Dunwoody Problems

In 2009, the Dunwoody City Council voted to contract the writing of Ordinances and Codes to a consulting firm.  These documents were full of problems designed to infringe on homeowners’ property rights.

The plans were full of open space, adopt a spot, complete streets, Master Plans for strip malls and land use, walking paths, bike trails and stream buffers going through private property, on-street bike lanes and ordinances, permits, fees and fines that were not in existence before 2009 that usurped the rights homeowners had in 2008.

The city attempted to put public space in the electric distribution tower easement and homeowners refused, so they removed it from the Parks Plan.  Citizens were invited to attend “visioning” meetings that used the Delphi technique to guide the outcomes.  The city placed a $66 million Parks Bond issue on the ballot in 2011; It would have created a $128 million debt and was defeated with a 66% NO vote.

Everything the consultants put in the plans was consistent with what all other city councils were doing and it looked like UN Agenda 21 implementation. And it was. Consultants are trained by ICLEI, a UN non-profit charged with UN Agenda 21 implementation. Federal grants to states include printed and borrowed dollars as bribes to states to promote mal-investment.

Prior to implementing the Land Use and Zoning Codes, the City again contracted with a consultant to do a final re-write of the plans and they also had problems that were identified through the hearing processes, but not fixed.  The City Council then voted to implement them.  Over the past several years, these plans created controversy and problems for homeowners, who had to pass the hat and hire attorneys to present their case.    

Now the city is looking at the plans again.  The Community Council was assigned to review Ch.16 and Ch.27 on November 13, 2014. Not enough time was given to the review of the Land Use Plan Ch. 16 and the Zoning Plan Ch. 27 of the Dunwoody Code. Consultants wrote the original plans and another consultant revised it and city staff discussed it and proposed changes. The advisory committees were rushed through their review and most of their objections were not considered.  These passed the city council.

Problems with grant bribes arose in 2012 with a city initiative to build a roundabout in a residential neighborhood, a 12 foot wide concrete multi-use path around Brook Run Park and a $2.5 million redo of a ½ mile street in the middle of a strip mall.  Citizens with rotting streets objected and managed to get the roundabout stopped, but the other two projects were built. Now the path is planned to go to the MARTA station. On-street bike lanes were added in 2012, reducing the driving lanes to 10 feet.  Again citizens objected and were ignored.

Problems in Ch. 16 began immediately with stream buffers and in Ch. 27 with the split lot problem in Dunwoody Club Forest and the Medical Treatment Center in Manget Way. Homeowners were forced to pay the cost of objecting to these infringements to their residential neighborhoods. These issues are being resolved in the courts. 

Currently, there is a split lot issue on Leisure Court. We need a 30 day notice to neighbors for infill permits that includes that the builder and the city interact with the neighbors.

The second rewrite is again in the process of being rushed through the advisory committees.  A split lot solution has not been determined.  The home care facility category in R-100 should be removed.

Our Codes in Dunwoody are exposing homeowners to problems we did not experience before the city was established. We should revisit the DeKalb codes that existed prior to 2009 and adopt those.  County records of property descriptions are being found that are not complete or correct.

Our Codes are being passed like Obamacare. The City Council passes it, so we can find out what’s in it.  Our Codes are a moving target, so predatory builders and developers are coming out of the woodwork. Building Permits are being approved by staff without public notice or input.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader