Buckhead reporter. (Sandy Springs, GA) 2007-current, January 02, 2020, Image 1

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Buckhead reporter., January 02, 2020, Image 1

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Newspaper Page TextJANUARY 2020 • VOL. 14 — NO. 1 Buckhead Reporter Section Two In our annual 20 Under 20 meet local students who are making a difference COMMENTARY Local newsmakers take a look at what’s ahead P10 ROBIN’S NEST Telltale signs you’re an optimist P13 ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT Writing fiction as part of a team: Q+A with author Karen White P20 Check out our podcasts Reporter at ReporterNewspapers.net Extra The Buckhead Reporter is mail delivered to homes on selected carrier routes in ZIPs 30305,30327 and 30342 For information: delivery@reporternewspapers.net City Council to revive tree ordinance rewrite JOHN RUCH Maj. Andrew Senzer, the new commander of Buckhead’s Zone 2 police precinct, speaks to community members at a Dec. 5 meeting at Peachtree Road United Methodist Church. Story page 16 ► Party mansion controversy ends in fine, jail sentence BY JOHN RUCH johnruch@reportemewspapers.net The latest chapter in the saga of contro versial commercial events at a local man sion ended in December with a court in junction, a hefty fine and a 30-day jail sentence for the operator. A year ago, a similar string of parties at the 4499 Garmon Road mansion also end ed in a court hearing and a fine, only to re sume this summer under a new operator. It remains to be seen what the future holds for the mansion, which officials say has un clear ownership, and now is listed for sale on online real estate sites. One certainty was a legal outcome for the latest operator, Olutosin “Tosin” Odu- See PARTY on page 23 BY JOHN RUCH johnruch@reporternewspapers.net A new Tree Protection Ordinance will come in 2020 one way or another, some City Council members say, as they vow to move ahead despite the administra tion’s still-mysterious halt of a revision process in November. “I want to pass a new tree ordinance in 2020,” said J.P. Matzigkeit, who repre sents Buckhead’s District 8. “To me, we need to get something on the table and start to look at real legislation.” He and At-Large Councilmember Matt Westmoreland say they intended to rein troduce a 2014 draft rewrite as a starting point. “I certainly have expectations that something will be acted on in the next calendar year,” said Westmoreland, add ing that, by the end of the first quarter, “I would like to have a first draft.” The tree ordinance has been in a re write phase for months - or years, through various processes - amid con cerns that clear-cutting remains too easy in a city that prides itself on its ur ban forest. The process stalled Nov. 7, when the Department of City Planning abruptly canceled a Buckhead commu nity meeting with virtually no notice or explanation. The immediate cause was negative reaction from a crowd - in cluding many Buckhead residents - at a See CITY on page 22 SI# uuxied VO ‘eojuoiAi aivd abeisod Sfl SSMH03 Q1SIHSHd d3i/\ioisno IVISOd DON’T SETTLE FOR year ^ { ( SEE PAGE 8 )