Like A Cold Sore That Won't Go Away

Dominium, so aptly named, is persistent if nothing else and is acting with Trumpian sense of entitlement and ownership of facts: "no one under age 55 will be able to live there,"  where "there" is an incredibly out of place high-rise apartment on Ashford Dunwoody. Like Trump, who has his own facts, he has a reality problem with Congress. Seems the 104th passed something called HOPA (Housing for Older Persons Act) which explicitly defines the rules for 55+, including the 80/20 rule and that only one resident need be that old.  This is an actual "act of Congress" that Mr. Dominium has no control over, so despite his protests, the actual fact is that, by law, folks under 55 can, and very likely will, live in these apartments. Otherwise, honestly (that's a stretch) why would anyone build three bedroom apartments? 

The fact that this man's proposal is so inappropriate that even advocates of urbanization are against it is concerning. What is more concerning is the bureaucrats at city hall that are actively advocating for this proposal. The folks are on our payroll, and they have not a single clue about, and even less consideration for the people living in this city. They don't know us. They don't care to. They don't work for us. So who do they work for? And what is the power these outsiders have over city hall bureaucrats?

Maybe it is time for a "power down reset," rebooting this operation with lots of new faces. 

Hasty Retreat

Why is it that city bigwigs must run off somewhere (other than here) to talk the big talk and plan the big plans? Is that because there'll not be very many citizens OF Dunwoody there? Of course the big, if not the biggest topic was how they take more of your money. Does greed know any limits?

Apparently not.

Their biggest debate wasn't whether to pilfer your purse or not, but rather how to do it. One proposal was to simply raise the millage rate by removing the current limit by ordinance, IE: without your vote. The other was to create "special" tax district, in an effort to disguise a tax as something else. One is what we're accustomed to, politicians raising taxes, and the other a bit more clever, raising taxes by adding a new mechanism, and allowing the political prevarication of staying under the millage limit. Wait until they disclose this is not either-or and they do both. 

Unlike Atlanta where Dickens has asked for departments to report on the impact of 5%, 7.5% and 10% budget cuts, Dunwoody fixates on higher taxes. Clearly, city staffing, operational costs and mission has expanded without much in the way of  restraint. And why should there be any restrain? Spending OPM is fun, and gives staffers increasingly valuable connections. And we, as voters, have been asleep at the wheel, electing promise-breakers who are addicted to spend-then-tax. Shame on them, but not without shame on us. 

But there are other options, ones this city would consider their kryptonite, but should be up for discussion nonetheless. How about we stop giving enormous tax breaks to developers? After all we're sitting on some of the hottest property in the southeast, and they should be competing for the chance to build here. In fact, they should be paying. It's called "impact fees," and developers should be paying for the costs their, highly profitable, development imposes on existing taxpayers. Have you heard mayor or council suggest anything faintly resembling this? Didn't think so. 

Play Nicely Children

Schools are back in and you may have noticed a change in traffic patterns. If you haven't, everyone hopes your Tuscan vacation is going well. This traffic is more than a reminder of the approach of summer's end, sweltering, some say "unwalkable" heat notwithstanding, it is also a reminder that the safety of our children, particularly those who do walk, is of no concern to the city.  Consider also that a majority of those walking will be among the youngest as there are more elementary schools placing more within walking distance. You would think this would put our local PD on a safety alert but you would be wrong. This is not the distinction with which they serve, unsurprising given the community is not who they serve. 

Dunwoody, along with a few other DeKalb cities, is in a pissing contest with the school system regarding Camera Cops in school zones. Dunwoody wants them because they get the revenue without doing a thing to protect the community or even show a police presence. Problem is the schools have to authorize/request these cameras. Some are boiling this down to just the money and while following the money is reliable there may be more there there. Some of that there may be opportunity. For the city to act like adults.

According to rumor there have been efforts withing DCSD to scare up some money for traffic officers during high traffic hours (usually morning drop off) to keep traffic flowing and children, parents and teachers safe. They need money because they (think they) must hire off-duty officers. You may think that odd. Any taxpaying member of the Dunwoody electorate should. And they should think that at the polls and vote accordingly. What they should not be is surprised. Dunwoody PD has made it painfully clear that traffic enforcement and community service is beneath them. One [former] resident has the emails to prove it. So does the city.

