​Join UHNA at the Westside Stride block party happening on Howell Mill Rd south of Trabert Ave this Sunday, October 29th from 12-6pm!

​The family-friendly open street festival includes a maker’s market, beer garden, live music & entertainment, kids activities, plus all the local businesses showing off. Brickworks, Star Metals, Interlock, and Westside Provisions District are going all-out, and even The Works is bringing their businesses over to 17th St for the day! 

Walking or biking or taking rideshare to the event are encouraged.

Visit WestsideStride.org to learn more about road closures and the route map, and follow Upper Westside ATL for live Westside Stride updates!

The Zoning Committee of City Council voted unanimously this morning to file the Application, Z-23-17, to rezone 1692 Springer St. from R-4 residential to C-1 commercial.  The motion to do so was made by At-Large Councilmember, Matt Westmoreland.  I spoke with our councilman, Dustin Hillis, just before the meeting, and he assured me it would all be ok even though he is not on the Zoning Committee.

To file an application is to remove it from proceeding further through the process of becoming law.    In past years, an attempt to rezone property after an initial failed attempt could not be repeated for two years.  That is possibly still true, but I have not been able to find verification on the Web before writing you this message.  If I fail to verify that a 2-year waiting period is required, I shall let you know.

Thanks to all of you who were there to vote on Z-23-17 at our UHNA Meeting and, later, at the NPU-D meeting and who communicated your opposition to City Council members.  It surely made all the difference.

Eva Nason, UHNA Rep to NPU-D

received via email;
"I am Shubhangi, a Ph.D. candidate in Digital Media at Georgia Tech. As part of my research, I am conducting participatory mapping workshops that bring community members and leaders together to collaboratively think through the workings and impacts of civic Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems. The workshops focus on public safety AI systems that predict crime hotspots. Please go to this webpage to learn more about the workshops: https://gupta-shubhangi.github.io/CivicAIWorkshop.html

I am organizing (at least) two workshops this fall on Sat, Oct 28th and Fri, Nov 10th.  I am writing to invite members of your association to participate in a workshop. The registration link can be found on the webpage. 

Additionally, I would love to talk to any of you to get your perspective on my work. It would help me develop my work. Please let me know if you would be interested in talking to me. 

Please feel free to share the call for participation with other groups you think may be interested in participating. I'm happy to jump on a call to talk more or answer any questions. 
Thank you, 
Shubhangi "

This matter was covered at the last Steering Committee and General Meetings and voted to support, but some online were unable to hear the in-person discussion and felt it was rushed through, so the details are reiterated here. Please note the properties are not under contract, the sale is in negotiation.
The proposal is to re-plat two existing lots to the historial 3 lots and build 3 single family homes.
Due to changes in Planning procedures, such a change requires a new specific legislation voted by City Council, rather than applying for a variance as might be expected. 
As such, Councillor Dustin Hillis requested the proposer (Builder JW Hall) to bring it before the UHNA to get community feedback.
It is similar in scope to what was done in Mantissa St in 2022, creating two single-family lots from one large lot with an extra wide frontage.
The resultant lots would be similar in frontage the other lots in Springer St.
Aside from questions on the re platting, other questions raised were how this might impact trees and storm water runoff and the stream at the rear.
Due to the new Tree Ordnance and updated residential drainage codes to which any new construction would have to conform, any works on the newly created sites would be an improvement on existing structures, with major trees being documented and replaced as required, and runoff being contained by appropriate management techniques.
Two documents are provided; the enacted legislation for Mantissa St, and supporting notes for the Springer St proposal.
​For further clarification please reach out to Dustin Hillis Councilmember – District 9 Atlanta City Council 55 Trinity Ave SW, Ste. 2900 Atlanta, GA 30303 P: (404) 330-6044 F: (404) 979-3679 E: drhillis@atlantaga.gov

In the last 2-week period (Sep 23 - Oct 6), 29 incidents were reported in Beat 204.  Of those, none occurred in the area we patrol.  A breakdown of activity reported in the surrounding area:

Significant Incidents:

• Fondling
  • This incident is under investigation by the Special Victims Unit.  No details can be released other than the incident occurred between people that were known to each other.
• Aggravated Assault
  • On October 1, 2023, an employee of Kroger asked a man to help a woman that needed a jump for her car battery.  The man he asked began to assault him (the employee).  He struck him in the head with a glass Yankee candle resulting in injury.  The suspect was taken into custody by responding officers.

