What started out as a mission to preserve a large tree on a tract of land that may be developed into a small subdivision has turned into a conspiracy theory regarding multi-use paths along Tilly Mill Road.
During a Jan. 4 hearing of Dunwoody’s Board of Zoning Appeals, Michael Phelps, a developer who wants to build three 4,000-square-foot homes on a 2.38-acre parcel on Tilly Mill Road, asked for an exception to allow for street frontages that are less than 150 feet.
One of the proposed homes would conform to the 150-feet requirement, but the others would be less – one at 107 and the other at 147 feet. At the meeting, Dunwoody City Senior Planner Madalyn Smith explained that the lots would conform otherwise and would be twice as deep as the minimum footprint for R-100 homes (Residential Medium Lot Districts).
Two people at the meeting, including the homeowner association president of the subdivision adjoining the property, voiced their support for the change that would allow for the zoning exception.
However, another condition raised the ire of several attendees – the inclusion of a condition that stipulated a large tree that would be on the newly configured property right-of- way be preserved by diverting any sidewalk or path around the tree.
The board received 16 letters objecting to the special exception, most of whom cited the language regarding the tree as the reason for their opposition.
Tom Simon and Bob Hickey, longtime opponents of installing 12-foot-wide multi-use paths along Tilly Mill Road’s east side, argued that the exception opened the door for the city to use stealth tactics to install a multi-use 12-foot path, starting with the Tilly Mill property.
Simon accused the city of employing “deception, falsehoods, contradictions and possible ethics violations” to circumvent the process for public approval of the trail system.
“The city is trying to make the developer pay to build this path, so the city can get the path built on the east side,” Simon said. “They’ve been trying to do this for 2 ½ years.”
He also repeated an accusation that council member Stacey Harris, who works for the Jewish Community Center of Atlanta, encouraged the movement of the trail from the west side of the street, where the MJCCA is located, to the east side, where Simon and other opponents live.
Harris has consistently denied advocating for the Tilly Mill path’s location and has recused herself from votes and discussions about its location at Dunwoody City Council meetings.
The multi-use trail on Tilly Mill was part of a master plan that the PATH Foundation designed on the city’s bequest as part of an effort to connect the city with walking and biking options.
During the zoning meeting, board members addressed the issue, saying that their purpose in considering the tree exception was merely an effort to preserve it, not determine the type of sidewalk that would be established.
In addition, Smith said the city code dictates that all new subdivisions that are developed must include a public right-of-way to install a sidewalk, but that the type of sidewalk and/or its width would not be determined by the zoning appeals board.
“We are making this about the path, but we need to focus on the task at hand, which is that they need a variance,” board member Ardy Bastien said. “A decision about the path is not in front of us.”
The board voted to approve the exception with language that specifically called for the tree’s preservation only.