So. Is this an intractable standoff? Is this the best that is humanly possible? With the humans currently available, probably so. The easiest way to break this logjam lies with the city, not the schools. First, the city should enforce traffic laws and if anything, most aggressively in school zones during school hours and events. Presence, not platitudes. Then, they should provide traffic control during drop off and pick up. Do your job and quit asking everyone else to do it. And consider this: perhaps the reason the legislature lets the cops get the money from these cameras is to offset the revenue they lose by displaced police enforcement. But if you're not there, never have been there, and have no intention of going there then you should not get any of this money.You need to earn it.

So why don't you just try playing nice? Protect our children, our community and our schools. Make our streets safe. Maybe you'll make a friend. And then maybe they will play nice with you.

Makes You Miss The Pandemic

Here is a shocker: the city was forced, by law, to fess up to yet-another-tax-increase. No surprises there. 

Like A Broken Record

The only relief taxpayers have experienced was due to the CoVid-19 pandemic. Lord knows there will be no relief offered by city hall. In fact with that very minimal respite from their back door tax increased encourage them to up the millage rate to the legal max. This will change, upward, if they get their way with the "parks and paths" referendum. Just look at the trajectory. 

Damn Near 20% Increase With Millage Hike

If you still hold on to the hope of a revenue neutral millage rate each year then you are a either a pollyannish fool or an idiot. If you think there is a snowball's chance in hell of zero based budgeting you are certifiable. If you think what these scoundrels have been doing is a good thing, you are the problem.

Will It Go Round In Circles?

Have you ever wondered why it is that any change proposed by bureaucrats at city hall, many of whom do not live here, are characterized as "improvements," or "upgrades," or the now popular "re-vitalization?" Is it because at heart they are political creatures and as we all know when politicians say something is "A" it may not actually be "B" but it certainly is NOT "A." So it is with proposed "traffic upgrades" for the intersection of Chamblee-Dunwoody and Mount Vernon. What does that even mean? Aren't they actually proposing to spend buckets of money to improve the intersection? Is the spirit of George Carlin haunting city hall: drive on a parkway and park on a driveway? 

The original plan, now implemented, apparently was not enduring so we have yet-another-plan. Sorta. When plan changes are made so readily...easily...is it really a plan? So now the plan is to re-jigger the intersection to add double left turn lanes from C-D to MtV with the southbound lanes encouraging increased drive-thru traffic on C-D and Roberts, each with school zones. It also seems some kind of closed-door session was held to discussing a two-lane roundabout but this was dismissed due to cost. Apparently you can all but steal property from a church but businesses have immunity from imminent domain. Or maybe it is the political cost of doing away with the farmhouse. 

But the plan, as has been presented, will go forward. It will require substantial changes to bike lanes (an entitlement that cannot be taken away) which has caused some concern regarding emergency vehicle response times. One council-folk wanted to know where these cars/drivers are coming from and where they are going to and even had the audacity to suggest that a traffic study be done. WTF? They've got this plan all but in flight w/o doing a traffic study? Why, you might ask? Well, it is Dunwoody 101: the city was recently awarded $6M by ARC to fund this so, well, you know, when it comes to clutching Other People's Money haste doesn't always make waste. And even then your tax dollars will be thrown at this. Without a proper traffic study. 

When an outside agency, the Atlanta REGIONAL Commission, all but dictates, by dangling cash in front of bureaucrats, changes in our community is this the "local control" we were promised by Dunwoody Yes! and Citizens for Dunwoody? Because this is what we got.

It Was Not Natural Causes

There has been a tragic death. The death of expertise. It wasn't murder...it did not come from without as some have suggested. It was suicide. Perhaps unintentional but suicide nonetheless. Some may suggest it was self-inflicted due to far too many deposits in the bank of bad habits, but there is also now a smoking gun [slinger].

Dr. Anthony Fauci. 

