UPDATE - Zoning Codes Gone Awry - Glaze Drive and "Dirt"

DHA had an item added to the agenda after the board received it via email on Thursday.

It would seem that "City Hall" has approved a permit to dump 5700 cubic yards of "dirt" (from the Chamblee HS construction site) into a less-than-one-acre lot at the end of Glaze Drive.

Being new(er) to this area than many on the DHA board I had to learn a few things about this area.

Previous site of the Glaze family hardware store
and grocery.  Intersection of Glaze and Peeler roads,
a few feet away from Dunwoody's "Gateway"
intersection of Peeler and Winter's Chapel

1.  Glaze Drive is named for this family which still owns the lot at the end of the R-100 and townhome housing developments.  The bare, half-overgrown lot next to the Shell station used to be the site of their family businesses.  (For Sale)

2.  The land in question has been a dump in the past for such notables as GM and similar industries.  God only knows what is under the top soil.  The dump was closed years ago.

3.  The land is bordered by a number of housing developments, including Four Oaks, and the North Atlanta Memorial Park.

The not-otherwise-named "Mr. Glaze" has apparently signed a deal with the contractor hauling dirt from the Chamblee HS construction site to have said dirt dumped into just under an acre of space in the lot.  During the meeting it was calculated that there would be around 600 trucks driving up and down that residential street to dump the dirt.  Starting in 2 weeks.  Did I mention that the road is not paved, but merely covered with gravel?  After driving down Glaze Drive myself I could see that it is actually paved, however the street becomes extremely narrow toward the end and the edges are deteriorating.  Perhaps the "gravel" mentioned at DHA was inside the property itself?
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UPDATE:
Since a previous visitor commented that most of Dunwoody does not know where Glaze Drive is, I thought I'd post a few photos that I took after getting the kiddos squared away for the morning.

Click to enlarge

First, halfway down the street is a townhouse development.  Right behind it are some high tension wires.  Remember the "greenway" plan that would employ space under the electric wires as "linear parks" and alternate transportation paths?  This is the one that would connect to the Gwinnett county parks system.

Click to enlarge

This is a typical single-family ranch-style home in an R-100 zoning designation on Glaze Drive.  The rest of the street not used for Georgia Power easements looks like this.  These homes on HUGE lots would blend in to any Dunwoody subdivision.  This one happens to be for sale, though I wasn't able to get the realtor's sign in the shot.

Click to enlarge

Here's where it gets interesting.  The road dead-ends with rough asphalt edges and no curbs.  A deep drainage ditch lined with rock is to the right.  See that itty bitty, teeny tiny neon yellow-green sign to the right?  That's the city-issued permit sign required by the "land disturbance" plan.  Here's some perspective in terms of how Dunwoody's zoning code is written:  adding a mountain of dirt requiring hundreds of trucks down this road requires a sign the size of a realtor's or candidate's campaign sign.  When my neighbor wanted to offer violin lessons at home (which would create an infinitely smaller impact) she was required to display a city sign six feet tall in bright red on a 30 sf front yard.  Fair?  Not in this universe.

Click to enlarge

The permit.  Same as the one you would use to do home renovations.  Same one that is issued after the Zoning Board of Appeals discusses how many feet from a stream a porch can be.  Or whether a new addition can be placed on a house.  Or whether a home can be used for daycare.  In that context, it just doesn't seem like enough.

Click to enlarge

More perspective.  This is my Dunwoody Mom-Mobile parked at the dead-end.  The street is barely wide enough to allow a minivan to drive down.  You can't turn around in this street without crashing someone's front yard, even if driving something tiny like a SmartCar.  I had to back up 30 feet to access a driveway just to turn around.  And this is the street they want dumptrucks to drive down.

Click to enlarge

The entrance to the Glazes' property taken from the very edge of the asphalt.  Could someone please point out where the road is that can handle construction equipment?








It was also estimated that the level of the ground would be raised about 10 feet if everything planned is dumped.  For some perspective, that's the equivalent of building a one-story office building on the site.   If Mr. Glaze wanted to build an office building on the site, the permit would be denied because it is zoned residential rather than retail or O/I.  But it is within zoning code to pack an amount of dirt equivalent to that size of a building onto this lot.

"Mr. Glaze" filed a request for a "land disturbance permit" to dump the dirt.  He received it from city hall (represented at DHA tonight by the city engineer and community development director).  There was universal shock and anger that the city could issue a permit for this use.  But here's the thing:  everything requested in the permit by "Mr. Glaze" was within Dunwoody's zoning code and the residents have little legal recourse to stop it.  City Hall had no rationale, consistent with the zoning code, to deny the permit.  City Hall staff did not see a need to contact City Council, or the residents because... it was all in line with zoning code.  Rescinding the permit could result in a court battle which, like previous situations, resulted in the city settling in the six-figure range.  There's going to be a lot of talk about this at city hall in the morning to determine what their next move should be to legally protect the residents of the area.

So that's where Glaze Drive and Dunwoody City Hall find themselves now.  This is an extreme example of "unintended consequences" of residential zoning (that one's for you, John....) but it spotlights the inherent double-standard of Dunwoody's zoning philosophy.  To date, everything considered "residential" is considered positive for a residential experience.  Everything considered "commercial" is considered detrimental to a residential lifestyle.  Glaze Drive is the reason that that basic classification doesn't fly.  The Glaze family didn't have to request a single variance, they didn't have to appear before a single board (even once, let alone twice) didn't have to fill out a lot of extra paperwork beyond the land disturbance form, and have no plans to erect signs or conduct any commercial enterprise.  In short, everything is residential and follows the letter of the law.  But the impact on the neighborhood is astronomical and can last months if not years.

Contrast this with the usual minutiae around residential use permits for construction or "commercial" use.  Months of hearings in front of 2 city boards and City Council.  Extra paperwork justifying its existence and clarifying the amount of traffic and "contact".  Who has a car parked where.  Is a parked car going to "change the neighborhood character".  How many people can visit at one time for a "commercial" use as opposed to a "residential" purpose and how can you determine the difference.  Does it matter if the "customers" are children, rather than white-collar adults.  In the end, most times it isn't possible to identify a "commercial" use impact on a residential neighborhood.  When you can, the result is an inconvenience that could probably be resolved amicably in a single conversation.

This is why the hysteria over "commercial use" in a home is ridiculous:  residential use per zoning code can have much greater impact on neighborhood quality than what is classified as "commercial" and Glaze Drive is proof.  The zoning code is created to pay more attention to the arbitrary intention of the owner, rather than actual, documentable effect on the neighborhood.  The words "residential" and "commercial" have become magic words that determine whether an action is desirable or not and have resulted in loopholes and contradictions separate from their actual outcomes.  I look forward to Duncan & Associates to use this example as a new concept of zoning that focuses more on actual actions that impact a neighborhood, instead of hypothetical activities that may or may not be addressed consistently.

I can't wait to see our elected and hired officials get themselves out of this one.

SPRING!!!

