Earlier this week, the city council met in a special session. Several fairly substantial decisions were made, including the hiring of a city planner. Councilman Brian Bates posted an update on the Northwoods Neighborhood Association website, a portion of which I am reprinting below:
1. We conducted a second interview and made an offer for our first City Planner. The formal written offer will go to him in the next few days and we hope to have him on board within the next few weeks. This is a great first step for our city.
2. As many of you know there has been talk of yet another company opening up in the tank farm area off of Winters Chapel. Council shares many of your concerns regarding the proper planning for the area and ensuring we have uses that are compatible with the surrounding neighborhoods. As such, in a 6-0 vote, council passed a 90 day moratorium on all commercial building permits, inspections and certificates of occupancy. This moratorium takes place immediately.
The planning commission and hopefully our new planner have been tasked to provide suggestions to council to address some of the recent concerns that have been raised.
3. Council also passed, unanimously, a new car lot ordinance that requires minimum of 6 acres for a car dealership to operate. The number of small used car dealerships that have opened or being discussed opening is not a direction this council is interested in moving and effectively put a stop to additional used car lots opening within the city limits.
I apologize if my responses have been delayed in coming, however, I want to make sure I have all the information in place before presenting.
Lastly, there have been some talks about the budget and rumors regarding last years budget, etc. We are watching the process closely. I can tell you that as of today, August 28, we do not have final and complete financial statements for the 2007-08 Fiscal Year.
Donna Pittman passed along this message about a hearing that MARTA is holding on September 8th about some proposed modifications to their schedule between Doraville and Tucker.
Dear Elected Officials,
We wanted to make you aware that MARTA will be conducting Public Hearings to discuss proposed bus service modifications between Doraville and Tucker area. The meeting will take place on Monday, September 8, 2008 atDoravilleCity Hall. The Community Exchange begins at 6:00pm and the Public Hearing begins at 7:00pm.
Please plan to attend and we would appreciate your help in sharing this information with your constituents.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Leeshu Kennedy
Supervisor of External Affairs
MARTA
2424Piedmont Road, NE
Atlanta,GA 30324
p: 404-848-5744
f: 404-848-5098
e:lkennedy@itsmarta.com
Because there is wide-spread concern about the nestling in of various garbage processing businesses inside the tank farm area, why not change the zoning there to M2-P as Stuart has been suggesting for – what – a year now? That way nothing can go in that area except more of the tanks which, hopefully, are on the downturn at this point. If the holdup here is that Stuart suggested this originally and his popularity is in question, Ben Crawford agrees with him as would anyone who’s given this issue any thought at all.
Surrounding areas have already tightened their ordinances to outlaw these dumping grounds from coming in to their cities. Doraville is the logical place for everyone to send their trash because we have NOT. Georgia actually imports trash from other states which provides a limitless opportunity for dumps. To insure the safety and comfort of our residents. We need to CHANGE THE ZONING!!! in the tank farm area before one of the many dump-destinationed trucks crashes into one of the many highway-headed tankers. While this issue has been bandied about at City Hall, Apex, a grease-processing plant, has settled there in spite of its infractions. That particular area could be changed by the city council to M2-P right away by having public hearings and then voting on it. Two months time at most. What’s the problem here???
There are a lot of animals in our neighborhoods — many of whom are well treated, and who get all of the veterinary attention they need. Others, however, may have owners who can’t afford vaccinations or preventive treatments, and end up getting fatally sick earlier than they might have otherwise.
A new veterinary clinic in Chamblee, called Wellpoint Humane, has been founded to stop this cycle and help prevent pets from being “economically euthanized.” They offer low-cost vaccinations, basic pet medical care and some medicines (heartworm preventative, etc). For people who qualify as low-income, there are some discounted rates available. Wellpoint Humane is located at 5342 Peachtree Road in Chamblee. Their office hours are 8am-4pm Monday through Thursday and 8am-12pm on Friday. They are run by the non-profit group, Atlanta Animal Alliance and their phone number is 770-455-1011. If you have a neighbor who is elderly and on a fixed income, or one who you suspect might need a low-cost veterinarian, you might want to refer them to these folks.
Of course, while I’m giving out plugs for veterinarians, I should mention my own vets – Dr. Rouvet and Dr Waters from North Hills Animal Hospital. These two veterinarians have seen our dogs through general exams, infected dewclaws, hip dysplasia, cancer and euthanasia. I have always felt like they genuinely care about our pets while also being honest about the chances of success for a particular treatment. I do not consider North Hills Animal Hospital to be expensive when compared to what some of my friends pay in areas like Decatur and Midtown, although they are a full-service clinic, unlike Wellpoint Humane, and are thus priced accordingly. They are open all-day, Monday through Friday with morning hours on Saturday. North Hills Animal Hospital is located at the Big Lots shopping center on Chamblee Tucker Road and their phone number is 770-451-6740.