Newspaper Page Text
COMMENTARY
This rendering of Ashton
Woods’ development plan
consists of townhouses,
treehouses, condos, green
space and civic structures
such as gazebos.
The parcel is comprised
of approximately 47 acres
north of Abernathy Road and
east of Glenridge Drive. To
see a larger version, go to
ReporterNewspapers.net.
SPECIAL
Shameful disregard
To the editor:
I am writing with much concern
about the city management and com
munity engagement around zoning and
development issues in Sandy Springs —
in particular, the three developments as
sociated with the Mercedes-Benz com
plex.
There has been shameful disregard on
the part of the city to engage those who
will be most impacted by this develop
ment in terms of putting forward viable
solutions for excessive traffic, increased
housing density, environmental impact,
infrastructure improvements, or build
ing construction inconvenience.
In fact, the current view is that the
city attempted to do this specifical
ly without engaging constituents un
til there was no choice. This disregard
leads voters to assume the city has no
appetite for a win-win solution with the
community.
Because of the lack of sophistication
with engaging the impacted communi
ty, there is much talk about rejoining the
city of Atlanta and voting out all city of
ficials. I am not certain of the legal pa
rameters around this, but just the simple
fact it is being debated is problematic of
City over-burdened
To the editor:
The proposed 77-acre Ashton Woods
/Mercedes-Benz USA project is inconsis
tent with the character of Sandy Springs,
would harm the city’s environment and
natural resources, would irreparably
damage many neighborhoods, would
destroy a wildlife habitat, and would
further over-burden Sandy Springs’s al
ready over-burdened infrastructure.
Moreover, the 48-acre portion of the
proposed site north of Abernathy Road
is a designated Conservation Area in the
Sandy Springs Comprehensive Land Use
Plan. This land is meant to be left in its
natural state for conservation and envi
ronmental protection, and used only for
passive recreation and park space. To
my knowledge, no Sandy Springs Con
servation Area has ever been developed.
LETTERS TO
THE EDITOR
E-mail letters to
editor@reporternewspapers.net
the divide between city officials and the
community.
There seems to be fundamental igno
rance on a number of cultural compo
nents:
—The impact on traffic in the area
will be substantial because the metro
politan Atlanta area, relative to other
cities in America, is a “commuter city,”
despite attempts by urban planners to
reverse it.
—The large-scale introduction of
apartments will create a transient com
munity very different from invested
homeowners, with incentive to grow
their investment by creating a better
community and improving property.
— if Mercedes-Benz is held account
able for alienating the community due
to perceived blatant disregard for our
beautiful city, they are likely to face
backlash which I am certain they do not
want associated with their well-regarded
and monetarily valuable brand.
Angela Schwartz
On July 16, the Sandy Springs Plan
ning Commission approved the destruc
tion of this Conservation Area in order
to accommodate the residential develop
er Ashton Woods, and Mercedes-Benz
USA. These proceedings highlighted a
cozy relationship among Ashton-Woods,
Mercedes-Benz, and the Planning Com
mission, the result being an astounding
betrayal of the citizens of Sandy Springs
by the Planning Commission.
The city’s agreed-upon mandate,
as documented in its Comprehen
sive Land Use Plan, is to preserve its
neighborhoods, protect its natural re
sources, minimize vehicular traffic,
maximize tree cover and control devel
opment. Facilitating the destruction
of one of the city’s few Conservation
Areas is a shameful disregard for this
mandate by the Sandy Springs Plan
ning Commission.
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www.ReporterNewspapers.netl JULY24— AUG.6,2015 | 5