Community Zoom Meeting on New Rental Townhomes near Indian Creek Marta

Kaplan Residential plans to ask for a rezoning that would allow the firm to build 230 rental townhomes just south of the Indian Creek Marta station, and north of Redan Road.

The firm invites the community to a zoom meeting so that you can learn more about the proposal and provide input.  The meeting is:

Tuesday, August, 18, 2020, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Zoom Meeting Information:
https://dentons.zoom.us/j/99411238473?pwd=S25rYkQ5eWJMNVdRQ2lKZUFZLzJKdz09

Meeting ID: 994 1123 8473
Passcode: 953218
One tap mobile
+13017158592,,99411238473#,,,,,,0#,,953218#

The firm sent a draft site plan. Click the link to review it.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1R5qqLQDgSkehI-CqC1zCMxLOJvmEbqkI/view?usp=sharing

 

Our Wells Fargo Branch is Closing

The Wells Fargo branch on Redan Road near Hairston will close on Sept. 30.  The company alluded to the “rapidly evolving COVID-19 situation” as the reason for the change.  That seems like a convenient cover for the 4^th largest bank in the U.S. based on total assets.  You may recall that Wells Fargo agreed to pay $3 billion to settle criminal and civil complaints stemming from its mistreatment of customers over the last 14 years.  The bank opened more than 2 million fake accounts without the customers’ knowledge and manipulated other accounts.

The Redan branch never upgraded its property or invested in decent landscaping the entire time it occupied the spot, despite frequent requests to do so.  I am sorry to lose a bank in the area. But, this bank made little effort to be part of the community, and it was extremely difficult to build any kind of relationship with the bank because branch managers rarely stayed at that branch longer than a year or two.

 

Slaughterhouse Kill Report – Numbers set record

This year’s slaughtering at Bradford Homes & Grounds, 1676 Rice Road, Lithonia, GA 30058, surpasses the 2019 total, and we have five months to go.

So far this year, Rudolf Bradford has slaughtered 895 animals on the residential property.  Last year, the total was 819.

In his years of operation, between January 2016 and July 2020, he slaughtered 3,678 cows, pigs, goats, and sheep.

The company received a state license April 22, 2014, but the owner, Rudolf Bradford, never received a license from the county.  DeKalb County issued a cease-and-desist order March 1, 2019.  Since that time, he has slaughtered 1,504 animals.

The County has taken him to court, but there have been many delays due to Rudolf’s own delaying tactics and the virus. Thomas Kemp, II, DeKalb County senior assistant solicitor-general, has conscientiously kept us in the loop the whole time.   We will keep you updated.

 

Hairston Park – Update on Volunteer Efforts and the Community Center

Keep your fingers crossed for Hairston Park.  Gwendolyn Stegall, the energetic and persistent leader of Friends of Hairston Park, is working with volunteers on a grant.  The project is to increase enjoyment of the natural areas. The grant will ask for shaded benches to be placed near the lake, a small picnic area under the trees near the pavilion (eventually, it will be built!), and a winding natural path through a serenity garden.  The application work is underway. The first step is to present a detailed plan to Park Pride and the Parks Department at the end of the month and, hopefully, get support to apply for the grant.

The Community Center that is to be built on the north end of Hairston Park near Elam Road is not forgotten. The Department of Community Affairs says construction bids are going out “soon.”  The hope is to break ground by the end of the year.

In my last newsletter, I gave Gwen the wrong last name.  I definitely have lost some gray matter between the ears. My apologies, Gwen!

 

What is Going on in Stonecrest?

What happened to the spirit that formed the new City of Stonecrest?  Why did Stonecrest allow a recycling center to be built at 2450 Miller Road, near hundreds of homes, without so much as one public hearing? The Metro Green Recycling plant will recycle concrete.  How will the noise, dust, and traffic affect the community?  Let us hope we never find out.

DeKalb Commission Mereda Davis-Johnson has asked the Georgia Environmental Protection Division to answer questions about the permit process. The company says it is in compliance with all state and local ordinances.

After the neighbors got wind of the recycling plant and protested, Mayor Jason Lary issued a stop work order. But, he rescinded it, and the work continues on the site.  On July 9, the Stonecrest City Council decided to investigate the permitting process.

