Category Archives: zoning

Welcome to Alpharetta… the Devil’s Density

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The absurdity of a federal government that can’t balance it’s checkbook lecturing small town America about sustainability never ceases to amaze me. The latest example I would like to point out is the Environmental Protection Agency’s diatribe against suburban life titled “Essential Smart Growth Fixes for Urban and Suburban Zoning Codes”. You can find the whole report here and it is chock full of brilliant insight like this:
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The EPA identifies Satan's lair.

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If you wonder why Alpharetta city council does ridiculous stuff like increasing traffic on a corner by 1400% to “reduce traffic” just read through some of the garbage that our federal tax dollars are buying. I don’t know what qualifies a federal government which is currently running unsustainable trillion dollar deficits to lecture Alpharetta about efficiency but I do know what happened when Falls Church, VA made the mistake of listening to the them:
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Sound familiar? But to the credit of the EPA they do acknowledge what has made the Devil’s  Density of Alpharetta such an attractive place to live. Even their diatribe against suburbia acknowledges:

“This low-density development pattern has been one of the fastest growing sectors of the housing market, fueled by a variety of factors, including people moving to rural communities for the quality of life”

So that bastion of efficiency known as the federal government spends billions of dollars telling municipalities to change the quality of life that made them fantastic places to live? Are you kidding me?

Next year I guess the federal government will spend billions promoting the Bill Clinton Abstinence program in public schools. Will the Alpharetta City Council fall for that one too?

Your Lyin’ Eyes

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One of the great things about this blog is that readers send links and assorted stuff. Last night after my post on Ronnie Hammond and the Atlanta Rhythm Section I got a note about an Alpharetta band I had never heard of called the Beagles. The Beagles’s lead singer Glenn Fray apparently wrote a song about their hometown which is an ode similar to Doraville by ARS. You can read the lyrics below.

The Beagles’ “Your Lyin’ Eyes” seems pretty similar to “Lyin’ Eyes” by The Eagles but I haven’t found any audio or video yet so I’ll give the Beagles the benefit of the doubt for now. What do you think?

Your Lyin’ Eyes

Written By Glenn Fray

as performed by Alpharetta’s hometown band The Beagles

 

Developers just seem to find out early

How to open doors with political juice

A quiet town and they don’t have to worry

The local rag won’t dare expose the truth

(Refrain)

You can’t belieeeeeeve … your lyin’ eyes

And your faaaaaaaaacts…must be pushed aside

Thought by nowwwwwww… you’d be ostra-ciiiized

You just can’t believe your lyin’ eyes

 

Local folks, they used to trust the City

To do what’s right and look out for their kids

But when the projects bucks reached the hundred millions

The will power of the council hit the skids

(Refrain)

You can’t belieeeeeeve … your lyin’ eyes

And your faaaaaaaaacts… must be pushed aside

Thought by nowwwwwww… you’d be ostra-ciiiized

You just can’t believe your lyin’ eyes

 

Politicians say… the MARTA trains won’t come here

And condo towers won’t dot the sky for years

But in a decade all the schools will be in shambles

And the only thing sustained will be the tears

(Refrain)

You can’t belieeeeeeve … your lyin’ eyes

And your faaaaaaaaacts… must be pushed aside

Thought by nowwwwwww… you’d be ostra-ciiiized

You just can’t believe your lyin’ eyes

High density mixed use means high traffic… period

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A local blog called New Urban Roswell serves as a platform for blogger Mike Hadden to tout the various urban planning concepts he supports. Mike is a knowledgeable guy and often makes some good points as he did in this post entitled “Traffic Misconceptions”. The article does clear up some common misconceptions but unfortunately it also perpetuates one about mixed use housing.

The truth is that high density mixed use means high traffic… period. But when it comes to the fans of high density mixed use developments they all seem to display an “Imperviousness to evidence” as characterized by Mona Charen in this article at National Review online.

Here is what Mike wrote:

High Density Development Creates Traffic – This one is legitimate under the assumption that you pack people into condos and create a
dense SINGLE USE environment. Single use environments are a sure fire way to create traffic.

I know that mixed use fanatics want that statement to be true but that doesn’t make it so. Look at the actual numbers.

According to the traffic analysis submitted for the MetLife mixed use development in Alpharetta they will build 532 units of high density housing on approximately 8 acres of land. That is a lot of units for 8 acres but each condominium does create fewer vehicular trips than a single family home and they even get a 2% trip reduction factor for being in a mixed use development.