Under a Freedom Of Information Act records request some members of the Fourth Estate, perhaps even some that should be unindicted co-conspirators, demanded the NIH (think: Fauci) release emails regarding the squashing of the Lab-Leak-Theory. And they did. But they were so heavily redacted as to be completely unreadable, bereft of any actual information. Litigation ensued and the courts bitch-slapped Fauci & Co. out of their cover-up and into compliance. The cat is now out of the bag.

As some had suspected and others had leaked through back-channels, the NIAID (the Fauci part of the NIH) had worked decisively to discredit mention of a Lab-Leak possibility with existential threats to any researcher who did not toe the party line of some untraceable natural selection creating the furin site. After all, NIAID (nee Fauci) has almost complete control of world-wide funding for virology research. This, unlike natural selection, is the most plausible explanation for respected, widely published researchers who had entertained the possibility of a Lab-Leak doing a very quick 180 degree turnaround. If Fauci were to merely hint your career is over, it would be. 

Apparently this iron-fisted control and its chilling effect on independent research has been in place for quite some time. So long that research is no longer independent and in fact is not even research, at least not scientific research. It is a herd of followers. Following a fascist dictator because he controls the money. And this is what has assassinated expertise and the laypersons' confidence in anything said by anyone who lays claim to expertise. Especially ones with the hubris to claim that disagreeing with them is disagreeing with science.

In that complete skepticism, that total disbelief, lies our only hope. Fauci will go, as he should, to join the likes of Madoff, Epstein and Ponzi in whatever dark hole history reserves for them. Lest he simply be replaced by a clone the system must change and it will not change from within...change will come because of the relentless, intense disdain that Fauci's actions, throughout his career, have inflicted on the public and ultimately the body politic. Now THAT is infectious.

Is The Phoeix Rising?

You know about the first town homes in the Dunwoody Village area, don't you? The ones across Chamblee-Dunwoody from the Spruill Center for the Arts? With the adjacent cluster homes off Ashford Center Parkway, a real parkway with medians hosting trees. 

Do you remember how that happened?

Well, back in the day that property lay empty and was owned by Emory University who wanted to cash in, so they found a developer. As you do. Remember what Greedy Developer wanted to do? Build a shopping center anchored by a super-sized Publix. When the Village already had THREE grocery stores. Not because it was what this community needed but simply because it would rake in the most money. 

So why didn't that happen?

Dunwoody Home Owners Association. They stepped up to the plate and made it clear this community would not be steam-rolled without putting up a fight. An expensive fight. A long, drawn-out legal battle. And guess what happened? We got some damn nice looking town homes instead of a yet another ticky-tacky strip center with all that traffic that really belongs on Highway 41, not in the heart of Dunwoody. 

There is some indication that the DHA put some effort into protecting our neighborhoods and our suburban character in the developer (and city) assault on Dunwoody Village. Are they back? Perhaps. Perhaps they're coming back as they lost their way in the early years of city-hood, weakening their capabilities to fight the good fight. After all, wasn't city-hood supposed to be the ultimate victory and not a toxic bait and switch? 

Let's all hope the DHA is revitalized and only getting stronger. It may be the only hope we have.

Whose We?

Escaping containment, that blivet of paternalistic condescension, President Biden,  squizzed out some priceless arrogance:

"We’ve been patient. But our patience is wearing thin, and your refusal has cost all of us."

regarding the reticence of some to get their Fauci Ouchy. Condemnation heaped on the deplorable "you-s" who refuse to be directed by this greater, smarter, self-appointed and now controlling "we." 

We, the little we, have seen this before. Hell, we see it all the time. Like when some corporate SVP or C-level shows up to speak to the little people, littering the talk with "we" even when really just congratulating themselves. In their case it is political, an attempt to portray a large team, and themselves a part, when everyone, even the bobble-head toadies in the first row, know it is really all about them, the speaker, not you and certainly now "we."  And it would be easy to pummel out-of-touch politicians and executives but we, the little we, know this rhetorical device for what it is: manipulation. 

And it isn't just coming from those far above us. In many cases, including our own little burg, it is coming from bureaucrats who see themselves as positioned far above us. 

