In spring and summer of 2014, the Center for Discovery purchased a home on Manget Way in order to convert it to a treatment facility (or group home, depending upon who you ask) for teens with eating disorders.
I'll not rehash the entire controversy in this post but here are some historical references:
http://sdocpublishing.blogspot.com/2014/04/zoning-retrospective-group-homes.html
(Commentary from this blog)
From the Dunwoody Crier:
http://www.thecrier.net/news/article_95a74d8c-b99a-11e3-8672-0019bb2963f4.html
http://www.thecrier.net/news/article_a1cf7334-16b3-11e4-9da8-0019bb2963f4.html
http://www.thecrier.net/news/article_e8a04420-1c38-11e4-9c21-0019bb2963f4.html
The denoument where the City of Dunwoody settled the inevitable federal lawsuit:
http://www.reporternewspapers.net/2016/07/10/dunwoody-city-council-settles-lawsuits-manget-way-home/
It is now 18 months after this process was legally resolved.
As per my usual this time of year, I submit ORRs to do research on the status of home-based businesses. License, physical location, cross-reference code enforcement complaints, etc. As I'm going through the lists and updating the map, a couple of map points jogged my memory about this event. On the Dunwoody Home Business map, grey markers are used to note homes that have been involved in some zoning controversy but were not home businesses. (That is, the home owner does not live in the house full time and work there as a secondary use. The home was converted entirely to a commercial housing facility. ) Manget Way was one of those markers.
"I wonder what's happening there now?" I thought.
A little Google fairy dust later generated some interesting results.
The facility seems to be open for business. Here is their website with a video presentation of the homel:
http://www.centerfordiscoveryatlanta.com/location/
Note the street address is obviously Dunwoody but they list the city as Atlanta. Six of one, half dozen of the other I suppose.
Then since I had the list of business licenses in front of me for the map project, I did a search to see if there was a business license associated with the property.
There is no business license issued to the Center for Discovery home on Manget Way, or to the LLC that made the purchase, Dunwoody DV, LLC. The only licenses issued to Manget Way addresses are to other home/business owners.
Then I did a search on the LLC. There is no sign of any company called "Dunwoody DV LLC" in Georgia or any other state. There is not even a public record of the LLC being dissolved or terminated. (Another series of records I look up for the home business map.)
My previous searches on code enforcement complaints came up empty on Manget Way complaints. I have an ORR in the hopper right now and that will bring out more current answers.
So as a result of this extended legal process, there seems to be a mixed bag of outcomes. Some homeowners sold their properties and relocated when word of this facility spread. When someone sells a property, that means someone else is buying and those new neighbors don't seem to have any complaints thus far. All is quiet according to the code enforcement docket.
On the other hand, a multi-million dollar company is operating freely without a license and without paying the same business taxes that the rest of us have to pay. I'll be interested to see if our city government follows up on that.
UPDATE 7/17/2017
It came to my attention that there is some confusion about the information above.
1) The "business license" in Georgia is a colloquialism for an Occupational Tax Certificate. So when the blog states that Center for Discovery is operating with out a license, it should be understood that "license" is shorthand for "occupational tax certificate".
2) Center for Discovery is a for-profit business. There is nothing about it that qualifies as a not-for-profit that would exempt it from taxes or other regulations (Federal Fair Housing Act notwithstanding).
3) According to the main corporation's press release (http://www.prweb.com/releases/2017/02/prweb14076227.htm), the opening of Manget Way was announced in mid-February of this year. There was reference to an "open house" in the blog post. According to their Facebook page, that open house was held on February 23. https://www.facebook.com/events/1360773197295404/. The ORR for code complaints covering this time period is in progress. We will find out if there were any code complaints associated with this address.
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6 comments:
Final update:
I just went through all of the code enforcement complaints for the past 6 months. (Mid February through Mid July). There are NO complaints filed against the Center for Discovery location on Manget Way. Not just not confirmed: **not filed**.
Either the organization is making a special effort to keep their activities quiet, or our community concerns were blown out of proportion at the beginning. Or both.
More details will come when available.
Good work here SDOC!
Seems the City is following up on licensing 'irregularity' per 8/8/17 edition of The Crier.
Thank you, Max.
Welcome Dunwoody Crier readers.
More important than the licensing fees and taxes (IMHO) is the total lack of code complaints filed once the dust settled. Many in Dunwoody ASSumed (myself included) that a "medical facility" broadly defined would be an inherent disruption in a neighborhood. While it is early, I believe that it is telling that no one has filed any complaints against the facility. No complaints = no problems. Maybe we have to swallow some pride and admit that we who supported the opposition may have been wrong.
IMHO, the application for use was ambiguous. As well, the application was submitted during a leadership vacuum when the City did not have a City Manager. A staffer approved the decision, with little or no sponsoring advice. Was this all a grand scheme or just how events played out? Don't be too hard on yourself.
That said, this particular use seems innocuous.
Uses like group homes are allowed under Federal law, with some conditions.
This is such bullshit.
You don't like the home being there, so you do an open records request to see if they have any uncrossed "t"s or undotted "i"s in hopes you can get rid of it?
Let me make this clear: The Center for Discovery owns that property. Not you. What they choose to do there, unless it is illegal (and running a home for teen girls with eating disorders is not), is quite frankly none of your goddamn business.
It is my hope the center takes legal action against you, and in fact I shall strongly recommend it, if for no other reason than to stop your campaign of harassment.
And we have our first unhappy customer.
Let's go back and read the post again. I thought of Center for Discovery incidentally while working on another project, after obtaining public information for said project.
Second - no one is trying to get rid of anything. If you read the responses, you'll see that I suggested that the opposition to the company may have been misguided. The city's own records vindicate CFD.
In fact, you sound like you and I are on the same side of the line regarding what people do on their private property out of public view that isn't illegal. How about blowing some of that angst at our local elected officials who REALLY engage in harassment. More blogging to come on that subject. ;-)
But I'd rather you have a nice, relaxing weekend first, maybe calm down a little. No one is going to waste legal resources persectuing lil ole me for publicly confirming they are NOT a nuisance.
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