Dunwoody homeowners are subject to the whims of the city
council, the city staff, the county, the regional commission and the state.
They like to spend money on expensive, nonessential projects and ignore
critical infrastructure upgrades and maintenance. Through the approval of the
city charter, the state refuses to require cities and counties to allow voters to
control the spending or debt they will incur. Under Georgia Law, cities and
counties can do pretty much anything they want to do. There is no check and balance in the
system. City and county staffs run the
show.
Under Georgia Law, all cities and counties are allowed to
borrow up to 10% of the value of all property on their tax registry according
to the Georgia Handbook for Mayors and City Councils. For Dunwoody, that would be about $200
million based on the city’s $2 billion property value. That’s 8 times the city’s annual revenue.
Responsible voters may qualify for loans up to 2 times their annual income.
Also under Georgia Law, the new City Charter passed by
the Georgia Legislature (Fran & Tom), in 2014 gives the City Council the
legal right to authorize Special Tax Districts for whatever the City Council
approves without voter ballot approval.
Under the Special Tax District the city could take out loans and sell
Bonds to fund whatever “start-up” they deemed fit. There was talk of moving Fire / EMS service
from DeKalb and that will likely be revisited.
Georgia pass UN Agenda 21 enabling legislation to create
Regional Commissions as another layer of government, but it is not elected, it
is appointed by the governor. HB 1216 created commission offices to usurp city
and county responsibilities. HB 277 attempted to add transportation control to
Regional Commissions, but the 2012 T-SPLOST vote failed. These laws need to be repealed before these
commissions do any more harm.
Georgia’s annual revenue is $20 billion. In addition, Georgia receives an additional
$20 billion from our bankrupt federal government. Federal grants to states are
available for cities and counties to build expensive nonessential fluff. This includes low use items like on-street
bike lanes, multi-use trails, more access to public transit, high density
development, mixed use zoning, land use overlays and restrictions, stream
buffers, green space and streetscapes. Cities and counties are in a rush to
grab printed and borrowed federal cash while they can. This goes on in every
state while critical infrastructure like roads and sewers and neglected. All of
this mal-investment goes on as critical infrastructure crumbles and our economy
declines.
All cities are on a tear to do “economic development”.
This usually involves new retail venues and office buildings. But a large
number of retail chains are in the process of closing thousands of stores and
jobs are declining.
Dunwoody permits, inspections, fees and fines expanded
dramatically compared to these costs when Dunwoody was unincorporated. Prior to cityhood, Dunwoody homeowners would
need to get a permit for serious construction projects. The new code requires
permits for replacement of driveways roofs, decks, mechanicals, appliances,
plus electrical and plumbing work. None
of these were required prior to cityhood.
One Dunwoody homeowner had to pay a $7000 fine because he
poured his own driveway without a city permit.
Dunwoody homeowners have had to install 75 foot stream
buffers around creeks and lose the use of their back yards. The state requires
a 25 foot stream buffer, but Dunwoody chose 75 feet.
Dunwoody lakes are part of the storm sewer system, so
silt from this system fills subdivision lakes. Owners pay for silt removal
themselves.
Dunwoody homeowners have had to hire lawyers to represent
them in cases where the actions of the city or a neighbor or a developer would
harm their property or lower their property values.
When a church wanted to house a commercial daycare center
on their property, homeowners from Brooke Farm hired attorneys to represent
them in objecting to the traffic that would result. The church dropped the project.
When the city announced its plan to build a 12 foot wide
concrete trail in Brook Run Park, neighbors downstream were concerned about
flooding and hired lawyers and engineers and went to court. They lost the case.
Under the current city Zoning Codes:
Homes in existing subdivisions could be torn down and the
lot split into 2 lots no less than 15,000 square feet (with set-backs). This happened in Dunwoody Club Forest and
homeowners had to pay legal fees.
Patient Care Facilities could buy the house next door and
renovate it into a medical facility.
This happened on Manget Way.
Under city Master Plans:
The city proposed making a kind of public park under the
power lines that crossed behind several subdivisions including Mt Vernon Way, Holly
Bank and Mil Glen. All homeowners raised
hell and the city scrapped the plan.
Dunwoody Village, the convenience shopping center for
North Dunwoody subdivisions is planned to be “fundamentally transformed” into a
“venue”.
“Overlay Districts” have been created by the city to
“transform” all convenience shopping centers in the city and their surrounding
areas.
The city proposed a $1 million “Roundabout” in a
residential area at the intersection of Womack and Vermack. Homeowners raised hell and the city scrapped
the plan.
The city proposed a $4 million 12 foot wide concrete
multi-use trail in Brook Run Park.
Homeowners objected to the cost, the loss of trees for a low utilization
trail, but the city built it anyway.
The city proposed a $2.5 million redo of half-mile long
Dunwoody Village Parkway. Homeowners objected to the cost, but the city built
it anyway.
The city Transportation Plan had included a widening of
Mt. Vernon Road to a 3-Lane. Easements
from the centerline were discovered to be 50 feet and residents were alerted
that the city would “take” these easements.
That would have lowered the property value of all homeowners
involved. The city backed off and changed
the plan back to a 2-Lane.
Dunwoody road maintenance remains 10 years behind. When
the city sets their budgets, they pretend that this 10 year deficit does not
exist. The $2 million a year budgeted
for road maintenance is based on a 25 year plan that assumes a total
restoration would cost $50 million. The city has increased road maintenance
when city council elections are scheduled. Getting behind on road milling and
resurfacing is a costly decision. The road base deteriorates and in many cases,
it needs to be replaced as well.
Intersection re-dos have been in the $million dollar
range due to excessive design fees, high traffic controller costs and high
construction costs. Engineering firms continue to push for unwanted
roundabouts.
On-Street bike lanes are on the Master Plan despite
narrow 2 lane roads and low utilization.
Multi-use trails are on the Master plan despite low utilization and they
appear to require private property to be built. MARTA wants more access to
Dunwoody customers in “Overlay Areas” despite very low utilization.
Sidewalks are being added to some main roads. These are
good for kids to bike to school and walkers, but lots of folks have lost part
of their front yard and it is now “public space”, but they still get to pay the
property taxes and are now responsible for the cost of maintaining the sidewalk
on their lots.
Conclusions
The errors in the zoning code allow for split lots and
spot zoning that endangers subdivision property values. To date, subdivisions have had to hire
attorneys to protect them from city actions. The Master Plans, Land Use Plans
and Zoning Codes are all the same from city to city, from the American Planning
Association to implement UN Agenda 21. These plans are installed by consulting
and engineering firms. The “Visioning Sessions” conducted in 2011 were rigged,
so the Master Plan results were pre-determined by the consulting firms. This was not legitimate public input. It was
the same Delphi technique used across the U.S.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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