This is coming from our own little potentates of their Direktorates at city hall, including the Direktorate of community development and the Direktorate of economic development. From the latter we get:

 "We sort of have two Dunwoody's right now. We have single-family, suburban residential neighborhoods, and then we have Perimeter Center (largely made up of office and retail space [AND apartments!]), and they don't always work with one another. Sometimes they work against one another."

Let's unpack that "we." To be very clear when this bureaucrat is using "we" he is NOT including the little we, that very same we that came out in droves to vote Dunwoody Yes! His "we" are the crony developers and profiteering businesses and if there is any consideration for the little we it is only to acknowledge the annoyance they might inflict--like complaining about the gnats during a Tybee Island getaway. Wouldn't it be great if you could just get rid of them?

That needs a bit of unpacking as well. When factions "work against one another" what role does he play and what side does he take? Well, again, that would be whatever side is in opposition to "single family suburban residential neighborhoods" as he and his supporters in the development and business community can no longer satisfy their greeds without displacing the little we. And make no mistake he will throw the little we under the bus in a heartbeat because it is no skin off his nose. He doesn't even live here.

And that is the real problem. This city has been taken over by outsiders. It is run by outsiders, for the benefit of outsiders to the detriment of the little we. It is time for the little we to rise up just as they did when breaking bonds with DeKalb County. It is time to shut down these Direktorates, time to ensure every operation within the city benefits those living in the city and that those operations even remotely for the benefit of developers and profiteers be operated by those groups outside of city hall.

And maybe it's time to require that folks running this city have some skin in the game. Just like the little we.

That Didn't Take Long

The ink is barely dry on the MOU and the developer is already man-splaining to the Developers'  Authority that they, the developer, ain't gonna stick to the deal. And what did the bobble heads at that Developers' Authority do? That's right, they bobbed their heads up and down in all-but-violent agreement-to violate the agreement. 

Now the developer trotted out some authority on senior development to justify their actions (like they really needed to do that). Well to be accurate, they didn't trot anyone out, instead preferring to leave their alleged experts behind the curtain of anonymity. But, they're developers, you can trust them, right?

What they were probably doing was letting everyone know who is really in charge and it ain't even the bureaucrats down at city hall or the Developers' Authority. It sure as hell ain't the dwarfs. The developer has made it clear that the dwarfs get one vote and after that vote the developer can change anything they want, whenever they want and it doesn't matter how ludicrous the change might be.

And this change tops the charts. The original requirement, leasee required to be over 55, was simply and effectively enforceable. Developers, in general, don't like that and in this case will not accept it. Instead they will lease to anyone, any age, so long as someone says "yeah, that's for my dad, he's over 55...yeah...that's the ticket." Of course that is virtually impossible to enforce. 

And you would have thought that the $7M stolen from our children would have been enough. You would have thought wrong.

In Concert

There has been some good news of late. It seems the DHA is awakening. To the fact that this city is built to serve many interests just not those of the residents, many of whom voted it into existence. The DHA is representing and more than a few regular residents have offered their, often not-so-humble opinions. Even some of the dwarfs piped up in the council meeting, specially called to reduce the time between first and second readings, to suggest that perhaps the powerful forces behind the rape and pillage of the village might do a better job of marketing. Not that they necessarily need to change their plans, just do a better sales job. City bureaucrats have been caught with the metaphorical knickers about their knees as they cannot even stay on top of the current zoning nor can they do the requisite research to establish the actual chain of agreements. Probably because those items do not fall in favor of the developers who have enlisted city bureaucrats to advance their, the developers' cause. 

And as bad as what is currently happening really is, there are deeper issues yet to be revealed. Of course if we had transparency in government (we don't) we would already know many, many things that the public has a manifest right to know. Who started this ball rolling. Names please. Who, EXACTLY, made the first contact regarding bulldozing the village to replace it with what, in these pandemic times, can only be described as a petri dish of pestilence and crime. Is high-rise, high density CoVid-proof? Hardly. Is it high-crime? Certainly. Look no further than Perimeter, but if you must, check out Atlantic Station. So who dropped the first dime? Sent the first email? Who, on OUR payroll was involved in that first conversation? How did this expand into ongoing conversations and what, EXACTLY, were those. What meetings were held? Who attended? Agenda? Minutes? And this transparency MUST include commissions and authority and should they feign autonomy exempting them from transparency it is incumbent upon our elected officials to de-commision and de-authorize any that propose opacity as their way of life. If transparency is an existential threat, then their existence should end. 

