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COMMUNITY Mayor Mike Davis: All types of residences are important Dunwoody resi dents regularly de bate the role apart ments play in their city. Some argue apartments lead to overcrowding in some schools. Oth ers say the ratio be tween apartments and single-family homes is out of bal ance. Recently, the city was accused in a federal court lawsuit of harassing own ers of low-income apartments, and dis criminating against low-income resi dents by trying to thwart development of affordable, multi-family housing in the city. The city has denied the claims and asked the lawsuit be dimissed. We asked Mayor Mike Davis a few questions about the city’s relationship to apartments and apartment develop ment. Here are his answers. Mayor Mike Davis Use Plan, there are roughly 10,000 apartment units spread out over 51 multi-family residential com plexes. I don’t feel we have a glut of apartments, but I feel the city needs to appropriately manage de velopment and code compliance to ensure that the health, safety and well-being of all residents is being safeguarded by the city. § 1 You have said in pub- —lie speeches that the need to control or improve apartments was among the reasons the city of Dunwoody was formed. Do you feel the ratio of apartments to sin gle-family homes in Dunwoody is out of balance? What is the city doing to rectify any problems with apartments? A. O How many apartments now * exist in Dunwoody? Do you feel there are too many? A. Based on the data from most recent U.S. Census as well as the city’s 2010 Comprehensive Land I have stated that one of the reasons we became a city was to help establish greater local control. And by local control, I mean local resi dents, city staff and elected officials working together to best manage the growth, development and quality of life within the boundaries of the city. Unfortunately, there is no perfect ra tio or equation to define the appropriate amount of homes to apartments in a city of 46,000 residents. I believe the criti SEPTEMBER 27-DCTDBER 2D WRITTEN AND CREATED BY ROGER BEAN MUSICAL ARRANGEMENTS RYJDN NEWTON VOCAL AND MUSICAL ARRANGEMENTS OY MICHAEL RORTH 8 | SEPT.20 —OCT.3,2013 | www.ReporterNewspapers.net cal factors to consider when fostering appropriate community development guidelines and standards include the safety, health and well-being of existing and future residents, and the infrastruc ture capabilities (water, roads, drain age, schools/educational facilities, parks, public transportation, convenient access to jobs, leisure activities, educational fa cilities, shopping, etc.) of an urban/sub- urban area that is 13.2 square miles. The city is working with all apart ment owners to ensure proper compli ance with the established codes to safe guard the health, safety and well-being of all residents. A recent federal lawsuit ac cuses the city of using hous ing code enforcement to harass own ers of old apartment complexes. What is the city doing to force compliance with its housing codes? What effect have any intensified enforcement mea sures had? A. Addressing the life safety and property maintenance issues of the apartments, townhomes, and condominiums in our city is of critical importance, and greatly enhances the quality of life for all our citizens. On April 12, 2010, the mayor and city council implemented the Multi-Family Code Compliance Program based on the International Property Maintenance Code as well as other national and state standards, and addressed appropriate staffing levels in the Community Devel opment Department to properly sup port the program. The city of Dun- woody’s Multi-Family Code Compliance Program requires both interior and exte rior inspections of multi-family residen tial complexes. When the program began, city staff witnessed first-hand a large number of code-required safety features that were either missing completely or not main tained properly, which was likely due to lax oversight for these apartments, townhomes, and condominiums prior to the city’s incorporation. All apartments and condominiums in the city are subject to the inspec tion program, regardless of age of com plex or form of ownership. The program has identified and resulted in the correc tion of hundreds of immediate, life-safe ty hazards to our residents. For Dunwoody, the real success and effect of the code compliance program are not the numbers of violations ad dressed, but the potential tragedies pre vented through the proactive code com pliance monitoring. When a property’s maintenance issues are not addressed, residents are put in harm’s way, and the health safety and well-being of the resi dents suffers. In addition, property val ues are lessened, which depresses occu pancy rates, creating a downward spiral, and negatively impacting the potential for economic growth. ( 1 Regarding the Perimeter —y* Center portion of the city, there’s a lot of talk about multi-use de velopment and denser development, which presumably would include apartments. How do you allow Perim eter to develop as a “live-work-play” community attracting younger resi dents, and not allow development of more apartments? A We recognize the value of * creating mixed-use, transit- oriented development within walking distance of public transit stations. How ever, we also have concerns about the impact of such development on the city’s infrastructure and schools. Prior to incorporation, DeKalb County zoning regulations permitted or “entitled” ap proximately 4,500 additional apartment units for various properties across the Perimeter area in Dunwoody. Through the creation of the city’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan, a vision for the Perimeter area was established by our community. The vision was to create a “livable” re gional center with first-class office, retail and high-end restaurants in a pedestri an- and bicycle-oriented environment that serves as a regional example of high- quality design standards. In addition, the city of Dunwoody works in part nership with the Perimeter Communi ty Improvement Districts (PCIDs) to implement and complement the frame work plan and projects identified in the Perimeter Center Livable Centers Initia tive study (LCI). o What do you see as the role * of apartments in Dun- woody’s future? A I believe all forms of residen- * tial accommodations are im portant to the city. New housing will be considered appropriate if accompanied by a mechanism that determines if exist ing or proposed recreation, open space, schools and other infrastructure can support new residents. As I mentioned, previously established zoning regula tions from DeKalb County permitted or “entitled” approximately 4,500 addi tional apartment units for various areas across Dunwoody. While the city pre fers low-density single-family and multi family owner-occupied housing, the city seeks to promote a “livable” regional center with a strong quality of life, fos tered by active civic engagement across all demographic groups as outlined in the city’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan. City planning and programming aims to make Dunwoody a “lifelong community”: that is, a place individuals can live throughout their lifetime, and which provides a full range of options for residents. DUN