Join me in taking a break from the bad news about DCSS spending (again....) and the serious work, marketing, taxes, analysis, whatever you're doing at your desk.  I've got my windows open, fans on, and my office has migrated to the dining table on the deck this incredible afternoon.  One day of respite before knuckling down to serious blog fodder.  Enjoy my surprise finds from my otherwise pathetic front and side yards.

Surprise!  I didn't plant violas this year, definitely not where I found them when I took this picture.  But here they are!

My first attempt at lily of the valley.  They're doing well.  This is the first little bell to peek out of the flower stalk.

I LOVE crocuses.  The only thing that would make this patch better is watching them bloom in the snow.

I prefer narcissus to daffodils.  Bumper crop this year.  Their scent is like perfume out  of a bottle, which you can't get with daffodils.

Some of the hellebores are struggling but they keep trying to bloom.

One of the hellebores taking off.  Right next to the bush where the mockingbirds and cardinals are deciding who  is going to nest there.

White hellebores.  Struggling but persistent.

INTRODUCING - The Greater Perimeter Business Expo

The Dunwoody Business Expo was such a huge smash in 2011 that it has been expanded and improved for 2012.

This year, Dunwoody's chamber has joined forces with the Sandy Springs chamber for a single event showcasing the best of both business communities.

June 1, 2012
Westin Atlanta Perimeter North Hotel
7 Concourse Parkway, Sandy Springs
Website

I was tasked with creating a neutral palette that would showcase the company logos of the participants, along with the usual functionality of online registration and documents.  Appearance-wise, it is 180 degrees opposite the Dunwoody Music Festival. It is still as easy to edit and maintain for the staff as the rest of the Dunwoody Chamber network of websites.

Keep checking back for updates:  this initial launch is the skeleton.  More content will be added by staff of both of the chambers in coming weeks.  Information on this year's awards is still in development.  Personally, I thought the highlight of last year was the Egizio - Priluck Facebook Chicago-Style Vote-Getting Showdown To The Death for People's Choice.  Award contest structures are more complicated when you get more institutions involved so let's hope The Powers That Be bite the bullet and open up the awards aspect as they did last year.  Sandy Springs doesn't know what they missed!  As soon as those decisions get made, I'll be the one putting up the ballots.  Don't crash my server when you vote, OK, folks?

This Expo, hosted by these chambers is a huge boost to our extensive small-business community along the northern Perimeter.  Small businesses have proportionately small budgets so their advertising is going to be based on meeting people in person and forming relationships, rather than extensive ad campaigns with TV commercials and the like.  There are several ways to be involved depending on your budget and schedule.  Booths or tables can be reserved online.  Luncheon and reception tickets are available, another opportunity to make new contacts.  There are three different seminars being given.  (There's limited seating for those so sign up ASAP.  U snooze, U loose.)  Most of all - just make time to attend and visit with the exhibitors and other attendees.  My fellow entrepreneurs know that every contact helps so make the most of this annual opportunity.

F-Commerce gets an F from Bloomberg

A professional acquaintance brought this article to my attention on LinkedIn.  It caught my attention because I'm wrapping the first phase of creating an e-commerce site for a Dunwoody business.

Whenever I meet with a new customer they inevitably ask about how necessary social media is for their sales.  My answer is always the same:  a lot of it depends on my customer.  Do they want to be involved with Facebook, Twitter, et al?  Or are they not going to spend any time on it if it's set up?  If you're not going to commit time and effort to your social media promotion, then it's not the place for you.  If you do make that commitment, then it's extremely powerful for getting attention and generating buzz for your product or service.  I've said this numerous times right here on this blog that social media is not the be-all and end-all of advertising.  At the first Dunwoody Business Expo, we learned that having a Facebook page is not a guarantee of success and not having one is not a guarantee of failure.  A key point is, whatever advertising you do for your business, commit to it and be involved with it to make it successful.  Another key point is, wherever you advertise, no social media will replace the custom stand-alone website.

Here's the proof from Bloomberg online this past Friday:  Retailers Shut Facebook Storefonts Amid Apathy

The original premise was:  everyone's on Facebook, so your customers are on Facebook, that means you can get them to shop on Facebook.  Right?

Apparently not.

Some of the quotes in the article sum up the limitations Facebook has when it comes to commercial enterprises.

“There was a lot of anticipation that Facebook would turn into a new destination, a store, a place where people would shop,” Mulpuru said in a telephone interview. “But it was like trying to sell stuff to people while they’re hanging out with their friends at the bar.” 

Customers had no incentive to shop at Gamestop (GEM)’s Facebook store rather than the company’s regular website because purchasing online is already convenient, said Ashley Sheetz, who is the Grapevine, Texas-based company’s vice president of marketing and strategy. 

“We just didn’t get the return on investment we needed from the Facebook market, so we shut it down pretty quickly,” Sheetz said in a telephone interview. “For us, it’s been a way we communicate with customers on deals, not a place to sell.” 

Previous posts:  http://sdocpublishing.blogspot.com/2011/04/leveraging-social-media-five-lessons.html

BOLO - do-bads casing Dunwoody

Child walking dog approached by suspicious man (WSB-TV Channel 2)

From aHa Connection: Suspicious people in Dunwoody

Don't hesitate to call 911 if anything looks out of place. Whether it's a vehicle cruising a neighborhood or salespeople that just don't seem right, call. I've gotten over my concerns of "maybe DPD will think I'm a moron if I'm worried about a couple of people on the street." They won't. Call and let the police check it out. If it's nothing, no harm done. But a phone call can prevent burglaries, thefts, or worse.

Dunwoody: What is the state of the city?

If my better half gets home from work early enough I plan to be at the annual State of the City on Tuesday.

This address is going to be critical for a number of reasons:  Mike is setting the tone for his administration and it's his first chance to officially show that he's putting his campaign promises into action.  Stop buying, start fixing....

There's a major shift in the thinking about our government between the election process and official events like this one.  During the election there were many exhorting us to pay attention to ALL of the city council elections because our system of local government is a "weak mayor" where the mayor has the same voting power as the rest of the council.    Yet when issues arise - or problems, like executive session becoming a sieve - the wagons circle and the mayor alone is expected to be the voice of the government.

Mike has a couple of situations in front of him right out of the gate that will test his campaign promises and how he will be able to follow through.  The current discussion Kerry wrote of on his blog about Dunwoody's stormwater infrastructure (which he also alluded to in his response to my own survey of candidates) is a prime example.  It has never been a secret that the stormwater system was one in a long line of systems neglected by DeKalb county.  It's also not a secret that the City took over that responsibility.  Too big for our city government, but guaranteed to be neglected further by the county.  There's no cheap or easy way out of this.  So why was Council buying up land for "parks", that were never going to be parks, when the stormwater system needed serious attention and investment?  Mike can't speak to that personally - but four other council members can.  I wish the state of the city address left time open to the council members involved in the land buying decision to explain how they chose their priorities.

I would also like to hear how the open drainage ditches connected to the water works on Peeler factor in to the stormwater repairs and upgrades.  Some of these ditches (not natural creeks, but ditches designed for runoff) are essentially manmade ravines 40 feet deep and run in and out of private property.  Is there a plan to upgrade these too?  Close them in?  Leave them be?  What's the answer?