Now let’s compare that to the horrible old sprawl that urban planners abhor but the people in Alpharetta love to call home. To be generous we will say that “sprawl” would create a density of 4 units per acre. That number is awfully high if you are going to put in some of those loathsome cul de sacs but we’ll give the mixed use fanatics the benefit of the doubt. That means that 32 single family homes could be built on the same 8 acres of land that MetLife will use to cram in 532 units. That is 500 more families on 8 acres of land.

So how do 500 additional families reduce traffic? They don’t and the dirty little secret is that any urban planner worth their salt knows it. High density mixed use is just a way for developers to make more money and urban planners to achieve their other goals of mass transit and affordable housing.

Let’s look at the traffic numbers. MetLife submitted a traffic analysis that shows the 532 condos were expected to create about 3,000 additional trips from 8 acres of land. Single family homes usually cause about twice as many trips as condos so we could have expected about 180 trips if the property had been developed as a typical Alpharetta neighborhood. That means the MetLife condos added 2,820 more car trips than single family homes would have. That’s a 1466% increase in traffic!

There is an old saying that goes something like this, “Don’t pee on my head and tell me it’s raining”. Well just to be safe the next time a fan of a high density mixed use development tells you that it will reduce traffic I suggest you have an umbrella handy.

Alpharetta to unveil urbanization plan March 22

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Over the last few years the City of Alpharetta has methodically changed the zoning on properties to introduce more than a thousand high density residential units into our school systems and neighborhoods. Most of those projects did not conform to the city’s comprehensive land use plan but the Community Development Department supported them anyway and the Mayor and City Council approved.

In two weeks the city will unveil their new blueprint for the future of Alpharetta. While the new map hasn’t been unveiled it is safe to assume that based on recent history the Community Development Department will use this opportunity to further their goal of putting tens of thousands more people into high density mixed use developments. And even though mixed use projects were approved without being on the land use plan before Alpharetta residents can rest assured that once more mixed use is called for in the plan there will be no stopping them.

If you care about the city of Alpharetta you need to mark your calendars now so you can attend the unveiling of what the city has in store for us on March 22, 2011. Below is the press release from the city of Alpharetta’s website.

Citywide Open House

The City of Alpharetta is hosting an open house to receive comments on the vision for Alpharetta’s future! Please join us to review changes proposed to the City’s Comprehensive Plan 2030. Maps and documents will be available for review along with refreshments.

When: Tuesday, March. 22, 2011 – 4:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Where: City Hall 2 South Main Street Alpharetta, Georgia 30009

Take care of us boomers but don’t forget that families are the future

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The Atlanta Journal featured this story about a young family that recently moved to Alpharetta. The story tells of a man and woman named Pat and Sarah Tramonte. They were married three years ago and have an 11 month old daughter. They also just bought a house in Alpharetta. Like many young couples Pat and Sarah had been living in an apartment in Dunwoody. They both grew up in Dunwoody but he and his wife looked for a home in the Roswell and Alpharetta area because Pat works here.

The Tramonte’s story is typical of most people moving to Alpharetta. In fact the Tramonte story is a perfect example of what made Alpharetta one of the greatest places to live in the state. Young people chose Alpharetta as a place to raise their family and then never wanted to leave.

As Pat says in the article, ““We bought with the intention of staying here for quite some time so we figured that we can choose to do the kitchen and the bathroom upgrades ourselves, and let’s put our money now toward more of a house.” Couples like the Tramontes move to Alpharetta and become invested in the community. They raise their children here, volunteer for the PTA and
coach little league baseball or softball. That is what made Alpharetta great and that is what will determine its future.

This week the Alpharetta City Council began looking at ways to accommodate couples like Pat and Sarah much later in their lives. The city plans to review the various options for providing more housing for the elderly. That is a good thing. It is important that the people who moved here to raise families are able to stay as long as they want.

It is also important that the city makes sure it doesn’t do any more harm to the delicate balance of housing that made Alpharetta a special place to live in the first place. There is no doubt that the next couple of decades will be a demographic challenge for our city and our nation. There will be dramatic changes as the baby boom generation reaches retirement and our communities will have to accommodate that shift. But as a member of the baby boom generation I am keenly aware that (much to our chagrin) we will not live forever.

It is important for Alpharetta to accomodate our aging population and I hope that we do everything we can as long as it doesn’t jeopardize the future. But let’s not lose sight of the future. Within the next ten years or so my generation will begin a steady decline in numbers and our children will be left to face the consequences of what we leave behind. I hope that legacy won’t include thousands of dense housing units that will decimate the city’s quality of life and drive away the young families that have served to make Alpharetta great.