As the DHA, and others, are fighting the good, fight there should be a concurrent, concerted effort to root out the elements, those bureaucracies and bad actors, who place any interests, theirs or others, above those of the residents of this community. After all, it was zoning control and the associated quality of life that was a key factor in selling this city to the voters. And, if you're still wondering what those red-shirters were hoping save Dunwoody from, you need look no further than city hall and the out of control outsiders having their way with our community. 

Preview The NEW Dunwoody Village

Want to see what the bureaucrats (and their developer overlords) have in store for Dunwoody Village? Of course you do! And it is so, so easy. Just take Ashford Dunwoody south from Mount Vernon, past the House of Sauron, down to Hammond and take a right. At Perimeter Center Parkway turn right and be sure not to miss our Lords of Darkness's current dumpster fire: High Street. Well, someone is high. Continue north on Perimeter Center Parkway to the intersection with Perimeter Center West and stop at the traffic light. Even if it is green, because there ain't no traffic enforcement in Dunwoody. No look straight ahead and you see what folks-who-don't-live-here want to inflict on the village. Up and to the right you'll see one floor of retail, but only along ONE side, and six, count 'em SIX, floors of apartments. Look closely and you'll see how they have thousands of parking spaces cleverly hidden behind the facade. Cool, huh? Don't you want some of that butting up to your house? Of course you do!

But wait! There's more.

This retail plus APARTMENTS is replicated throughout just as it will be in their Dunwoody Village. And did you notice that tall, rather phallic building towering over the others (quite an accomplishment given most of those other buildings are seven and eight stories high)? Yep. That's coming to their Village as well. Probably two. Why flip you off with just one hand when you can use both? Right?

And now you know where your next several years' tax increases are going. Straight to some very well connected developers' bottom line.

They Hate Us. They Really, REALLY Hate Us.

If Sally Fields lived in the Branches, either of the Winters, Creek or Hall, Redfield or a few other unnamed residential areas adjacent to or very near the Village, you could imagine that is exactly what she would say.  And she would be right.

This comes about because there has been a bump in the road on the developers' path to total destruction of our suburban shopping centers, Dunwoody Hall and Dunwoody Village. The planning commission has deferred a vote. Not voted the matter down, just waiting for a more opportune time. One might excuse this as incompetence that the planning commission did not already know of and have in hand the documents in question, or maybe they do and have and there is something else afoot. Maybe they really, really hate us.

And there is good reason to think that. After all, developers and profiteering businesses are openly shameless in their greed. They don't give us any consideration, let alone hate us. They are in love with money and that is merely the root of the evil afflicting us. We need to consider the trunk and the branches. And that lies with the bureaucracy at city hall. 

While developers and profiteers have molded Dunwoody to their liking since the very first day and the city is structured to allow this, the real hatred emanates from and festers within the city itself. It is at city hall where we find the intense hatred of suburbia and yes, the irony of this coming from what was created as a suburban city is lost on no one. And our shining example of successful suburbia is the thriving, vital shopping and business district known as Dunwoody Village. For several decades this center has well served the community and in return has been equally well supported by that community. Yes, developers are eyeing the lucrative opportunity to replace the Village with a mega-development high density retail and multi-story apartments to generate the footfalls. But make no mistake, in city hall's genocidal lust to destroy the Village the surrounding communities will not be just collateral damage-they have become secondary targets.

The situation appears hopeless and helpless. Loyal opposition has either passed or swum off to warmer waters. The DHA was a staunch proponent of city formation and one has to wonder if anyone in that organization was aware of the deliberate structural flaws in the city they helped create. Initially DHA did positioned themselves as the conduit to power, a stepping stone to city office, or more lucratively, membership on one of the many bureaus, administrations or boards. More recently they seem to have come to a fork in their road: continue as a remora  clinging to the power-hungry sharks at city hall; or advocate, as they once did so long ago, for the residents of Dunwoody. 