The other issue at the front of the city's mind are leaks from confidential executive session.  Everyone has a story about how they heard something from somewhere that originated with city hall that was supposed to be confidential.  That's the problem:  if it's confidential, we're not supposed to know about it.  Not even once, not even one person.  Yet so many of us can point to at least one episode in three years of existence.

IMHO, this one is an issue of "growing pains".  If a private HOA or civic group spills some gossip, it's not quite as big a deal because it's private groups with limited legal liability.  But now that we're a city - one that many would like to see fail and cease to exist - every little detail matters.  There is no law or standard or edict so small that it can be ignored when we're sitting on the DOJ's radar.  If you're working at city hall in any capacity you have to be aware of and respect every last detail of the law and ethical standards especially confidentiality.  If you can't get out of the community organization mindset, if you can't resist the urge to gossip or vent - whether you're elected, appointed, or hired - then you want to have a serious think about whether working for the City of Dunwoody is where you want to be.

Mike's decision to bring in Bob Wilson as an "investigator" is a good sign that he's not going to allow Dunwoody to get sunk by idle gossip.  Ideally, Wilson's role would be as an educator in what government confidentiality is down to the smallest detail, rather than sniffing out the rat-fink.  Ideally, the person(s) who slipped up and ran their mouths out of line would man up and admit it.

But no, that doesn't seem like it's going to happen.  The wagons are circled and everything is about "confidentiality" now that there's a problem.  These person(s) are putting Mike in the position of having to be Mayor Hard-Ass when his and the council's attention could be directed to other pressing issues and our finances could be spent elsewhere.

Now that the real estate genie is out of the bottle, it's time to stop hiding behind the "confidentiality" curtain and address the questions that have been raised.  If the land the city purchased wasn't going to be a park or other recreational facility, why was it a priority?  Per Lundsten, if the land is now public property, does council have a right to keep discussions of its use and/or disposal in executive session?  Are we going to have to keep dealing with special-interest priorities taking center stage when documented infrastructure needs can't be ignored?  If so, please explain why.  If not, how is council going to reassess their priorities in Mike's administration?  Dodging the questions will only make the speculation worse.  Just deal with it openly and the speculation vanishes.

Finally, I'd like to hear Mike's POV on Chris Pike's economic development report.  The conclusions at the end talk about how the city should diversify its income to ensure stability.  That means the private sector has to be diversified too.   Hopefully his comments will include something to the effective of  "get out of the way and let our citizens have as much flexibility as possible in making a living and as many options as possible in case the large corporation(s) we entice to relocate here changes their mind and moves away or folds or has massive layoffs after arriving."  The old adage "don't put all of your eggs in one basket" applies here.


A girl can dream.  ;-)  We'll find out Tuesday night if it comes true.

Geekify your wall outlets!

Maybe not the hottest news of the week but I couldn't resist this article forwarded by a friend of mine..

Mobile devices have become such a huge part of our lives and they always have to be plugged in somewhere.  Behold, the new wall outlet that will accomodate a standard USB power plug!

I'm already planning to install these outlets around the house:  outlets next to night stands - especially in the guest room.  Near desks and writing tables.  Kitchen table.   Any place where the kids camp out with their games.   Even that plug in the floor where my husband or I will stretch out with our laptops to catch up on work.

Best of all you don't have to lose one of your standard plugs to an adapter.

Follow the easy DIY instructions to upgrade your sockets.  Don't miss the point about USB sockets requiring a deeper box.

I plan to use the Power2U sockets because the USB can be closed when not in use.  Important when installing these in the floor and/or you have kids (both 2- and 4-legged) running around.

Independent We Stand

If you've visited before, you've probably noticed the first image in the left sidebar.  Independent We Stand is a nationwide movement of locally-owned businesses that is dedicated to educating the public about the benefits of "buying local".  While large corporations have an important role, small businesses have one as well.  Small businesses return more of their income back into their local communities.  Shopping at locally-owned businesses where possible directly supports your own neighbors.

IWS is building a nationwide database of locally-owned businesses, searchable by city, state, and ZIP code.   Visitors to this site are specifically looking to shop at local enterprises and support the local economy.   If you search on "30338", you'll find some familiar names:  including yours truly, the Happy Sumo restaurant at Perimeter Pointe, the Ace Hardware in Dunwoody Village, and the Dunwoody Tavern, and many others.

Your listing is free, with no strings attached.  You can have a listing even if you don't have a website.   Local means locally owned - whether home based or brick-and mortar.  Since we local operations don't have huge advertising budgets every extra bit of ad space makes a huge difference.  Any questions?  Drop them an email, ask for Bill Brunelle, the project manager and tell him I sent you.  Bill is a cool guy.

While we're on the topic of local businesses, stay tuned for info coming soon on Dunwoody's business expo.  Lots of little fingers are very busy on that event.

www.independentwestand.org

Random Small Biz Samples

The old Borders' bookstore at Perimeter Point was the recent home of the Rhea Lana's Consignment sale.  This could be a step in the direction I blogged earlier about Dunwoody using one of these open spaces as a permanent community marketplace.

The closed Blockbusters' next to Azima salon has a new tenant:  Wellstreet Urgent Care.  This chain will be visiting the DHA board meeting tonight to seek endorsement of a variance.  Stay tuned.  (News story on this chain's expansion into metro Atlanta.)

RIP Oscar's Villa Capri.  Technically in Sandy Springs but had a huge Dunwoody following.  I loved Oscar's because he took care of us like family.  When my 2nd child was born, all I wanted when I was finally allowed to eat was veal scallopini from Oscar's.  My husband called, explained the situation, and it was hot and ready to go by the time he got all the way over there.  Nothing tastes better than a meal you have on the brain right after you give birth.  Men - you gotta trust me on this one.

Congrats to Alon's,  d'Vine, and E 48th Street Market for their placement in Gayot.com's Top 10 Wine Bars in Atlanta.  (Article in Patch.)  Gayot.com reviews restaurants and travel services all over the USA.  Placement in these listings is bound to bring more visitors - and their spending money - into town.

Marlow's Tavern is an Atlanta-based chain looking to move into part of Calico Corners' in the Village.  Again, they're visiting the DHA tonight so we'll learn what they're planning to do shortly.  Unlike Wellstreet above, Dunwoody is not listed in their locations yet so this may not be a done deal.

Finally, the Dunwoody Bakery is evolving into a Coffee Shoppe.  Nicely done, folks.  Ever since Starbucks pulled out of Orchard Park there has been a gap needing to be filled - a place to kick back with a cup 'o joe and a sweet.  Along with the gluten-free baked goods they've filled two niches in one shot.  The free WiFi is a great hook.  Almost necessary in this day and age.  And they're still hiring.

Note to city hall - the majority of the businesses in town that are making news or getting settled are based in or around Atlanta and some were born right here in Dunwoody.  In your rush to bring in large corporations to hire the "well educated" work force as stated in Pike's economic report, don't forget the home-grown industries.  They're more likely to stay put in Dunwoody - and their owners can will vote!