I hope you all have a great weekend.

Best,

Det. Kevin Leonpacher
Atlanta PD / Underwood Hills Patrol

Hi Neighbors!

We’ll gather for a Halloween Party Sunday October 22 at 4pm at Underwood Hills Park. There’ll be a kids’ costume contest, pumpkin decorating, a ghost craft, and a fire truck!  To eat we’ll have juice boxes, light snacks, and pizza.

Hope to see BOO there!

Shane

From UHNA NPU-D Rep Eva Nason;
​I strongly regret to inform you that last evening the Zoning Review Board voted 4-2 to approve the rezoning of 1692 Springer St. from R-4 residential to C-1 commercial.  

Whatever there was of wisdom in the 98-6 NPU-D votes and the 60-2 UHNA votes declaring this rezoning from R-4 to C-1 to be long-term detrimental to an entire area counted for nothing with 4 of the 6 members of the Zoning Review Board, if they had even been informed of these votes (I don't recall they were ever mentioned by the ZRB members in the discussion of this case).

Speaking in opposition to this rezoning was Jim Martin, the chairperson of NPU-D and Eva Nason, the UHNA Representative to NPU-D, who read a prepared statement of opposition by Ben Hudgins, the chairperson of the UHNA Planning and Land Use Committee, and Rita Neely, speaking as the Springer St. resident typical of the many Springer St. families with young children. 

There was only one person speaking for the applicant, someone representing the applicant, Girvan Henry,   Girvan Henry has still, through all of these meetings and deferrals, not made his presence known, and the fellow there last evening representing him seemed to be there completely on his own.

At some time on Thursday, there became available the Staff Report, which gives "Findings of Fact" and a recommendation of approval or denial of the rezoning.  This is put out from the director's Office of Zoning and Development, headed by Keyetta M. Holmes.   This Staff Report recommended approval of the rezoning with two conditions, 1) that the back yard parking pad be paved and 2) that "Notwithstanding the permitted principal uses in Section 16-11.003" (all those things we usually think of as commercial) . . . "the only permitted use is office."  

There were comments in the Staff Report such as "the impact on the neighboring R-4 (Single Family Residential)) zoned properties to the north, east and west should be minimal."  (My comment:  apparently the zoning staff no longer thinks precedent counts for anything!)   Also, there was this comment:  "The proposed development is unlikely to have any negative impact on the neighboring properties since this rezoning will be the continuance of an existing use, should the property ever be redeveloped."  (My comment:  there will now need to be perpetual vigilance on the part of the entire neighborhood of Underwood Hills to see that condition No. 2 stated above isn't conveniently removed at some point, allowing the development of a host of undesirable businesses nextdoor to residences on the north, east and west of this site.  And all for the convenience of the neighbor, Girvan Henry, who has never made himself known to us. 

What to do?  No doubt there will be communication among a few of us as to what might best be done to try to do whatever lobbying can still be done to prevent this rezoning from being established.   I, personally, don't know whether an enormous response from Underwood Hills would have any effect these days.  If our 98-6 NPU vote counted for not even a mention, then there is a strong sense that the voice of the affected people, however large, will mean nothing.  If it is deemed that a neighborhood's voice can be heard at all at City Hall, then I shall try to inform you.

Eva Nason, Underwood Hills resident

​In the last 2-week period (Sep 9 - Sep 22), 35 incidents were reported in Beat 204.  Of those, 2 occurred in the area we patrol.

• September 13 - A stolen 2024 Hyundai Genesis was tracked by Lojack to the 1700 block of Defoor Ave.  An officer went to that location and found the unoccupied vehicle between 1769 and 1767 Defoor.  A nearby landscaping crew reportedly saw multiple subjects get out of the vehicle and into another vehicle, which was occupied by other subjects, and left.  The Genesis, which had been reported stolen in Cobb County, was processed for evidence and impounded.
• September 20 - A contractor saw a black male walking up and down Woodland Hills near his work truck.  He later realized a Stihl demo saw was missing from his vehicle.  No damage was reported.  Surveillance video showed the same male near the victim's vehicle.  The incident is under investigation by the Larceny from Auto Unit.

A summary of other activity reported in the area: