To the editor:
Do you want your city government operating behind closed doors? In my opinion, that’s what happened when the mayor and City Council approved CityWalk Towers, a massive project at the intersection of Hammond, Roswell Road, and Sandy Springs Place.
To satisfy ongoing litigation dating back to 2005, when the city shut down an even more massive project over the lack of a curb cut, the mayor and City Council negotiated this new massive project in executive session claiming attorney-client privilege. Yes, the official vote was taken in open session, but was anything revealed about the settlement?
Finally, when the developer asked for seven variances, was the public able to get involved. To paraphrase a City Council member on another issue, any project that needs seven variances should not be built in the first place.
In predictable fashion, the design review board approved all the variances and, in predictable fashion, the mayor and City Council approved what they themselves had actually brought to the table. Kind of the fox guarding the henhouse! What a bad precedent to set and not exactly the type of government we expected when the city was formed.
Government behind closed doors is unacceptable, and the mayor and City Council should be remediated per open government and for disregarding the true interests of the citizens of Sandy Springs.
We expect better! We deserve better!
Peter Trager