The last hope for getting to the bottom of DCSS

DeKalb won't call special grand jury for school board probe

"I believe that these are things the school system can take care of themselves as long as someone is watching to make sure that they are making the appropriate progress." 

--DeKalb Co. DA Robert James

"We've gotta get out of this place...."

"... if it's the last thing we ever do...."

Thank you John for showing up w/ your camera.  I'm glad I had a full work day yesterday.

What bothers me the most is at the beginning when the representatives state that there were no maps presented by "the school board", and that there was no communication.  There was at least one map, presented by Nancy and 2 of her colleagues.  Some people call the delegates' statements "lying".



I can accept that politics is dirty.  I can accept that people are going to get pissed and in each others' faces in official settings. I've done it myself and our own elected and appointed officials have squared off with me a time or two.  But at the end of the day we're all human beings who care about the same things even if we have different approaches.  My parents didn't raise me to behave as badly as the people here.    Thank you, DeKalb Delegation, for giving Dunwoody (Chamblee? Doraville? Anyone?  Bueller?) even more ammunition to support dividing the school districts.  If this is how DeKalb behaves when it comes to planning education, then for the sake of our resident families, our communities have to find a way to separate ourselves from this hopeless government by any legal and ethical means necessary.




If my gentle readers would kindly excuse me, I'm going to go throw up now.  Have a good weekend.

Nancy Jester tweeting live from DeKalb Delegation meeting

The live tweeting is over.  Below is an image of Nancy's messages from the DeKalb Delegation meeting (thanx for the correction, Bob)

School Board Redistricting (updated)

Dunwoody has to find a way to either distance itself from the corruption that has taken over the school system, or overcome it.  I have no idea what will accomplish this so I am leaving it to people who know more than I do on this topic.  Feel free to post in the comments if you have an idea, because I am fresh out.

Excerpted from DeKalb School Watch Two:

On Tuesday (yesterday), a new map (the Mosby Map) for the DeKalb Board of Education (BOE) was approved by the DeKalb legislative delegation sub-committee. This map has 5 single member districts, instead of the 7 districts most voters were expecting. You can view what the Mosby Map looks like by clicking the photo above.  The X’s show where the  5 board members whose terms will continue live.  As you can see, the reps will be heavily concentrated in south DeKalb.
The moment this map is approved, you will hear a loud sucking sound as property taxes will be raised to the maximum amount by the BOE (thanks to gerrymandering, 4 of the 5 members live in South DeKalb).  North DeKalb property owners who pay the highest taxes that support DeKalb County School System and DeKalb County will be victims of taxation without duly elected representation.  Meanwhile, South DeKalb property values continue to decline as a direct result of the greed and ignorance of those who make up the majority of the BOE.

Full Article

---

I'm adding on to this post because I wrote this after midnight while exhausted from a very long day and preparing for an even longer one today.  One last check of my usual online rounds left me utterly gobsmacked at the suggestion of a 5-member BOE.  So much for getting some extra sleep in advance of today's work.

My husband and I moved here in 2004 with his job relocation.  That was the year Lewis was appointed Superintendent.  We deliberately chose this area for the schools, especially the elementary school, thinking ahead to raising our family.  In the amount of time it took for us to get settled in our home, learn our community, start having our children, get the eldest through preschool, and make decisions about kindergarten, (just over 7 years) the Central Office made such a precipitous decline it ended in RICO indictments and test scores across the county landing in the basement.  Ultimately we decided to send our children to Catholic school for many reasons, but the shenanigans at the Central Office played a key role in that decision.

Whether or not you have children currently attending DeKalb County public schools is irrelevant in this discussion.  If you reside in and pay taxes within the boundaries of DeKalb County, this is your fight.  I believe the majority of the inmates at the Central Office asylum will not be happy until Dunwoody suffers from the same poverty, despair, and failure that the worst parts of the county experience now.  That's not impossible.  How we live in our community depends on people wanting to live here.  Bad school leadership means the decline of the home values some will go to extremes to protect. If the school system is dragged down by wasted spending and nepotism at the expense of the students' education, then all of the squabbling we have about O/I zoning, NS1 zoning, attracting large corporations, mom-and-pop small business, home business, and ozzie-and-harriet-residential ideals will be irrelevant.

You want to protect your home values?  Speak up now to protect our schools.  At this time, it's that easy.

I agree with Nancy Jester's presentation in her blog and with John's letter on his blog.  I've submitted this to the DeKalb delegation via email.

While engaging the current battle, there's still a larger war on.  I repeat, Dunwoody has to find a way to distance itself from the culture of failure that has become DeKalb schools central leadership.    Otherwise the future of our city may be in serious doubt.  Tom, Fran:  you're on.

Dunwoody City Council - The Musical!

If this doesn't make any sense, track down the parents of any school-age child and they will explain Phineas and Ferb to you.

The lyrics are on the video's YouTube page.

Many thanks for the inspiration to Rick Callihan and Bob Lundsten and their latest epistles.

FRAUD ALERT - In time for tax season

The latest fraud emails going around are spoofs of Intuit financial services.  Everyone's spazzing about taxes and records and returns so anything from Intuit is going to jump the needle on the anxiety meter.

Intuit's official online security center fraud listings.  Most recent alert was posted yesterday.

As always, when you get an email that appears to be from any of your financial services:  stop, breathe, and DON'T click on any links.  Also remember that no legitimate financial institution will ask for your password.

Best bet:  always call your financial institution at the customer service number listed on your account materials or credit/debit card to determine if there are any issues.  Do forward the email to your financial institution if possible so that they can warn other customers about the fraud attempt.

(Jeff - I got the tax organizer and I'm working on it.  Will get those papers in MUCH earlier this year!)

Oh What a Night ... Taste of Dunwoody 2012 Recap

Pictures are worth a thousand words so I'll keep the words to a minimum.
Thank you to Dunwoody Friends of CHOA for allowing SDOC to be a part of Taste of Dunwoody 2012.  I look forward to sponsoring again next year.

Here's a few photos I was able to snag between mouthfuls on my Facebook page.

The real spirit of Dunwoody is on the dance floor.  Nothing says "no matter what happens, we all love our neighbors" quite like watching Denny Shortal gettin' down in front of the bandstand.  Enjoy!  (If you missed this, get your tickets early next time!!!)

Happy Friday!

For those of you going to Taste of Dunwoody tonight, come on over and say hello!  I'll be modelling a product by SDOC's latest customer.  ;-)

Set your DVRs to catch "Say Yes to the Dress" tonight on TLC at 9 PM.
Tiffany Young, the owner of Pink Pastry Parlor and star of "Party at Tiffany's" on OWN  will be featured.  Tiffany's boyfriend proposed in the last episode of "Party at Tiffany's" and now she is picking out her dress.

Pink Pastry Parlor is a bakery/party venue at Rivermont Station in Roswell/Johns Creek/Alpharetta (depending on which direction you're coming from) that my children and I enjoy immensely.  Tiffany built this business up from scratch after losing her large corporate job.  She is an inspiration to anyone who has had to start their lives over again after a corporate layoff.  We need to support people like Tiffany right here in Dunwoody!

More Working Girl posts on Pink Pastry:

Party at Tiffany's debut recap

Party at Tiffany's debut

Local Business films Grand Opening for TLC Series

Wednesday Morning on Tilly Mill Road

Between 8 and 8:30 AM is "witching hour" on Tilly Mill.  Local residents, commuters from elsewhere passing through, students getting to and from GPC, all lined up on a road that was not built to handle this much traffic.

While we're hashing out the best way to (re)configure the roads, priorities for paving, and other ways of expediting traffic, let us not forget the factors that we have the least amount of control over, but contribute the most to road safety:

The following pic was captured while stopped at the N. Peachtree stoplight.  (I threw the Mom-mobile in park while I got this - no balancing a gear shift and electronics at the same time for me.)  What is wrong in the scene below?

Look closely and you will notice dude in the public safety vest perusing the AJC behind the wheel.  While this image was taken while traffic was stopped, the aforementioned dude was reading his paper at the same time he was driving down Tilly Mill.

Paving, road configurations, synchronizing traffic lights are all necessary to get traffic through and out to where it's going expediently.  But the roads are not going to be any safer until the idea of personal responsibility and good driving habits gets pounded into a few more skulls.

So if you know, or are the supervisor of dude driving a brown Chevy El Camino Conquista (!!) with the license tag below, you might want to pull him aside and explain the benefits of driving safely.  Because clearly, he doesn't currently get it.

College Sorority 101

Atlanta Panhellenic has announced its annual College Sorority 101 informational event for high school girls and their families. Click the image above to download your own flyer.

No doubt if you are headed to college you've heard about sorority life - either from friends or relatives, or from TV and movies.

This is your chance to meet sorority women in person, including collegians, alumnae and some national leaders of NPC sororities and ask any question you have about recruitment, requirements and what to expect from sorority life in the 21st century.  And I do mean any questions.

This informational is important for anyone considering formal recruitment for sorority membership.  If you are not familiar with sororities in real life, you will learn first-hand what you can expect.  If your mom or aunt or other older relative were in a sorority, AAPA would love to see all of you because a lot has changed since their college days.

Please RSVP online at www.atlantapanhellenic.org.
Your information will not be shared; it is only to plan for the number of guests and to contact you in case of any changes.

MS Office Live free business websites is going off into the sunset

If you have been using Microsoft Office Live Small Business and their "free" small business DIY website service, get ready for a change.

Office Live is morphing into Office 365.  The key difference for you is that now it costs money to host your site with Microsoft.  The FAQ section at the site above quotes $15 per month with a free trial period.  You have until April 30, 2012 to decide what to do with your website.

If you stick with MS, you still have to manually move all of your text and images and whatever else you have on your Office Live website onto the new one with Office 365.

Before you decide make sure to read up on all of the features that are going to be available and take some time to determine if they are going to meet your needs.

If MS Office 365 has the interactive features that you need, then all you have to do is recreate your website.

Is the new offering is too much tool (or the wrong tools) for too much money?  You have other low-cost options.    Some small businesses can get away with using WordPress or even Google's Blogger to create their sites.  Or you may need a custom hosted solution.  Either way, don't forget a custom design to broadcast your brand.

Drop me a line if you need to review your options for your MS Office business site.  I can create a theme for your solution that looks just like or better than what you created in Microsoft.  While we're at it, let's make sure that all of your business communication needs are met in the transfer process.

Dunwoody Rezoning: T minus 7 hours and counting

It's finally here, the beginning of the zoning rewrite.  A standing group meeting on a large project has monopolized  my Tuesday nights so I doubt I'll be one of the throng at Dunwoody Baptist Church tonight.

Here's the news announcement from Patch:
http://dunwoody.patch.com/articles/city-begins-zoning-rewrite-process-tonight-with-public-input-meeting

Here's Duncan|Associates that Dunwoody City Hall hired for the project.  (No relation)
http://www.duncanassociates.com/index.php

Here's the guy heading up the project in Dunwoody.  You'll probably see him around tonight
http://www.duncanassociates.com/index.php?page=resume&resume=KirkBishop&name=Kirk%20Bishop&position=Vice-President

Here's his email address:  kirk@duncanassociates.com

The descriptions of the company's past projects aren't specific as to how they rewrote codes, only that they did to make them more internally consistent, streamlined, etc.  This is a good thing.  But there's no clue as to how they're going to implement that here.  As I type this there are closed door meetings happening with the usual groups, which will probably be speaking again at the public meeting tonight.

I've already posted what type of approach to zoning will benefit the most residents in the long term.

Specifically, a solid zoning code has to have a clear, practical definition of "nuisance".  Find a way to make that word an objective, measurable benchmark by which all activities and complaints are measured.  As long as "nuisance" is subjective, any ordinance built on it is a house of cards waiting to fall.

Every resident in Dunwoody wants their neighborhood to be an enjoyable one where it is peaceful to live.  The problem comes from the fact that there is no unified agreement as to what that entails.  There has always been a spectrum of opinions on what constitutes "residential" and that spectrum became clearer after incorporation.  My personal thing about home businesses is only one of the questions being raised.  Don't forget the "urban farmers", the "backyard chickens", the "alternate transportation" and other causes that are questioning the definition of a "residential" activity.  Those questions are not going away.  Fighting at City Hall every single time a new idea comes into fashion is a waste of the city's time and money and residents' energy.

There is one thing that will decimate a community's quality of life more than home businesses, more than backyard chickens, and more than any other "new" activity to be dreamed up.  That one thing is a reputation as "The City Of 'NO' ".  When the entire life of a city is defined by one group within it, and anyone deviating from it is considered an "auslander" to be avoided or suppressed you're going to end up attracting fewer and fewer people to be a part of the city.  The result is, the quality of life that is supposed to be preserved becones "groupthink" and crosses over into stagnation.  What some will find ironic is to preserve a certain lifestyle, it's necessary to find common ground and coexistence within that spectrum of thought.

Not every lifestyle or activity is going to be workable within the city.  I would like to see the starting point of the discussion be an attempt at coexistence, rather than immediate barriers to growth and differentiation.

For tonight, I hope those attending avoid three "H"s:
Hysteria
Hyperreaction
Hyperbole

Let's see if we can get through the night without overreacting to different opinions, dire warnings about "slippery slopes" or just making up a bunch of nonsense because someone doesn't like another idea.

Hell, if this ordinance code ends up getting written well enough, you might even convince me that chickens aren't so bad!

The Fine Print

Whenever John or the City posts documents, take some time to check them out.  I know a lot of this is dry analytical stuff but it's worth it to read over because it gives interesting insights into City Hall's perspective.

This caught my eye:  General Fund Resources & Uses Forecast

It starts out as an overview of economic conditions facing Dunwoody and a perspective on approaches to keeping the city financially solvent consistently as the economy fluctuates.