On another matter, what is going on with the parks Stonecrest “received” from DeKalb County? Southeast Athletic Complex near Covington Highway & DeKalb Medical Center Parkway has been closed since mid-March. Every park in the state and in unincorporated DeKalb County is open.  Even if citizens cannot play organized sports in this time of Covid-19, they could at least use the 97-acre park for walks.  Come on. Open the park or give it back! 

If you would like to speak out on this matter, contact:

City Hall:  770 224-0200

Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary
jlary@stonecrestga.gov

Other places to raise your concerns are:

Stonecrest Parks & Recreation Department

Brandon J. Riley Sr.
Parks & Recreation Director
briley@stonecrestga.gov

Sheldon Fleming
Parks & Recreation Operation Manager
sfleming@stonecrestga.gov

This page has more contact info for the City of Stonecrest:   https://www.stonecrestga.gov/ContactUs.aspx

Background: The intergovernmental agreement between DeKalb County and Stonecrest gave the City of Stonecrest eight parks for a total of $34,950 in July 2019. The eight parks are Gregory Moseley, Southeast Athletic Complex, Fairington Park, Salem Park, Browns Mill Park, Chestnut Lakes, Miners Creek, Everett Property, and Browns Mill Aquatic Center.

 

Until next time, may everybody be healthy.

 

Jan Costello

President, Greater Hidden Hills Communi

BOC Passed the Disputed Rezoning Request for an Indian Creek apartment complex

Despite opposition and the lack of opportunity for community review, the Board of Commissioners unanimously gave approval for the four-story apartment complex to be built behind the CVS at the corner of Indian Creek and Redan.  We saw some of the plans for the first time at the Zoom meeting July 30.  Those plans are still not part of the application.

I made the point to the Commissioners that we are missing a valuable opportunity to develop something of benefit to the Indian Creek transit corridor.  This complex looks like a weekly motel. It is a box in a parking lot.

I realize that people have different opinions about design. That is to be expected. But, give us a chance to air those views. We saw no renderings of the actual project at either Community Council meeting.  Some new images were revealed at the second Planning Commission meeting and at a hastily called “community” meeting on Zoom. Then, on July 30, a new sketch of the interior was provided.  We cannot comment on what we can’t see.

An intersection this close to a Marta station could be something grand. The idea was to have mixed-use here.  Why are we allowing the area to be developed in a piecemeal fashion, with no thought to the future that we had hoped to create.  It is a disappointment.

 

 

Slaughterhouse court date – rescheduled again

Yes, that is the same headline as used in the last newsletter. Covid-19 is completely disrupting the court calendar.

And so, the slaughtering continues at Bradford Homes & Grounds, 1676 Rice Road, Lithonia, GA 30058. The company received a state license April 22, 2014, but the owner, Rudolf Bradford, never received a license from the county.  DeKalb County issued a cease-and-desist order March 1, 2019.

Between January 2016 and May 2020, he slaughtered 3,407  cows, pigs, goats, and sheep. I have asked for the records for May and June.

The County has taken him to court, but there have been many delays due to Rudolf’s own delaying tactics and the virus. Thomas Kemp, II, DeKalb County senior assistant solicitor-general, has conscientiously kept us in the loop the whole time.   We will keep you updated.

 

Community Spirit continues to amaze me

In this dark time of our nation, with this horrible virus taking lives, compromising the health of so many thousands of people,  and changing the very fabric of our social bonds, I would like to say thank you to the people who are still out there in the community, doing what they can to make our world better.

• Thank you to all the many people who are caring for our loved ones in senior citizen and assisted living homes.
• Thank you to the doctors and nurses and aides who do so much.
• Thank you to the grocery and pharmacy workers for keeping the stores open.
• Thank you to those who pick up trash.
• Thank you to our police and fire fighters and to all the public servants who continue to report for duty.
• Thank you to our teachers.
• Thank you, postal workers. Thank you, poll workers. Thank you, UPS and Amazon delivery workers.

So many people to thank.  But I will end here by mentioning two.  Rod Frierson, president of the Hidden Hills Civic Association, continues to invest countless volunteer hours in a brighter tomorrow. He is working on so many good projects – from Marta improvements to planting trees in the neighborhood.  His service work lifts my spirits.

And Gwen Stegall, tireless advocate for Hairston Park.  Even after endless delays in a park improvement project, she is still leading the good fight.  Good luck, Gwen, on getting the grant to build a serenity trail in the park and make other improvements.

Until next time, may everybody be healthy.

 

Jan Costello

President, Greater Hidden Hills Community Development Corporation