Those Board Members in attendance were Larry Adams, Joyce Amacher, Stephen Barton, Kent Brooks, Robin Burch, Dennis Crean, Greg Crnkovich, Bill Grossman, Susan Harper, Stacey Harris, Gordon Jackson, Alan Mothner, Gerri Penn, Bill Robinson, Doug Thompson, Al Tiede, Jean Williams, and Fran Millar ex officio.
Gordon Jackson, President, welcomed Board Members and Visitors.
Announcements
- Gerri Penn announced the upcoming Dunwoody North Civic Association on Feb.23rd.
- Alan Mothner asked DHA to staff one of the gardens on May 14th and May 16th. Alan also made a motion for DHA to support the Dunwoody Nature Center with a $500.00 donation. The motion was seconded and approved unanimously.
- Frances Shube said the 1st Dunwoody Arts Festival is on May 8th and 9th. In addition to many artists, they will have live entertainment, a kid zone and booths for non profits. They need volunteers.
- Dennis Crean met with a staff member of Public Works. He drove around with the Director of Public Works, Mike Smith, to evaluate sidewalks and roads.
Approval of Minutes – the Minutes from Dec. 6th, 2009 were approved unanimously.
Zoning and Development
- Village Burgers – Ricardo Gonzalo and Matt Gephart will be using 1/3 of the Calico Corners building for their restaurant. They are requesting a setback variance to allow for a deck for outdoor dining that will be partially in the 75’ setback by 4’x111/2’. The Village committee met a couple of times and agreed to support this application. The deck will sit where a ramp currently exists. There will be right turn only lane to enter from Dunwoody Village Parkway. There will be no music or TVs on the deck.
- New York Butcher Shoppe – Robb Dillon is the owner of the Atlanta franchise and the new location is 2458 Mt Vernon Rd. The building is currently nonconforming under the City of Dunwoody Codes. He is seeking to reduce the rear setback from the current 10’ to 4’ so a 6’x12’ cooler can be added to the rear of the building. He will put a brick façade on the cooler to match the brick on the building. A discussion followed.
Community Affairs
- Area Air Space Issues – Gordon reviewed the FAA proposal and summarized that they are trying to lower altitudes 1,000’-2,000’ which will also lower PDK flights. Gordon made a motion to let him speak on behalf of DHA in opposition to the FAA proposal. The motion passed unanimously. It is also important for individuals to voice their opposition.
- DHS Meeting Recap – Gordon Jackson and Fran Millar met with Crawford Lewis and they discussed the lack of community input in the process of school planning with the most recent being Dunwoody 4th/5th Grade Elementary School. There are still unresolved issues and Fran gave Dr. Lewis a list of those items. We will be facing other school issues in the future like a rehab of the Shallowford School and existing elementary schools and Fran and Gordon requested that DHA and the community be involved in the process. There was a good turnout at the DHS Community meeting and Gordon spoke on behalf of himself. DHA was not involved with the DHS expansion but some neighbors have formed a committee to work with the school system to address their concerns. A discussion followed about the DHS expansion concerning the fact that if the bid is less than what is budgeted the extra funds go into a pot not back to Dunwoody schools. Bill Beausoleil reviewed some of the things that DHS will not be getting that were on the original plans and there was a lengthy discussion. Bill Robinson summed up the discussion by saying what DHA should do is work on making sure that the process is correct in the future.
- Code Enforcement – City staff asked Tom LaPenna, the Code Enforcement Official, to take me on a ride to look at Code Violations. They drove through Northchase, the worst of the Peachtree Industrial apartment complexes, and Tom pointed out some of the things that they have already corrected as per the City’s requirements. Gerri also mentioned that she has been speaking against the Chicken Ordinance but has been doing so on behalf of herself and not DHA. She gave a few reasons why she is against the proposed Ordinance.
Messages and Updates from President
- DHA Office Update – Gordon showed pictures of what the exterior will look like and a mock up of the hanging sign. The office is 880 sq. ft. The office has a 15’ boat shape conference table and 12 leather chairs. The Grand Opening will be after the Annual Meeting, date to be determined.
- Annual meeting – The annual meeting is on March 7th at 2pm. Gordon asked Board Members to attend. He will be asking Board Members to stand so that they can be acknowledged at the meeting.
- Update on the Two DHA Supported Law Suits – The Judge has not made a decision on the Glaze Dr. Law Suit but expects the City to enforce his decision. Larry Adams said the developer turned the HOA over to the residents and he left the HOA in debt. The lower Court upheld the ZBA decision to approve the Goddard School application for a variance. In the mean time the building went into foreclosure and we do not know who owns it.
Board Discussion and Votes
Village Burgers – Stacey requested that the Board receive information on items to be voted on prior to the Board meeting. The motion to support the application for a variance was made, seconded and approved by 12 for, 3 opposed and 1 abstention.
New York Butcher Shoppe – Bill Grossman moved to approve and it was seconded. Dennis Crean made a substitute motion to defer which was seconded. The substitute motion failed by a vote of 6 for, 8 opposed and 3 abstentions. Bill Grossman modified his motion for approval subject to the results of Dennis’ meeting with the owner the next day. The motion passed with a vote of 16 for, 1 opposed, and 1 abstention.
The meeting was adjourned.