This quote from page 6 is worth pondering:

We benefit from a more educated work force.  The unemployment rate for those without post-secondary degrees is more than double those with post-secondary degrees.  Without doubt, it is my opinion our strongest weapon for fiscal resiliency is ensuring our labor market is trained and ready for growth while attracting those businesses that will hire our labor.  

No one will argue against the benefit of having large companies relocate to Dunwoody.  Large corporations provide a lot of jobs and a lot of benefits.  But a large portion of the city's business community is in small businesses and entrepreneurs - the things that create large businesses.  If our citizens are smart enough to be hired, are they not smart enough to create jobs as well?  If we are smart enough to attract corporations, are we not smart enough to create home-grown corporations  inside our borders?  There is no mention of the impact of the small business community in Dunwoody in this report, and nothing about intentions to create businesses at home, rather than just attract them from outside.

The economic growth we saw in the 2000s came from small businesses, not large corporations.  After an economic decline, like our recent recession, the small businesses were the first to recover.  Small businesses are a key indicator in economic recovery after a decline.

Does City Hall recognize this?  If so, where is that incorporated into the financial recommendations?  If not - why?

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm..........

How SOPA Can Affect Your Business and You (Yes, YOU!)

I'm not going to get into the flashy symbolic graphics or page-blocking JavaScript, or wax sadly poetic about the evil pall of censorship.

We're just going to keep this really simple for the small business owner who uses the Internet.

Start by reviewing this article from Mashable, with links to the full text of the bills and direct references in the analysis.

Another discussion in simpler terms and spelled out in the form of a hypothetical situation is available at the blog of Splendid Communications, a marketing firm catering to the wedding industry.

If you want it even simpler than that, here is an infographic.  (Be patient.  It's big.)

While much of the media focused on blocking foreign websites with bootlegged material or other malware (what I affectionately call "Chinese Takeout" due to the frequency of spam from that region) there are severe penalties for owners of US websites that are reported as "infringing".

Most people know next to nothing about copyright law.  The public has become so used to seeing frequent images that they ASSume they are public domain.  Very little is public domain.  So if you even unknowingly have information on your website that crosses a copyright line, however obscure, however subjective, a complaint will cut your bottom line off at the knees.  Online transactions and advertising can be blocked and you're relegated to the stone age.  That's just inadvertent infringement.  I'm not going to bother with deliberate theft that is passed on to an unknowing flunkie.  It's covered in the Splendid Communications article.

A precaution I always take as a web designer is a boilerplate statement in all of my contracts that once the site goes live and ownership of the completed code is turned over to the customer, that the customer is legally liable for all of the content on the site.  There are going to be webmasters thrown under the bus with a law like this:  "Hey, it's not my fault.  My web guy put it up.  Prosecute them!"  Not on my watch.

We're not just talking about commerce websites either, gang.  All of you blog owners out there:  John, Bob, Kerry, Rick, TOD, Paula, Cerebration, the other Bob, Donna, Lindsay, anybody else I missed - I know you're all reading this! - think about your comments section.  (Except for TOD who doesn't allow comments.)  You know how the spammers will sneak in their links by registering a Google ID, then posting some bland generic stuff on an old post and then a link to whatever it is they're hawking?  And it takes you a while to find it and delete it?  Under this bill, you're liable for that content.  If no one notices, you get lucky, you delete the comment and go on your way.  But if you miss it and someone complains, you're toast.  I don't know about you but I never feel that lucky.

It's a couple of bad bills that need to go back into committee.

BTW - to get around the Wikipedia blackout:  search your content and hover over the "stop" button on your browser.  The nanosecond the content loads, hit the stop button.  Read away.  The graphics and presentation of Wikipedia's point were good but the JS implementation was amateur-hour.

Taste of Dunwoody 2012 is SOLD OUT

UPDATE:  TASTE OF DUNWOODY 2012 IS SOLD OUT
Let the scalping ticket brokering begin....

Back again for the 9th year in a row is Taste of Dunwoody to benefit Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.  Once again, SDOC is sponsoring the event and my husband and I can't wait for February 3!

Get tickets now.  No really, drop what you're doing, get your wallet, go here, and get tickets.  Back in early December, the event was 25% sold.  It has got to be more than that now.  Last year people thought they could buy tickets the day of or at the door and were shut out.  There were networks of people springing up looking to buy or sell.  Avoid the rush.

Taste of Dunwoody is produced by Dunwoody Friends of CHOA.  All Dunwoody moms and dads, organizing fundraising for all of the funding gaps every pediatric hospital faces.  Check them out on Facebook.  (And if any of the admins from this page are reading - update your info slide, it's about a year out of date.  8^P )  Share the TOD.  Share the FB event info too.

Last year I posted why CHOA fundraisers and support events are so near and dear to us.  Can't think of anything that has changed since then.  Some of you didn't believe my comment about working at the cancer kids' summer camp.  So I dug around and pulled out the camp group picture:

The counselors in their rugby shirts are around the edges and our patients with their siblings are in the middle.  That's one of the official group shots of Camp AOK ("Anderson's Older Kids") around 1995-ish.  It was 103 degrees in the shade and we all had sweat in places we don't discuss in polite company.  The photo was taken the first night of camp after the campers arrived and got settled.  I was the co-counselor of "Cool Chicks Only" cabin.

This summer camp was exactly like any other.  Except the camp nurse was a certified nurse practitioner with an oncology specialty and had to organize maintenance chemotherapy regiments for half of the campers.  Usually that just meant medication in pill form.  A pediatric oncologist was on site at all times.  The guys in the clinic fought over who got up to camp for the week.  The child life specialists (psychology team) sat with the counselors before arrival to discuss each of the campers - who was back this year, who was new, who would never be back again.  These teens saw life and death first hand more than many people do.  Child Life  was always on hand to allow them to talk out their feelings and cope with their own well-founded fears of their own mortality.  That was also the reason for "summer prom":  some of these kids did not live to see their high school senior prom.  But most of the teens in this picture are healthy adults today.

The support programs provided by CHOA through private donations and sponsors are similar to what I have worked with in the past.  Medical care is only the beginning.  For children with serious health issues and their families there's a lot of work involved in finding a new "normal life".  This is what Taste of Dunwoody and other Friends' events are paying for.  Taste of Dunwoody is a lot more than just a party!

Psst - tickets.  Go get 'em.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Dunwoody City Council Meeting January 9.

The short version:  paranoia and hate mail campaigns win the day.  Home based business owners can not expect any rights from this Council.  Except for the right to pay taxes to the city.

The long version:

The first read of the home occupation amendment was converted to a "discussion" per Heneghan.  He insisted that the council "slow down" on its recommendations regarding home business owner rights.  I guess 10 months of discussion is moving too fast for him.

