|
Thank
you for taking my comments. I'm speaking on behalf of the Athens Grow Green
Coalition regarding items 13, 36, and 37. First, we oppose the approval
of the request for a contract award for the Barnett Shoals road widening
project in its present form. So much evidence exists about the poor safety
records of such designs that this project should not go forward until the
road configuration is changed to a safer one. If you agree that the first
priority of the government is the health and safety of its citizens, then
you should vote against this item. The argument that too much time and money
has already been spent to turn back now is not compelling. This road configuration
will create problems that we will have to spend even more time and money
to fix in the future. We urge you not to throw good money after bad, and
to remember that it is not only the Barnett Shoals property owners who have
a stake in this; the roads are a public resource, and your responsibility
on this issue is to the entire community.
Regarding item 36, we support
the position of the Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation. We urge you to
vote to begin the process of designating downtown Athens a historic area.
We believe the economic, environmental, and quality of life benefits will
be enormous.
Regarding item 37, we support
the substitute proposal, which, according to reports in the Athens Banner-Herald,
will be made, to designate apartment complexes as a special use in RM
zones, therefore requiring Commission approval. Grow Green is not opposed
to apartment complexes; we are in fact confident that multifamily development
is likely to continue to be part of our community's growth. But first
there are some important issues that need to be addressed. Athens is currently
preparing to explore the feasibility of a Transferable Development Rights
program. To make TDRs work, we are going to have to take a serious look
at the zoning throughout Athens-Clarke County, including the RM zones.
If too many of the RM areas are built out in the meantime, we may lose
the opportunity to create a workable TDR program. And equally important,
we need to consider the impacts of new apartment complexes on affordable
housing. This community has recently seen the destruction of one of our
few neighborhoods affordable to people of low incomes, when the Garden
Springs Mobile Home Park was razed to make way for a luxury student apartment
complex. Our current zoning provides no protections for existing affordable
housing, and contains no provisions encouraging the creation of new affordable
housing. Representatives of the Homebuilders and Realtors Associations
have claimed (in the past) that imposing controls on RM development would
have a detrimental effect on affordable housing. Well, we know - from
experience - that having no controls HAS had a detrimental effect on affordable
housing. We hope you will support designating apartment complexes a special
use and further, begin the process of reviewing our Zoning and Development
Standards with an eye toward protecting and creating affordable housing
and implementing a TDR program.
|
