Buckhead CID courts West Village property owners with list of potential infrastructure improvements

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The BuckheadCommunity Improvement District sponsored a meeting Wednesday (June 20) withabout 30 merchants and commercial property owners to discuss infrastructureimprovements that could be made to an area Buckhead commonly called West Villageif it votes to come under the CID umbrella.
TheCID had approved on May 29 expenditure of $20,000 to have Lowe Engineering assessexisting conditions and provide recommendations for infrastructure improvementsto the area that lies primarily lies between RoswellRoad and Paces Ferry Place and East Andrews Drive and Irby Avenue.

This overhead view of the West Village area of Buckhead shows the initial
proposed infrastructure enhancements outlined by Lowe Engineering. For
an explanation of the various color markings, refer to a paragraph down
in the story. (Click on the photo for a larger image and then you can make
detail areas larger by manipulating the size on your computer.)

The study alsoincluded Andrews Drive between Paces Ferry Place and West Paces Ferry Road andnorth along Roswell Road past Andrews Drive to include the immediate commercialshopping areas.
Among the recommendedenhancements that Lowe came up with in just a few weeks were: Newsidewalks, updated handicap ramps, street trees, decorative lighting, street furniture,landscaping, stone retaining walls, refacing of walls in disrepair, replacefencing and additional on-street parking. 
Also recommended were:restriping of East Andrews; mill, repave and restripe Irby, Paces Ferry Placeand Cains Hill Place; add crosswalks, curbs and gutters and roll curbing;improve drainage and replace and adjust utility covers where they are not evenwith the sidewalks.
The area involved inthe study includes 61 commercial properties and is included in the updatedSPI-9 zoning and development standards adopted by the Atlanta City Council Oct.4, 2010. Those standards are designed to produce a more walkable urbancommunity with greater emphasis on greenspaces and streetscapes as well asdevelopment conformity.

Jim Durrett

The West Village areastudied, while part of the SPI-9 update that was largely funded by the CID,does not presently fall within the CID’s boundaries or jurisdiction. However,the CID would like to expand to include the area if the property owners agreeto it.  The remaining part of theBuckhead area covered by SPI-9 presently already falls within the CID’sjurisdiction.
Buckhead CID ExecutiveDirector Jim Durrett, who made the Wednesday evening presentation at theBuckhead Theatre described the group of about 30 who attended as “veryinterested” in what was presented. He characterized those attending as beingabout half merchants and half commercial property owners.
Durrett said the proposed infrastructure improvements would increasethe West Village  property values  and make the area “walkable, safe, invitingand attractive.” And, he hopes it will encourage the property owners in thearea to want to join the CID. 
It is the commercial property owners who will have to decide ifthey wish to become part of the CID. Durrett needs a super majority, or 75percent vote, of the property owners in the area for it to be included in theCID’s jurisdiction. And, that vote by the property owners includes a commitmentto pay an additional property tax of $3 for every $1,000 of commercial propertyvalue. The CID estimates that would provide about $60,000 in additional CIDrevenue annually.

Proposed view along Roswell Road between Irby Ave. and Andrews Drive
if infrastructure enhancements were made as suggested.  

The full West Villagestudy authorized in May by the CID is expected to be completed within six weeksand will include both short-term and long-term recommendations forinfrastructure improvements. Costs will be generated for each street and/orarea based on proposed improvements and then further by parcel and by privateand public domain.

The same area along Roswell Road as it looks today before enhancements. 

CID Executive DirectorJim Durrett explained to the board members that it was always the intention ofthe CID to incorporate these pockets within the SPI 9 (special public interest)district.  
Earlier he said thepurpose of the June 20 meeting was to answer questions of those property ownersinvolved. "We want to demonstrate the sorts of improvements that we wouldbe able to make in short order in this area," he said. "We wantto bring the whole area up to a certain standard that folks would like inthis area."
Specifically, what waspresented to the 30 who attended the Wednesday meeting was a Power Pointpresentation that included an overhead view of the area with recommended  improvements indicated for each street, andsome before and after photos of areas along Roswell Road, etc.
On the overhead viewof the area, the grey lines along the streets indicated sidewalks (some ofwhich are new and some would be repaired); the green lines along the streetsindicated landscaped area; green circles indicate street trees (most of whichwould be new plantings); red X indicated trees that are in the way ofimprovements and would be removed.

Proposed view along Paces Ferry Place after large trees are replaced with
smaller, healthier trees and "pedestrian lighting" is added. 

Most of the existingtrees along Paces Ferry Place would be removed and replaced with smaller,healthier trees.
Blue dots on theoverhead view indicate new pedestrian lights along the streets. The lights,which would be atop 8-10-foot posts, would be every 40 feet on center alongRoswell Road and every 60 feet on center along Andrews Drive, Paces FerryPlace, Cain Hill Place and Irby Avenue.
The proposal presentedwould add 25 metered on-street parking spaces along Cains Hill Place and 25parking spaces along Roswell Road, just south of Andrews Drive. Durrett toldBuckheadView that it was discovered that there is enough width to Cains HillPlace to move the center line of the road to the east side of the road andcreate the 25 new parking spots along the west side of the road.
New designatedcrosswalks have been added at important intersections and mid-block areas atRoswell Road and Irby and Andrews, along Andrews Drive and on Irby Avenue.

Photo shows area along Roswell Road just south of Andrews Drive after
roll curbing is installed (to allow cars to cross over0 and new parking
spaces are marked off in front of retail establishments. 

Durrett alsoemphasized that the recommended improvements along Roswell Road “will make itmuch more welcoming to pedestrian traffic” with improved sidewalks, theadditional of landscaping and street furniture and the pedestrian lighting duringnighttime hours.
After a brief presentation at Wednesday’s meeting, Durrettanswered questions about the proposal and stressed the benefits of joining theCID.
Asked whether the tax would be permanent, Durrett explained thatthe tax would last as long as the CID lasts, but the CID’s board votes everysix years on whether to continue or disband. The last time the CID voted was inSeptember 2011, when it agreed to continue operating. The next vote will comein September 2017.
Durrett told BuckheadView most of the questions centered aroundhow the CID makes its decisions and who is involved in those decisions andwhether most of the improvements would be made in the existing right-of-way orwould involve private property.
Durrett emphasized that this was just the first meeting withthese business people and that follow-up meetings will be required—most certainlywhen Lowe Engineering makes its final report following its $20,000 study.