Grove Park Community Association

Piedmont Park Mess

Calling out for support

Dear Friends of Piedmont Park:

Mayor's Piedmont Park Task Force to Decide on May 5
The last meeting of the Mayor's Task Force is Thursday, May 5, 2005. The Task Force is expected to make a recommendation or vote.

At this point, the task force is apparently not going to do a robust review of the parking deck proposal and possible alternatives. To date, ABG and PPC employees and consultants have presented to the Task Force, but no independent analyses or studies have been done to evaluate the ABG parking deck proposal.

The City Council and the Mayor are the ultimate decision makers on the ABG parking deck proposal. But it is important for people to continue to let the head of the task force know of their opposition to the parking deck, the access roads, and the planning process. Information about how to contact the head of the task force is set forth in the second paragraph below.

Looking ahead, we see the following tentative timetable for the parking deck proposal:
May 5, 2005, 4-6pm - Task force recommendation or vote
May 2005 - Possible submission of the ABG parking deck proposal to the Urban Design Commission for review
June 2005 - Possible City Council/Mayoral review and vote (The Piedmont Park master plan must go before the City Council and the Mayor for approval as the parking deck was never a part of the master plan)
July 2005 - 30 days after Mayoral action period ends for legal challenge
September 2005 - Qualifying for Atlanta Mayor and City Council Seats

Atlanta Planning Advisory Board Public Forum Discusses the Deck
Last Thursday the Atlanta Planning Advisory Board, which is the umbrella organization over the 24 City NPUs, held a public forum. A moderator and citizen panel asked the Atlanta Botanical Garden (ABG) and the Piedmont Park Conservancy (PPC) questions that had been submitted by people citywide.

Thanks to all of you who attended! The forum did not provide any new information on behalf of the ABG and PPC but certainly showcased the NPUs concern with the proposal. We continue to make progress with the NPUs. NPU-I, in Southwest Atlanta, voted last week to oppose the deck, meaning that 16 of 17 NPU's which have taken a position are now opposed to the parking deck.

Contact Task Force Chair Sharon Gay
If you have not contacted Sharon Gay, Chair of the Mayor's Piedmont Park Task Force, the time is now! Ms. Gay's email address is sgay@mckennalong.com. The e-mail does not need to be long. You just need to state your opposition and one or two reasons why. Please contact her to voice your opposition to the ABG parking deck in Piedmont Park. Also, please copy us at atriand@aol.com so we can keep your letter on file.

Yard Sign Vandalism
We have received an increasing number of emails in regard to vandalism and theft of the Friends of Piedmont Park yard signs. If your yard sign has been damaged or taken, please reply to this email and we will deliver a new yard sign.

Thanks to those who joined Friends of Piedmont Park in the Inman Park Parade. Our float received a great response from the crowd, which was noted in the Sunday metro section of the AJC!

Thanks!
Friends of Piedmont Park