McMansion Moratorium extension rejected.
Well, the Zoning Committee meeting on the “McMansion” ban was today and they had to move it to accommodate all the interest in it. So citizens are interested. That’s always good.
According to Metblog commenter Andrea, the committee rejected extending the moratorium. Readers will note that I am pleased with this, but several good arguments were made by commenters in the previous posts on this.
While I was looking for confirmation on the AJC.com website, I noticed that they changed the design of their front page. Not so much as to confuse you, but enough so that you notice.
Update – Psst! – Here’s the AJC article. Several council members stated the “cherry picking” of neighborhoods as their reason, but I really thought this comment was funniest.
Councilman Howard Shook, who represents the Buckhead area, said he doesn’t understand the need for a moratorium. Atlanta’s notoriously slow permitting process should serve as a natural chilling effect, he said.
“Our permitting department is the third circle of hell,” Shook said.
Also, Amsterdam Walk is being redone. Some people are upset:
Erin Russell cited the rapid pace of development in the area as one reason she’s displeased by the planned retooling of Amsterdam Walk. Russell lives in Virginia-Highland and enjoys running through the neighborhood. She shops at Amsterdam Walk and sells business services to its merchants.
“They’re changing the character of [intown] Atlanta,” Russell said. “I don’t want it to be like Buckhead. That’s why I moved to the Highlands.”
To note, Amsterdam walk is probably more in the Midtown/Ansley Park section of Atlanta that borders on Morningside-Lenox Park (note the pillars on the other side of the street at the corner of Amsterdam and Monroe) and not, technically, in Va-Hi. But that’s probably just quibbling. None of those is Buckhead.
Update
This map claims Amsterdam Walk is in Va-Hi, but it also claims that the shops on Highland near University (Food 101, Doc Chey’s, etc.) are in Va-Hi and they are pretty clearly Morningside. This map is a little better, having the northern boundary of Va-Hi right at Amsterdam (where the first Morningside-Lenox Park pillar is) and the Western boundary at Monroe-ish (ditto).
And I just talked to someone who thinks that all of Peidmont Park is in Va-Hi. But that person is from McDonough, so I’m taking this opinion with a grain of salt.
read: “rapid pace of development in the area”
as “influx of whuppies.”
However, the original infill zoning ordinance which will apply to the entire city is still alive in that same committee (#06-O-0017). It has already been put in front of the NPUs and from there will go to the Zoning Review Board. After that public comment period it will get voted on by City Council in the Zoning Committee and then go on to Full Council sometime in late April or May (provided it doesn’t die in committee). So the debate will continue . . .
Clar – “whuppies”? I’m not sure I’m familiar with that term…
Whuppie. White Urban Professional, as opposed to simply Young Urban Professional (“yuppie”).
Piedmont Park is in Midtown. I’ve always seen Monroe Drive as one of the borderlines of Va-Hi, and Piedmont Park is on the other side of Monroe.
Ah, so that’s what it means. I suspected. I’m not sure I really like that term at all.
Clar, you might have missed it, but Va-Hi is pretty much 95% Whuppie right now. It’s the suburban builders knocking down nice cottages to throw up ugly McMansions that has us unhappy.