People often call the baby boom generation the “me” generation because we tend to make everything about us. But make no mistake. The future of Alpharetta isn’t about me or my generation. The future is about our children and the young families like the Tramontes. They will determine whether Alpharetta remains a special place to live and we better make sure that whatever we do now doesn’t make the city less attractive to them in the future.

I know that the Atlanta Regional Commission is spending millions of dollars to promote affordable senior housing in cities like Alpharetta but I also realize that tailoring a city’s future to the needs of a generation that won’t be here in 30 years isn’t really a good long term strategy. I hope my fellow baby boomers will keep that in mind as we lay the groundwork for the next few decades.

And by the way… if you happen to run into Pat and Sarah Tramonte please tell them I said, “Welcome to Alpharetta!”

Alpharetta continues urbanization to attract MARTA

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Tonight the Alpharetta City Council voted to approve another high density mixed use project with nearly 500 condos. The vote was unanimous and it was embarrassing to watch how council members fawned over the developers. The council toothlessly imposed ownership restrictions but MetLife balked at an amendment that would prevent the property from converting to 500 apartments within five years so council decided to take their word for it.

Below are my comments to the council.

Good evening. My name is Jimmy Gilvin and I live in Alpharetta. I’ve come to speak against the Peridot project being proposed by MetLife.

Tonight this council will decide whether to continue urbanizing the city of Alpharetta by adding dense housing. The MetLife parcel is currently zoned for more than a million feet of office space which would provide more than 3300 badly needed jobs for the people of Alpharetta. The new proposal replaces 1800 of those jobs with 500 condominiums.

Why would this council trade $123,000,000 in annual salaries for 500 condos? This letter from MARTA’s Office of Transit Planning explains,

“MARTA is also working with the City of Alpharetta to initiate an LCI for the North Point Mall area as part of a north line rail extension… the city of Alpharetta had inquired from MARTA on the feasibility of having the proposed rail station at a location across SR 400 from the mall in the vicinity of the development site. MARTA has not yet made a firm decision on the station location but believes this development will add density in the area, making for better transit supportive environment.”

So for more than 5 years Alpharetta City officials have been quietly but methodically urbanizing this city in the hope of attracting MARTA. Was it happening when current City Councilman Chris Owens was working for the developer of Prospect Park as the civil engineer of the project? I don’t know. But it was happening when the city approved a 12 story condo tower in the Alpharetta High School district and it will continue tonight if you approve this MetLife proposal.

This year Alpharetta voters like me will elect a new mayor and several of you will be up for reelection. With your votes tonight you will help make those choices clear. We can either choose leaders that continue to urbanize our city in the hope of attracting MARTA or we will elect people that will protect what already makes Alpharetta a great place to live.

Alpharetta is a special place. We enjoy a fantastic quality of life with great public schools and low crime rates. As a result we are one of the finest places to live in all of Georgia.

I stand here asking you not to throw that all away. Despite what consultants, developers and land use attorneys may tell you the majority of people that live here don’t want Alpharetta urbanized to attract MARTA. Many voters don’t want MARTA here at all. All of you live here and in your hearts you know that is true. I am asking you to vote accordingly. Please vote no on this project.

The council members that voted for the project were: Douglas Derito, Jim Paine, Cheryl Oakes, Chris Owens, Mike Kennedy and DC Aiken in addition to Alpharetta mayor Arthur Letchas.

AJC explores the urbanization of Alpharetta

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The Atlanta Journal Constitution has an article which explores the ongoing push by City Council to urbanize Alpharetta. You can read the whole thing here.

The piece includes comments from yours truly and another like minded resident. MetLife refused to comment. I guess they feel no need to defend the loss of 1800 jobs in exchange for 500 condos since it was the city’s idea in the first place.

A few snippets:

“The City of Alpharetta continues to add density, add condominiums and it’s going to have a negative impact on the future,” said resident Jimmy Gilvin, who plans to attend Monday night’s meeting. “We have a great quality of life, we have great public schools and for some reason that seems to be under attack right now.”

“Alpharetta is probably the only city in the country where a developer walks into the Community Development Department requesting a simple stream variance, and he leaves with the promise to push through zoning for a high density, mixed-use project,” resident Mark McKean said.

In response to the comments by Alpharetta residents the director of Alpharetta’s Community Development Department, Diana Wheeler, had this to say:

Wheeler denies the charge, and said there has been no attempt to alter the zoning code to fit MetLife’s plan. “If the plan met the code, it wouldn’t require a public hearing,” she said.