Gulag DaVille

Foreshadowing is a wonderful thing but only if you pay attention. Currently in view is what Dunwoody Village will look like after city hall has razed it and sold off the bits. They've offered us a picture of the cookie-cutter pablum pushed by their "friends" in the development community:

Prison? Or, just ugly?

Now, you could scoot over to Sandy Springs, the big sister that stokes our jealousies, and see multiple instances of these horrid offenses to the aesthetic sensibilities, or you can just truck on down to Perimeter Square where the shaker's shake. Right there at the corner of Perimeter Center West and Perimeter Center Place you'll see an early, smaller prototype of what city hall has in store to "vitalize" daVille. It should be noted that daVille cannot be re-vitalized because, well, it already is, as it has been for some decades, vital. But developers want to change all that and city hall agrees with some or all of the seven dwarfs' endorsement.

So take a little time to scope out the prototype and then next time you visit daVille imagine everything you see replaced with dozens of these odious monoliths punctuated all too frequently with high-rise apartments. That's what city hall is going to do because that is what developers are telling them to do. The only thing to be haggled over is how much of a tax break the city will throw at their bottom line.

Just Give It ALL Away

It is bodacious. An affront to common sense. An insult to residents, taxpayers and voters.  And absolutely predictable.

The mere residents have known for some time now that this city is of, by and for businesses and developers so this next step in handing the keys to the kingdom to monied interests comes as no surprise. 

But it raises some interesting questions.

Who knew? What did they know? When did they know it? 

It is no stretch to conclude that what has happened is actually according to plan. Plan by the real power behind the citihood movement. By those who rallied the troops. Got out the vote. Benefited from the outcome. Key individuals worked together, worked with outsiders and worked to the benefit of the few at the expense of the many. The worked closely, in an orchestrated fashion, yet none dare call it conspiracy. But look at the outcome.

And many of these folk have not and never will go away. Like that cold sore that just keeps coming back we now have a shaker-mover on a newly formed Urban Renewal bureaucracy at city hall. When did he discover that we were so urban, have been for so long we're up for renewal and are so fond of our urbanity that we'll gladly write the check? Is this a city for the citizens or a subscription to corporate welfare's version of Garden & Gun? There is one striking similarity: what is going on in this city will leave you sobbing just as hard as the "Good Dog" column.

Dunwoody Pride

What is Dunwoody proud of? No, not the residents of Dunwoody but the Dunwoody that holds court at city hall. The one with all the bureaucrats working diligently for profiteering businesses and greedy developers. That one. Of what are they proud? Well, they are loud and proud on the homepage of their web site:

What Dunwoody Is ALL About

Look at all those tax exempt buildings lining the developers' pockets with pure gold, standing there as a proud tribute to the well-connected and well to do. Notice nothing that looks even remotely like the suburban haven that has long made Dunwoody a unique respite from the urbanity insanity that is this metro area. But no more. Folks at city hall, including the seven dwarfs, are dedicated to wiping that from the map and erasing it from all memory. 

How Long To Animal?

This is an oft-discussed topic in the prepper community: in a SHTF event how long before otherwise rational folks turn on one another, probably violently? In other words, how long will it take for people to become animals? If you've been paying attention during the current pandemic the answer is probably in minutes, not hours and certainly not days.

If you've been watching TV you probably noticed there are a significant number of cancer ads. Not selling cancer, but selling services, therapies and procedures. While there certainly have been significant advances in treatments and therapies one must conclude there is a big market and lots of patients. Some traditional therapies, though much improved, are still in the protocol, one of which is radiation therapy. Now, as you may know, radiation burns, it burns skin. Think sun burn. And these patients treat these skin burns much as you might a sun burn. With Aloe. Pure Aloe Vera Gel.

