County Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) approved Selig Enterprises' special exception to reduce parking; this vote clears the way for the next stage in the redevelopment of Suburban Plaza. It was a very contentious meeting as many people felt it was their only venue for stating how they feel about Walmart. As noted elsewhere, Suburban Plaza is already zoned for a big box store with Walmart’s specs and the ZBA could only vote to do one of three things: accept the request, reject it, or defer it for later consideration. The ZBA voted to accept the request with conditions (see below).
MANA feels the negotiation succeeded in reaching concessions that would not have been offered otherwise. MANA was the only organization that was, due to incorporation status, able and willing to sign an agreement. Several other neighborhood groups agreed not oppose or support the special exception if Selig and Walmart continued working with MANA.
The documents that resulted from MANA's negotiations with Selig are available below.
- The Memo of Understanding (MOU) outlines non-binding agreements between MANA and Selig Enterprises. We believe Selig enters this agreement in good faith.
- The Conditions document lists conditions that Selig agreed to as part of negotiating neighborhood support for their request to the ZBA.
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Local News have reported on the ZBA vote as follows: AJC, The Champion