The neighborhood nazis have the ears of the council. Bonser related an anecdote about an "illegal" business causing traffic problems.  She did not say if the people involved in the "illegal" operation were penalized in some way.  Heneghan claimed that the sign ordinance in combination with this new ordinance will allow homes to have commercial signage.  What the sign ordinance has to do with occasional customer contact was never made clear.  Home based operations are not permitted to have signage, period.  Shortal also shot down any expansion of home business owner rights.  He also was skeptical of having a page of links to community organizations on the Dunwoody city government page.  Deutsch explained that the Community Council wanted to streamline the process for home business SLUP applications.  Nall asked questions that pointed out difficulties in the practical application of parts of the amendment.  Thompson and Davis were silent.

There are some glaring contradictions in the "discussion".

Heneghan and Bonser are concerned with "unintended consequences" of allowing home businesses to visit with customers at home.  They were not concerned, however, with the unintended consequences of allowing the same homeowners to raise farm animals in their backyards.  The "needs" of a half dozen families indulging a hobby carry more weight than 500 families making a living.  Hmmmmmm..............

Concerns were expressed regarding "deliveries" at odd hours of the night that would disturb neighbors.  Concerns were not expressed about DeKalb Sanitation or the USPS making rounds as late as 9 PM the past few weeks.  Double hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmms.............

The council expresses concerns about potential parking issues due to home based customer contact.  The same council is not concerned about the inconvenience of street parking for any other reason.   Especially when it is provided by the city as Joe Hirsch pointed out in his public comment. Triple hmmmmmmmmmmmms...........

The council is concerned for neighbors who may be "annoyed" by a home based business.  The council is not concerned about home business owners being harassed by council members' friends in HOAs.  Home business owners have no protection from accusations of "nuisance" that stem from a personality conflict or other frivolous source.  If there is a conflict, the blame will always be placed on the business owner.  I'm running out of hmmmmmmmmmms.

I have no hope that the "discussion" of this ordinance amendment is going to get anywhere.  The general assumption is that all home business owners are careless, evil, and the perpetrators of all things uncomfortable.  Any opinion defending a home business owner that did respect their neighbors was dismissed as an aberration.  Several hundred business owners smeared with a handful of anecdotes with no supporting evidence and no chance for appeal.  This is what Dunwoody calls "transparency in government."  I give up.

I do not and will not advocate violating the law. However tonight's discussion made it clear that homeowners who work from home will not have any rights or protections afforded them.   You can still apply for your SLUP if you insist, but you are subject to wholesale smear campaigns and whatever other tricks City Hall demands.  I predict that most home business owners will default back to "don't ask, don't tell".  The standard, per Bonser, is set by the scofflaws who do not bother to get licensed or pay their taxes.  All others are judged by that lowest denominator.

Is it worth it for a home based business to obey the licensing laws?

I believe not.  There are great expenses in time and effort with no support or positive acknowledgement from the city, and unchecked harassment from community activists.

Should every home based business obey the law anyway?

That's up to you.

To Link or Not to Link - and When

Everyone wants links to their website.  You get more people happening upon your site, and you get better SERPs (search engine results placement).  More links means more eyeballs.  But there is a time when links are more trouble than they're worth.

Back in the day, everybody just linked to each other.  Remember "web rings" and link pages?  That was the beginning of SEO.  But like the rest of the Internet the perception of who links to whom has evolved.

Links to other websites have been used since 1995 to reference related content.  It made it easier for webmasters to connect content without having to duplicate it and take up space on their own server, or to reference copyrighted content that could not be legally duplicated.

When you put a link on your website to another website, you are implying an endorsement.  It's a big sign post that says, "Hey, look at this!  It's good stuff!"  If it wasn't related to your content, or beneficial to your site, you wouldn't bother.

Linking to other sites can have a downside.  It can take attention away from what you're promoting or selling.  If the linked site changes its content, it can reflect negatively on your presentation.

What if there is a conflict between the sites' purposes, regardless of the content?  For example, if the Playboy Foundation wanted to link to Dunwoody Baptist Church, would DBC benefit?  I doubt they would think so because the organizations' philosophies are so different.  Or what if a local city government wanted to link to one of their houses of worship - but only one, out of many in town.  You just ran head-first into the First Amendment, prohibiting the establishment of religion.

Dunwoody City Council is discussing adding links to community groups on its website.  (First agenda item for Monday's meeting.)  Having worked with government entities and organizations with government connections, I am very familiar with this type of situation.

The Background:  The DHA approached City Hall and requested that a link to the DHA be placed on the main page at dunwoodyga.gov, alongside the Chamber of Commerce and CVB.

Problem:  the entire reason for the links to the Chamber and CVB was because of an agreement between those two organizations and city government to create a "unified branding" to reinforce each other.  The DHA was not involved in this agreement.

If the City added a link to the DHA (and ONLY the DHA) in addition to the Chamber and CVB, everyone is between a rock and a hard place.  The Chamber and CVB are bound to a strict style guide in their marketing because of the branding agreement.  There are all kinds of restrictions on how they may or may not use images, logos, colors, etc in all of their materials, including the websites.  It can be a real hassle for each group to distinguish itself from City Hall.  (Ask me how I know....)

So on one side, if the DHA were to be displayed as the Chamber and CVB, they would have to be bound by the same marketing restrictions.  Since becoming more familiar with the DHA, I don't see that happening in this time-space continuum.

On the other side, if the DHA didn't have to follow the same branding style restrictions, the CVB and the Chamber would be on the phone screaming bloody murder at City Hall 2 minutes after the link appeared.

Beyond the implications of the branding project, you have the implied endorsement.  A prominent link by the City to the DHA alone implies endorsement of that organization, to the exclusion of all others.  Every other HOA in town would bristle.  How is it fair for a city government to endorse one HOA but not others?  The arguments over that scenario would make the Chicken Debacle look like a toddlers' playdate at Brook Run.

Hutmacher, in his memo associated with the recommendations (linked above) takes the right approach for any organization faced with the question of building links.  It's a good rule of thumb for any business looking to reference or endorse information outside their own website:

1)  If your business or organization is part of a larger national or international group, consult their guidelines first before adding any more that may conflict.  The memo points out that ".gov" domains have inflexible regulations on advertising private entities.  I learned about that working on websites for both M. D. Anderson (a state-funded hospital) and the DAR (a private organization that was incorporated by an Act of Congress which brings with it responsibilities for their content and the potential for intervention by the Feds.)

2)  Decide what information or content would enhance your site without competing with it. Think about what would make good reference material, or what would make your business or organization appear to be an authority on your subject.

3)  Use a legal disclaimer.  Disclaimers are the final protection between your intentions on your website and a court of law.  But it won't change the visitor's impression:  that your site is endorsing another.  Hutmacher's memo indicates a disclaimer that would absolve the City of any legal ramifications of a link to other content.  In addition, the memo outlines classes of content to be added as community organizations as a whole.  If a single link to a single HOA were added to the exclusion of all others, that would be an endorsement no matter what kind of disclaimer was posted.  But when you add all HOA's, plus houses of worship, and schools etc for good measure, that perceived endorsement is diluted.  The proposed content becomes an authoritative reference on Dunwoody life.