By now you're probably wondering what cancer has to do with "going animal." Fair enough. Even though most people know more people with cancer than the Corona Virus it is the virus that is rocking their world, turning them animal, raiding local stores leaving shelves looking like a Soviet bakery. This is more than forcing Touch Down Al to economize on toilet paper, hand sanitizer disappeared almost instantly. Again, what does this have to do with cancer? Ask yourself, "what is the average self-absorbed ass-hat going to do when he cannot buy this?" He will Giggle how to make his own even though health experts advise against it. Like the best things in life, scotch and water, gin and tonic, there are but two ingredients: alcohol and aloe. Since isopropyl alcohol, called for in most recipes, is only 70% alcohol the result doesn't reach the 60% concentration needed to be effective. You're better off washing with soap and water, but you should already know that. Or use Everclear and at least you'd have something to drink.

But these ass-hats are not very bright, so not only is hand sanitizer MIA, so is Aloe. Now if this did not have serious implications for those undergoing cancer treatment it would almost be funny. We've got folks who a couple of weeks ago thought nothing of making a deposit in a public restroom, returning to the dinner table without washing their hands, to eat a burger and fries with those very hands. One virus later they're hoarding a resource to make something that doesn't even work. If there is a God in heaven and justice on this earth these animals will soon find this out.

Cut Loose Like a Deuce

If you frequent the area you know the intersection at Chamble-Dunwoody and Redfield has been re-configured eliminating the right turn lane using the spare pavement for a lane separator with a pedestrian island. That and additional sidewalks sounds like a significant albeit expensive safety improvement.

Far from the truth. First, the city will all but brag that a vast majority of the money was picked from others' pockets. Expensive? Sure. But not for us. Sorta.

The untold number of street crossers playing frogger at that location may well be safer but not so much for those on the sidewalk to the west of CD. Eliminating the turn lane and shifting thru traffic towards the curb means all the speeders in their two ton missiles that scare the bullets out of cops' guns are now aimed directly at the sidewalk across the intersection. Lack of enforcement in the area and a broken radar sign do nothing to discourage speeding and if distracted driving weren't bad enough it gets worse. On any given clear morning a driver headed to DaVille gets a face full of blinding AM sunshine. They won't know what they hit until someone's head crashes thru their windshield.

Sooner or later there will be an "accident" and someone will get hurt, maybe killed. It may be the olde farte walking his dog, or a jogger or maybe a couple of kids who just want to play tennis. The driver will be charged but someone down at City Hall will have blood on their hands.

All for the love of other people's money.

Blinded by the light...

Mizz Dunwoody Embraces TOD

Mizz Dunwoody should embrace TOD. In fact she should fall madly, passionately in love with TOD.

No. No. Not this TOD. The other TOD: Transit Oriented Development.

Transit Oriented Development is the Love Child of the hipster "Live-Work-Play!" and Greedy Developer. Live-Work-Play! is as sexy as Scarlett Johansen and as bright as Gracie Allen making her a perfect mate for Greedy Developer. While Li'l TOD is blessed with his daddy's looks and his mama's brains he's part of a supportive team comprising his cousin, Millennials, and his rich uncle, Olde Farts.

The religious doctrine of this tribe is founded on the belief that no-one wants to drive as the faithful prefer instead to Walk, Work, Play.  For this to succeed the WWP-ers have to live within walking distance of Work-Play or public transit that will get them there. The latter, public transit, has come to the forefront because Live-Work-Play! couldn't bring home the bacon and whilst TOD may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, he's new and shiny.

This won't be easy for Mizz Dunwoody. After all, at first glance TOD is less than attractive, but true love is deeper than mere appearances. And remember, Mizz Dunwoody is in love with TOD, not Greedy Developer so when embracing TOD her focus is exclusively on TOD. And what does that mean? Well for one thing it means embracing a pedestrian life, a Gilligan's Island fantasy land where there are no motorcars (you get to keep your lights and phones). None. Nada. In accepting this, in promoting this lifestyle Mizz Dunwoody will have to put her foot down. No cars means no parking spaces. Hard. Stop.

