The City of Doraville has on its February 21 Council agenda a discussion of setting limits on allowed paint colors on private homes.
From the discussion via NextDoor (emphases added)
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Hello Doraville residents. I noticed in the agendas from the Work Session Meeting from 2/16/17 and for the upcoming Council meeting on 2/21/17, that there are proposals made by Sharon Spangler and Shannon Hillard for restricting the external colors that can be used for single home dwellings as well as restrictions for front yard gardens and the type of materials that can be used. There are no specifics listed in the agenda as to what these restrictions could be. I strongly urge anyone who does not like the idea of adding more ordinances that restrict what we can or cannot do with our private properties, our homes, please attend this meeting and let your voice be heard. I will be there since I most certainly do object to this kind of nonsense.
I do not want to see such restrictions become a part of the city's ordinance code. I made a point of not moving into an HOA and certainly do not want the entire city to become one. There are enough ordinances regarding how we maintain our homes in Doraville as it is. I find these proposed types of restrictions a violation of my property rights and freedom of expression. If I want to paint my home purple (and I almost did), then it is no one's business if I do. Don't like it? Then don't look at it. There are far more important things to consider than what color someone's house is.
If I want to use old metal drums for planters or reuse/recycle other types of containers for a front yard garden then I don't see the issue. As long as it is clean and safe, who cares? Once again, how one decorates their home via house colors and gardening styles should not be restricted with very few exceptions in regards to public safety.
The words that are the city's motto, that are on the city's website, their newsletter are the following:
Diversity, Vitality, Community
Diversity:a range of different things; variety. How much variety will exist if everyone's home has to be a neutral color? Or can only be blue, green, or yellow? How different will one home look from another if all planters must be made of a certain material and can only be a certain size?? If all the flower beds are rectangles?
Vitality: the state of being strong and active; energy. And now opinions will vary on this one, but I find nothing so dull and lifeless as a bunch of identical homes with identical lawns. Do we not gain strength and life from diversity?
Community: a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common. Now this one is even trickier. Does Doraville want a community of diversity and vitality where people of different cultures, with different opinions and ideas are able to come together to live in relative harmony? Or does Doraville want a different kind of community?
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This person's post is not hyperbole. Here is the Doraville city council agenda packet for 2/21 with all of the data on this question included.
1 comment:
A follow up comment. Again, emphases added:
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Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend the meeting due to my schedule. I will be sending the Mayor and Council an email to voice my disinterest and disapproval in this type of ordinance. I am not in anyway interested in implementing color/garden standards for this area. While some paint choices are not my style, they are someone's and I love the diversity. That is something Doraville should continue to build on, not legislate. I feel there must be many more important areas for our council to focus on vs. nitpicking someone's house colors and gardening style. The real estate market is thriving here and I don't think wasting time on these types of code changes/ordinances are necessary or beneficial and my ultimately be detrimental to the growth in our area. Let's keep progressing forward, building an exciting, unique, diverse city for all to embrace. I'm not interested in becoming a cookie cutter suburb, if we had wanted that we would have moved to Dunwoody. I prefer the Portland way of thinking - Let's Keep it Weird Doraville, or at the very least unique and inclusive for all residents!!
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OUCH!!
People outside of Dunwoody don't know how diverse it really is. But some diversity is celebrated while other diversity is punished. But we always "commend" you for coming forward, right Council?
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