Well the city is holding a public hearing. So is Ms. Wheeler saying that the MetLife development doesn’t meet the code? Ms. Wheeler’s comments make no sense to me but then again neither does the Unified Development Code she devised in an attempt to permit developments that most city residents abhor.

There is still time to call the city and notify them of your position before the vote tonight. The phone number is 678-297-6000.

Why would Alpharetta trade 1800 jobs for 500 condos? MARTA

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Below is a letter submitted by MetLife to justify the Peridot project proposed for Alpharetta. The new project would remove more than 1800 potential jobs from the site in return for building 500 condominiums. Why would the Alpharetta City Council do that? I will let Mr. Ikwut-Ukwa of MARTA’s planning office explain:

“MARTA is also working with the City of Alpharetta to initiate an LCI for the North Point Mall area as part of a proposed north line rail extension. In the past the City of Alpharetta had also inquired from MARTA on the feasibility of having the proposed rail station at a location across SR 400 from the Mall in the vicinity of the development site. MARTA has not yet made a firm decision on the station location but believes this development will add to the density in the area, making for a better transit supportive environment.

For at least five years the City of Alpharetta has been working with MARTA to increase the density of our city so they can justify bringing trains here. Funny, I don’t remember Alpharetta voters being asked about that. It must have happened at a charade charrette.

IF an Alpharetta mayoral or city council candidate comes knocking on your door this summer to ask for your vote don’t forget to tell them how you feel about the urbanization of Alpharetta to lure MARTA. Obviously they think it is a good idea. They just don’t want you to know.

MARTA, is it smarta for Alpharetta?

Look out Milton… it’s time to hide ya kids, hide ya wife

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Monday the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Livable Centers Initiative will be used wipe out 1800 potential jobs in Alpharetta and  make room for 500 more condos. Now they will bring that same astute land use planning to the quiet City of Milton. You can read the whole thing on the Alpharetta Patch here but the key passage is:

The ARC reports that since the first LCI grants were awarded in 2000, more than 84,000 residential units, 20 million square feet of commercial space and 35 million square feet of office space are either planned, under construction or complete in these areas. Region-wide, 67 percent of all office space built since 2000 has been built within LCI areas. And, LCI areas have attracted 8.5 percent of all new residential units and 21 percent of all new commercial development built in the region.

No wonder Miltonites didn’t want to expand sewer service. The sharks are circling. Noted analyst Antoine Dobson speaks on the subject:

Seriously though, if you care about what happens to the City of Milton you had better pay close attention to the LCI process. You wouldn’t believe the garbage that comes out of it if residents don’t get involved.

Would you trade $123,000,000 worth of jobs for 546 condos?

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Well that’s what the Alpharetta City Council is poised to do on Monday, February 28. That is when the city will vote on the high density mixed use Peridot project that MetLife has requested.

I’d prefer the city show they can make one of the already approved mixed use projects work before approving any more but I have listened to the justifications for this project. I listened to City Council Members say the project would reduce traffic, bring jobs and pay for road improvements. It just seemed too good to be true. And as my Dad used to say,”if something sounds too good to be true,son, it probably is.”

So I decided to check the numbers for myself. Sure enough it was too good to be true. While City Council Members tout the benefits of the MetLife project they have failed to mention that the benefits would come at an enormous price. Based on the numbers provided by the developer the Alpharetta City Council will essentially vote whether or not we will exchange 1894 jobs worth $123,000,000 a year for 546 condos in a completely saturated market.

Are you skeptical? You should be. I couldn’t believe it myself. But facts are facts and you can check it out for yourself.

First you just need to look at the Alpharetta Community Development Department’s comparison of the current zoning for the MetLife parcel to the new zoning proposed for the Peridot project. You can find that analysis on page 10 here: http://bit.ly/fBri9t Notice that the major change proposed is a reduction of office space by 568,320 square feet and the addition of 546 condominiums covering 655,200 square feet.

Then take a look at the job projections that MetLife submitted for analysis by the Atlanta Regional Commission on page 17 and 18 here:http://bit.ly/ibZrVX  The developer’s analysis shows that office space is expected to add “1 employee per 300 SF”. That means a reduction of 568,320 square feet of office space would eliminate 1894 potential jobs from the parcel. So if you plug the salary numbers MetLife used on page 18 for the various occupations you will see that the lost salaries from that zoning change would be more than $123,000,000 a year!

Maybe Alpharetta’s Community Development Department doesn’t mind trading 1894 badly needed jobs for 546 condos in an already saturated market but I know a few Alpharetta residents that beg to disagree. I’m just not so sure any of them are on City Council.