City Council essentially kills land use, zoning bids for proposed Lindbergh area Walmart development

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Atlanta City Council today essentially killedboth the land use ordinance and companion zoning paper requesting changes toallow the controversial proposed Walmart anchored mixed-use development in theLindbergh area of south Buckhead.

Howard Shook

Dist. 7 Councilman Howard Shook, who representsthe area where the development would have been located offered the motions to“file” the two papers, which passed by a vote of 11-2 and essentially killedboth papers.

Aaron Watson

The motions to “file” the papers followed amotion by At-large Councilman Aaron Watson to approve the land use ordinance.That motion required a yes vote of eight council members. It only got seven yesvotes and six no votes.

The council’s decision precludes reconsidering the land use and zoning request for two years.   However, developer Jeff Fuqua can begin the process of submitting a new proposal at any time and he said he plans on submitting a new proposal at the neighborhood level soon.
Those voting to reject the requested land usechanges to the city’s 2011 Comprehensive Development Plan  were Shook, Dist. 6 Councilman Alex Wan,Dist. 8 Councilwoman Yolanda Adrean and Dist. 9 Councilwoman Felicia Moore—allof whom represent parts of Buckhead—Dist. 1 Councilwoman Carla Smith andAt-Large Councilman Michael Julian Bond.

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Felicia Moore

The seven who voted for the changes along withWatson, were Ivory Young Jr., Cleta Winslow,C.T. Martin, Keisha Lance Bottoms,Joyce Sheperd and Lamar Willis. Except for Watson and Willis, all those whovoted against the wishes of the Buckhead council members and Buckhead residentsrepresent districts in the south and southwest areas of the city.
Dist. 2 Councilman Kwanza Hall had left thecouncil chamber floor during the time of the vote and did not cast a vote foror against. Councilwoman Natalie Archibong, who represents the east Atlantaarea where Sembler Co. and Jeff Fuqua developed the Edgewood Retail Districtseveral years ago, was in court Monday and could not attend the councilmeeting.

Developer Jeff Fuqua

According to BuckheadView sources, developerJeff Fuqua, who is trying to develop the nearly 22-acre site with a big boxWalmart store and a total of 200,000 square feet of retail and more than 200multi-family retail units, was furiously lobbying council members after thevote in an attempt to get one more vote on his side and a reconsideration ofthe Watson motion.
He was unsuccessful and the City Counciladjourned its meeting around 4:20 p.m.
Watson, who went against the wishes of everyneighborhood that he represents on council on this issue, last week filed anamendment to his original zoning paper to add 100 affordable senior housingunits as part of the residential mix at the project.
It appeared to be an attempt to entice more councilmembers to vote in favor of the development, especially among council memberswho represent south and southwest Atlanta neighborhoods where affordable seniorhousing is a major issue. .
Both Councilmen Shook and Wan had told theAtlanta Journal-Constitution and the end of last week they would vote againstthe development even after the Watson amendment. Councilwoman Adrean toldBuckheadView this past weekend she would vote against the papers and she did. CouncilwomanMoore, had earlier indicated to BuckheadView she did not favor the proposeddevelopment and also voted against it. .

Above is the newly amended site plan as of the end of last week. A
is the senior housing units on the back of the proposed Walmart store (B).
C is the surface parking in front of the Walmart store. D is the remainder
of the parking one level down below C. The remainder of the apartment
housing units are at E surrounding a parking deck. F is the proposed
playground and dog park area and G is the proposed 3-acre park.
Lindbergh Drive is at the bottom of the plan, Morosgo Drive at the top,
Adina Drive to the right and Piedmont Road to the left. 

“While the addition of senior housing is well intentioned, theplacement is ill-conceived,” Adrean told BuckheadView last weekend. “The lackof daylight and the views are of particular concern.”
“Despite recent design improvements, the planremains opposed by the vast majority of the residents who have contacted me,”Shook told the AJC. “When I first ran for public office, I promised to supportneighbors, not developers or city planners, when determining what theirneighborhoods should look like. I have upheld every neighborhood recommendationsince and will do so again,” he stated.

Map above shows the the proposed development's location

Wan, who chairs the City Council’s ZoningCommittee that sent the amended paper back to council with no recommendation lastweek, said, “For me the underlying question is the land use,” not whether thestore will be a Walmart or something else, he told the AJC.
Wan said Fuqua Development has not made aconvincing argument that the city’s long-term land use designations should berevised.
“This area could use development,” Wan told theAJC. “It could use a transformative project. But, so far, a compelling case hasnot been made.”