Now Greedy Developer will not like this because deep down inside he doesn't like TOD and he doesn't believe in TOD. He just thinks that others do and that they will help him score his next Greedy Development. So when Greedy Developer comes to Mizz Dunwoody with his plans she should OK any building height he wants and any purpose that suits his fancy but where she must draw the line is parking--there can be zero tolerance for any parking spaces whatsoever lest it irreparably damage the good name of TOD.

Bitch Slappin' Mizz Dunwoody

In a recent encounter with Greedy Developer Mizz Dunwoody got one right across the face. Out of the blue. Bitch slapped.

Greedy Developer arrived on the scene with DeKalb-granted zoning in hand to build his building between the Mall and MARTA. But he wants more. He always wants more. And he is accustomed to getting it. He wants a tax abatement, paying almost no property taxes to the city, the county or schools for what is probably a ten year period. Greedy Developer wants the milk but he ain't gonna pay for the cow.

Perhaps his experience with Mizz DeKalb left him confused and angry when he encountered someone playing hard to get. But Mizz Dunwoody should play hard to get. Not because favouring one Greedy Developer is "unfair" to the other Greedy Developers nor because Mizz Dunwoody should be looking to what is "fair" to our local residents. Well not exactly. As long as there is a real prospect of Dunwoody getting their own school system Mizz Dunwoody should not commit to underfunding them. That is only recommended for Mizz Doraville.

Greedy Developer has his DeKalb-conferred zoning, a zoning that found no support in pre-City Dunwoody. Let him build his building under those rules--Mizz Dunwoody cannot really stop him. Mizz Dunwoody needn't demand impact fees. That would be dancing with the devil. But Mizz Dunwoody has been told by someone who knows that Tax Abatements are a bad idea and are a non-starter.

Many think it a knee-jerk reaction but Mizz Dunwoody should kick Greedy Developer in the balls. Nothing says "No Means No" like staggering around with a couple of cracked stones. 

There's A Grant For That

TOD has ranted often about grant-grubbing down at City Hall. When your new City is touted as "saving us all from DeKalb" these grants are the thirty pieces of silver politicians need to sell us down the mythological river of Local Control. It is the kind of sleazy politics as usual that puts an interstate lane thru a park and removes two lanes from a parkway.

If you've listened to all the hubbub around the Bicycle Lanes Matter movement, you might think that Dunwoody is some kind of bicycle nirvana but just like those poor misinformed souls who moved here for the parks and baseball diamonds you would be wrong. We aren't. And by and large what we do have are weekend Lance-alots who often drive here to then ride around here. That's right. They drive here to put their toes in their straps and their noses in the air. So keep in mind, this isn't about neighborhood kids flocking to school on their Schwinn coasters or the local Birkenstock Babe wheeling over to the now-defunct Green Market to score some Beets and Sweets.

As you've probably guessed the fuel behind this movement is grant money. Turns out there is quite a bit of Federal grant money available for this brand of social engineering. Your Local Control fanatics don't need to be in favour of bicycles, they just need to be in favour of taking these federal dollars and essentially stealing from our children and grandchildren who at some point will probably be picking up the tab. And there is no end of help to do just that.

Bike Walk Alliance and Advocacy Advance offer how-to guides on soaking the Feds for these pet projects. Others focus on how to tap the Feds for ongoing maintenance as this is a common complaint from Common Sense Citizens: "Fine, the Feds pay to put it in, but WE pay to maintain these white elephants." Still others provide talking points. There are even some organizations providing boiler plate ordinances and legislation so that your little piece of heaven can look and operate just like they want.

As a spoon full of sugar there are the ubiquitous Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond certifications to be had as your locally controlled community aligns with their not so local demands. This is where Dunwoody ran into a hurdle. Seems one of the Bicycle Lanes Matter evangelists suggested that to climb this bejeweled stairway to their heaven a Smart City would need to hire a Bicycle Czar. This was viewed by some as unneeded staff expansion and scope creep. Though unmentioned it would also have a negative impact on grant grubbing efforts as money spent on payroll is unavailable for seeding grants. Deciding which contractors get access to City dispensed grant money is a key component of political power in our fledgling little cities. We are not at a stage to suffer erosion of that power so it seems the spandex crowd may have bent a rim on a storm grate that they themselves installed incorrectly.