4)  Create a clear website policy going forward regarding the evaluation of links to outside content.  It will make your life much easier when this question comes again.  There will always be something new on the Internet (social media, anyone?) that may or may not be worth referencing.  With a clear focus on your site's goals, you can make decisions about outside links that will strengthen and reinforce your company's web presence equally and fairly even as the Internet evolves.

Business-Related Agenda Items at City Hall on Monday

Attention business owners in Dunwoody:  pay attention to the City Council agenda on January 9.  There's lots of crunchy issues that will affect many in our business community.

(Thanks, John for the heads-up on the agenda)

FIRST READ: Amendments to the Text of Chapter 27, Sections 27-183, 27-185, and 27-1321Regarding Home Occupations in the R-100 (Single-Family Residential) District and“Supplemental Regulations.” 

To review, there are several hundred home-based businesses operating inside of Dunwoody - about 20% of the licensed institutions, according to some estimates.  As of now, unless a proprietor is willing to put themselves through a merciless gauntlet of sequential meetings, city hall missteps, and occasional hysteria, a single customer may not enter a home to do business.  Enforcement is difficult as most of these companies will adopt a "don't ask, don't tell" policy of occasional customer contact and there is a double standard regarding traffic and parking between strictly "traditional" residential use and work-at-home use.

This amendment will allow customer contact by right in R-100 residential districts under conditions that will prevent business traffic (vehicle, human, etc) from exceeding that expected in an active residential community.

Given that a comprehensive zoning rewrite is on the horizon and re-evaluating zoning is always a hazard, I believe that these amendments are very fair both to non-working residential homeowners, and entrepreneurs or business owners who need to use their home for work.

Now with that said...  there is room for improvements.

For example - no one has adequately answered the question, "Why just R-100?  Why not R-75, R-50, etc?"  The city memo points out this discrepancy.  The test case that these amendments were inspired by is zoned R-50, which makes the restriction even more ironic.

Then there is this section:

(11) Home Occupations shall be limited to a maximum of 2 business related visitors at any time. Business related visitors include but are not limited to employees, business partners, contractors, subcontractors, clients, customers, students, etc.

This is new in that customers are not the only ones restricted.  Originally, the ordinance was silent on contractors, et al.  Now there is a limit 2 (or 4, depending on which version goes through).   We're still in "don't ask, don't tell" land.  Contractors for "residential purposes" are not limited.  But if you use your home for your business, and you have a contractor painting or repairing it, is that residential or business?  How would you know?  How would you enforce any penalties for the latter?  These questions can't be addressed in a mere amendment; I look forward to the thought behind the comprehensive rewrite of the zoning code.

And for today's giggle:

(18) Home occupation with customer contact shall not include the use of a dwelling unit for the purpose of operating a massage therapy, psychic, fortuneteller, tattoo, and/or body piercing establishment.

I am still waiting for any member of city government from the council on down to state with a straight face why this sentence is necessary.

There is also no condition expressly stated that would ensure that a business based in a home would remain a residence.  Not that it would ever be permitted to happen but I can just see someone trying to pull a fast one by opening a business at home, then saying, "Oopsy-daisy!  I need to expand, let's rezone to retail."  Um, no.  It's not worth the inevitable hassle and bad karma.  Just put it on the record that home-based businesses have to remain a residence first and you spare yourself a ton of drama down the road.  

I am glad to see this type of legislation finally being added and I look forward to showing the skeptics that the ~500 home-based business owners are not a threat to their homes.

2)  "Branding" (read:  redevelopment) of Georgetown

Here's the link.  

First thing you notice about these proposals is how they are awash in the currently fashionable, politically-correct buzzwords of "multi-use", "mixed use", "transit village", "transit-oriented",  "transit-friendly" "livable centers", and "(insert niche group here) - friendly" .  Once you sweep away all that static and get down to the legitimate suggestions, there's an interesting mixed bag.

Next thing you notice is that every one of these plans suggests the construction of more-than-single-family density on any piece of land available.  Townhomes are multifamily housing too, gang, so think carefully how that conflicts with the general public consensus of "no more higher-density" housing.  Either the company that created this plan thinks we're not going to notice the conflict, or they don't care.

Different pages have conflicting recommendations.  Page 24 recommends more "open spaces/parks" but elsewhere in the document, those same open spaces are recommended for some kind of housing.  Can't have it both ways.  The example of the old Shallowford ES site stands out.  Why not make this a recreational space as a buffer between the commercial and residential areas (can the gymnasium be renovated or is it beyond repair?) instead of more townhouses?  

I would be cautious about building communities on the promise of access to bus stations.  MARTA is notorious for changing schedules or deleting routes altogether.  What would happen if you built a nice community with the promise of transit access and then MARTA pulled the route?  Who is willing to gamble that much time, effort, and money when the "mass transit" draw isn't guaranteed - and why?

Page 6 of the zoning analysis is an example of what I described before as an overly-objective analysis of a business use that disregards the realities of the consumer's use of it.  They showcase an image of the Georgetown Kroger as "undesirable" because it has "parking out front" and is "auto dominated".  No kidding, Kojak!!  When shoppers go to the store to stock up, they drive their cars and they want to park out front!  Sounds pretty darn desirable to me.  Even the Dunwoody Green Market packs the parking lot with minivans and SUVs, not bicycles.  They all vie for the closest space too, no one wants to walk an extra 10 -20 feet back to their car!   This is what happens when you guide your "sounding boards" with static pictures separated from real-life property usage and elicit emotional reactions separate from their actual behavior.  I don't think the person(s) who wrote this was stupid - but they believe that we citizens are.

On the other hand, the proposal is also surprisingly specific about the business opportunities in this region.  The housing (proposed and current) will cover almost every demographic:  older seniors, younger couples and singles, and families with children.  So your potential customer demo is:  people who are alive.  About 2 miles away is Perimeter Mall and you also have Dunwoody Village nearby.  The report points out the potential competition, but also the opportunity for a different business approach.  The opportunity is ripe for businesses that are:

a)  small enough to not be able to afford rent at the Perimeter

b)  large enough to require a storefront

c)  not currently available in Dunwoody Village

d)  can market to any of the above age demographics and/or their subgroups

e)  is locally owned to appeal to the community spirit.

See page 49 ("Retail Targets") and the "Detailed Market Assesment Report".  Not only does it line up the dots, it connects them for you.  IMHO, best part of the whole report.  

Local entrepreneurs and niche marketers rejoice - this is your place!

BTW - "Branding" takes up only a couple of paragraphs and finally gets mentioned on page 52.  In general I am not impressed with a lot of the suggestions because of the "buzzword bingo" mentioned above but I do believe they are on track with suggestions of a focal point in the PVC farm.  This *is* the place to elicit a positive emotional bond - like The Farmhouse in Dunwoody Village.  IMHO, it's a good idea to have some kind of symbol and expression of pride in every commercial center in town.  The Farmhouse will always be "THE" emotional heart of the city but if you strengthen the identity of other centers as well, the whole city will benefit.  Don't underestimate the value of symbolism in this process.

That's enough for one day.  Back to work!

World Peace

Ran across this while sorting files on my server.  From Snowpocalypse 2011.  Just seemed appropriate.