The Dunwoody City Council heard comments both supporting and opposing an application for a special land use permit application by the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta.
The MJCCA intends to add a sports complex that would include 12 new pickleball courts as well as other improvements to its facility on Tilly Mill Road.
During a public hearing regarding the application, several attendees expressed concerns about increased traffic and noise that may result from the pickleball courts, but most people expressed confidence that the MJCCA would resolve any issues to their satisfaction. City council members also said they have heard from citizens regarding potential increased noise, traffic and intrusive lighting.
The city staff recommended passage of the permit with five conditions that would address noise and lighting issues.
Attorney Kathy Zickert, representing the applicant, said she felt that the MJCCA would address noise issues and any other concerns that nearby residents might have. Zickert said her team had conducted an independent study that showed that proposed sound barriers could sufficiently address any noise concerns.
Dunwoody Mayor Lynn Deutsch asked Zickert to come back to council during second reading for alternative solutions in case residents’ concerns are not assuaged after construction.
In other news, the council heard a report from member Tom Lambert about recommendations reached by a citizen-led committee researching potential capital improvements within the city.
The committee, comprised of nine members and chaired by Lambert, met six times over nine months and looked at more than 100 proposed projects that would improve the lives of Dunwoody’s citizens.
The three major topics that emerged from the meetings, Lambert said, were trails, parks and transportation.
Lambert said the members were instructed not to consider cost when envisioning improvements to the city. When considering trails, the group identified as a high priority paths connecting Mt. Vernon Road “to connect communities to each other.” The group also identified Dunwoody Village area as an area of importance to connect nearby neighborhoods and parks.
The committee also identified parks’ improvements projects, including the development of two future parks on Roberts Drive and Vermack Road, improvements to the turf at Peachtree Middle School and the construction of a softball complex in the city.
Regarding transportation, the committee pinpointed completion of sidewalk projects, traffic-easing improvements on Chamblee Dunwoody Road, changes to intersections at Mt. Vernon Drive and Tilly Mill Road and Chamblee Dunwoody and Mt. Vernon Roads.
The committee’s recommendations are not mandated, Lambert said, rather will serve as a roadmap for community improvements as the city funds capital improvement projects.
In other news, the council used technology to name one of Dunwoody’s future parks, while the other parcel’s designation remains undecided.
Parks Director Brent Walker asked the council pull up a QR code on their phones to see the finalist names for the Vermack Road park, which included Deer Bed, Verde, Fallen Pine, Plow Handle, Poetry, Verde, Humblebee and Homecoming. The council ranked the choices and voted between the top two – Humbleebee and Homecoming – with Homecoming Park as the winner.
Homecoming Park was the inspiration of one of Councilwoman Stacey Harris’ constituents as Dunwoody High School’s homecoming parade passes by the park each year.
The naming of a future park on Roberts Drive did not go as smoothly, as the top vote getter, Old Buck Park, named after a train that used to pass through Dunwoody, failed 4-3. Deutsch implied that a name with the word “Buck” in it would invite pranksters to deface the sign and Harris said it recalled a disturbing visual.
“I just keep thinking of a half-dead male deer,” Harris said. “Old Buck.”
The other choices, Juniper, Crossvine, Poplar, Sassafras, Roberts, Hawkeye, Talon, Arrowwood, Light Horse and Cherokee, did not resonate with council, and Deutsch asked Councilwoman Catherine Lautenbacher, who is spearheading the park naming process, to come back with more options at a future meeting.
The council also:
- Heard Deutsch read a proclamation recognizing May as bike month;
- Welcomed two code enforcement officers, Robert Adderly and Mihai Parlog to the staff;
- Heard a report from Dunwoody City Manager Eric Linton, who updated the staff on various projects throughout the city;
- Discussed renewing a contract with Brown and Brown Wrecker Service for city towing.
