Greetings, Mason Mill Civic Association neighbors!
I hope everyone has been having a good holiday season (and has been finding ways to cope with our annual week of seriously cold weather).
In December we held our Fall General Membership Meeting of the Association, at which we discussed plans for creating a Residential Infill Overlay District (RIOD) that would suit the needs of our neighborhood. Thanks again to everyone who was able to attend and contribute questions and ideas. The Minutes of that meeting are attached (and pasted as plain text at bottom); you'll see that we voted to proceed to develop a plan.
I have invited a diverse group of neighbors to serve as a Working Group to help shape and develop this plan. [After we've heard back from everyone and have finalized the Group membership, of course I'll forward the list of names & contact information to everyone!] This Working Group is charged with gathering facts and input from the neighborhood, keeping everyone informed about the process, and working with the County officials, including Commissioner Rader. We expect them to present a carefully designed and thoroughly vetted plan for our consideration and vote at a General Meeting during the Spring [date tba]. In addition, they will give us a progress update during our Winter General Meeting, tentatively scheduled for the afternoon of Sunday, Feb. 21.
It's now 2010, which means it's time to send in your dues for the new year. Please support the work of the Association (still the best deal in town, at $10/year) by sending your check, payable to Mason Mill Civic Association, to our Treasurer, Pat Brittain (856 Vistavia Circle, 30033).
****** SAVE THE DATE ******
****** Winter General Membership Meeting ******
****** tentative date: Sunday, Feb. 21, 2-4pm ******
****** SAVE THE DATE ******
****** Spring Picnic ******
****** tentative date: Sunday, April 18 ******
Some additional short reminders, calendar and news items appear below. As always, thanks to all the volunteers who make our Association work possible!
Patrick Noonan
1129 Mason Woods Dr.
MMCA President
mobile phone/text: 678-358-5961
mobile phone/email: pat208@me.com
Updates by Committee area:**Health & Safety**Co-Chairs Jesse & Deborah Gould remind us all to report *anything* suspicious to the police (911) and our local Street Captain. The surrounding neighborhoods continue to suffer from burglaries, and in December there was a break-in on Vistavia. You can keep track of all reported crimes in Dekalb County using this online service: http://www.crimemapping.com/map/ga/dekalbcounty [although it appears to be down for maintenance at the moment]
The coyotes that have been reported "in the area" have made a noisy appearance well inside our own neighborhood. One night, about a week before Christmas, my family and I heard 2 or 3 coyotes in the Northwest reaches of Thomson Park, i.e. right behind our house at the top of Mason Woods Drive. They were calling out and running around in the park itself, and even up into the wooded back property of our house and our immediate neighbors. We have not heard them since, but they are clearly more than a rumor! Remember to keep your small pets safe, especially at night. [For examples of the kinds of coyote sounds we heard, click on #3, "coyote vocalizations," at: http://www.soundboard.com/sb/Wild_Coyote_sounds.aspx]
**Zoning & Land Use**See December meeting minutes for more information about the development of our RIOD plans.
**Social & Special Events**The Chair of this committee is currently vacant -- it would be great to have someone in place well in advance of the Spring Picnic, at least, and for any other special events that people want to organize. Any volunteers?
**Traffic & Transit**Some very sad news: As you may have heard, an Emory student was walking through our neighborhood late one night in early December, and she was hit and killed by a car at the intersection of Houston Mill and Mason Mill. Let's all be very careful on foot and behind the wheel!
Although Emory's free transit system does not pass *through* our neighborhood, it's quite nearby and can be useful for moving around the district car-free. Did you know it has service to Downtown Decatur, North Dekalb Mall, Midtown, Downtown/Grady, and Executive Park? Did you know you can see a real-time display of where every bus is, and where it's headed? Be sure to bookmark: http://emory.transloc.com/
**Park, Public Space & Environment**Volunteers needed for work in Thomson Park! The cool weather months are perfect for our planned projects to remove and control invasive plants, to maintain trails, and to plan some of the erosion control efforts we will be asking the County to help undertake. Please email me if you are interested in doing some weekend work in January & February: pat208@me.com.
**Executive Committee**The Executive Committee of the MMCA (we, your elected officers) meet for coffee once per month, every month, to review neighborhood issues and to make plans for the Association. Please let us know what's on your mind, so we can better serve you and all our Mason Mill neighbors!
Minutes of the Mason Mill Civic Association Meeting
December 14, 2009
At approximately 7:00 p.m., President Patrick Noonan opened the meeting at the Global Health Action offices with welcoming remarks, which included identifying the executive committee members and thanking MMCA volunteer leaders. Approximately 24 people were in attendance.
Treasurer Pat Brittain reported that the Association has $9,761.46 in the bank.
Following the treasurer’s report, Eric Benjamin, Vice President of the Association, presented information about establishing a residential infill overlay district (ROID) in the neighborhood. Each person attending the meeting received a written presentation (see attached). In addition, Eric referenced other DeKalb neighborhoods that have established such districts. These include Ponderosa, Leafmore and Sagamore Hills.
The main issues discussed by the group concerned defining the threshold of the house and identifying the height that can be built above the threshold.
• There was unanimous agreement that we want to preserve the current topography and ground elevations in the neighborhood. We do not want to see builders come in and build hills in order to be able to add more height to new homes under construction.
• There was agreement that we also want a reasonable appeal process for homeowners who can show just cause for changing the height of their home.
• There was more discussion surrounding the pros and cons of possible restrictions relating to the height above threshold.
• There was clarification that the same zoning (R-85 or R-100) would remain in place with the same setbacks. The overlay does not impact the zoning; it just adds more protection from incompatible infill development.
The discussion also focused on the ROID process that would be followed. Eric pointed out that the following steps will need to be taken:
1) A committee of neighbors will meet with Commissioner Rader to discuss the idea and to determine from the County’s perspective what specific language or ideas need to be covered in a draft plan.
2) The committee will develop a plan and present it to the neighborhood for public input and discussion.
3) A final draft of the plan will be presented to Commissioner Rader to gain his support and official backing.
4) After Commissioner Rader presents the plan to the County Commission, the County will undertake a census of every homeowner to determine whether the overlay district is established. The County will tally the votes. It takes 2/3 + 1 votes to pass.
Don Broussard, a Sagamore Hills neighbor with experience in the Overlay process, cautioned the group to inventory the heights of houses already in the neighborhood to get a good sense of what heights are already here and to work to create consensus in the neighborhood for the plan.
After additional Q&A, Rafe Henderson moved to authorize the officers of the Mason Mill Civic Association to pursue the development of a plan, with appropriate input, to designate the neighborhood as an overlay district. The motion passed.
The meeting adjourned at approximately 8:50 p.m.
Reported by MMCA Secretary, Mary Hinkel
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