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Questions and Answers
What is the Brookhaven/Oglethorpe MARTA Station LCI study? How will it impact me?
On February 14, 2005 the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) announced that the Brookhaven/Oglethorpe Marta Station application for a Livable Center Initiative (LCI) was approved. The ARC will fund $80,000 and DeKalb County will fund $20,000 for a total study of $100,000. The DeKalb County Office of Economic Development will receive the money and oversee the study, including selecting the planning professional and scheduling public meetings. They will do this with the help and input of the study area “stakeholders”.
What Exactly Is A Livable Center Initiative (LCI)?
The ARC provides funding for investment studies and transportation projects located in activity and town centers in the region. This program of studies and projects has become known as the LCI. The focus of the program is to encourage increased residential development, mixed-uses and connectivity in activity and town centers focused around public transit. The LCI program was established with 10 goals that can be summarized as three general concepts: mixed land use, transportation options, and public involvement stakeholders. An LCI grant pays for a planning study of a specific, closely-focused area-usually around an existing MARTA station or neighborhood commercial center-with the aim of:
1) Connecting homes, shops and offices;
2) Enhancing streetscaping and sidewalks;
3) Emphasizing the pedestrian;
4) Improving access to transit and other transportation options; and
5) Expanding housing options.
The study will be conducted by a consulting firm selected by DeKalb County. DeKalb County Purchasing issued a Request For Proposals (RFP) on March 18, 2005. A selection committee will review all applications and a consultant will be selected on April 29, 2005. The consultant will have approximately 180 days to conduct the study and will submit the results of the study to the ARC in January, 2006. The study will result in an analysis of the area and a 5-year schedule of actions that are planned in the study area to implement the study goals, programs and projects.
Why Did A Group Of Neighbors See the Need To Apply For the LCI?
Members of the Brookhaven Community met with MARTA representatives in December 2003 to discuss, at that time, imminent plans to issue an RPP for development of the Brookhaven MARTA property. At this time, it was not certain whether MARTA would lease or sell the property, or develop all or only a portion of the property. Several meetings were held by community members to gain an understanding of all issues and to set a vision and framework for how the property should be developed in the context of the surrounding area comprising the Peachtree Road Corridor from the Fulton County Line in the south to Oglethorpe University in the north and out Dresden Drive to the east. After several meetings, and an outreach to surrounding area neighborhoods, community groups and neighborhood associations, the informal group of community representatives outlined a range of issues and generalized goals to guide the development process. In an effort to involve and engage a greater representation of the surrounding area neighborhoods, the Brookhaven Peachtree Community Alliance (BPCA) was formed in early 2004. The BPCA was not formed to stop development, but rather to guide it in ways that will make for a more livable, cohesive Brookhaven.
Not knowing the timing of the MARTA RFP process, members of the community began to look into how to prepare some form of development framework within which the MARTA project could and should occur. While the LCI was suggested as one option, the timing of such a grant process would not have allowed a plan to have been prepared within the original MARTA schedule. MARTA, for any number of reasons, decided to delay the issuance of an RFP, most likely given that their resources and attention were consumed by a number of other Transit Oriented Development (TOD) projects in other areas of the city. This delay gave the community more time to develop a strategy.
In June of 2004, the community initiated a meeting with Vernon Jones, key MARTA leadership officials, as well as members of the DeKalb County Department of Economic Development and the County planning department. The community made a presentation, as did MARTA, Vernon Jones and other representatives of DeKalb County. DeKalb County gave the community a commitment to support the application for an LCI study. In fact, Vernon Jones made a commitment to provide $100,000 to fund a study in the event that the LCI application was not accepted. MARTA made a commitment to incorporate the results of an LCI study into the RFP. BPCA also obtained a promise that, if Brookhaven were chosen for an LCI grant/study, MARTA would participate in the study and would not proceed with development until the study was complete.
What Is Brookhaven/Peachtree Community Alliance?
Brookhaven/Peachtree Community Alliance (BPCA) is an organization made up of “stakeholders” in our study area. In order to have as much impact as possible on the LCI process, it is important that Brookhaven “stakeholder” speak with an organized voice. “Stakeholder”, for the purpose of an LCI study, means all property owners and user-groups within the study boundaries. Our stakeholder group includes representatives from each of the neighborhood associations within the study area. This includes: Brookhaven Club Neighborhood Association, Brookhaven Fields, Brookhaven Heights, Ashford Park, Fernwood Park and Village Park. Each association is allowed up to 3 members. In addition to the neighborhood associations, members from MARTA, Oglethorpe, DeKalb County Parks and Recreation, Dekalb County Library and various business owners are represented. Other stakeholders will be added as we identify them.
The BPCA’s proposed role is not to voice planning ideas for other people, but rather to work with DeKalb County Economic Development in setting up and guiding the overall process and to act as a conduit for information to/from the study community. There will be many community meetings and anyone and everyone can speak for themselves at the meetings.
The BPCA’s first goal was to review and have a voice in the writing of the RFP that Dekalb County will issued to solicit proposals from planning. We will also desire to have a voice in the selection process for the consultant. Other goals include working with the Peachtree Streetcar group to explore the possibility of extending the streetcar to the Brookhaven MARTA station or beyond, developing a business community organization and neighborhood preservation. The BPCA will work closely with the Dekalb County Commissioners during this process.
What Is The Study Area?
The study area is a broad study area with a central focus, generally defined as the broad corridors of land along three major roads in the Brookhaven area: Peachtree Road, Dresden Drive and North Druid Hills.
The broad study area includes the streets and properties within the corridors:
- Starting at Peachtree Road, along the DeKalb-Fulton County line (near Club Drive), go north along the DeKalb County line, turn right onto Windsor Parkway;
- From Windsor Parkway to Ashford Dunwoody Road, turn right onto Ashford Dunwoody to Peachtree Road;
- North on to Peachtree Road to Redding Road onto Redding Way;
- Right onto Dresden Drive, left onto Conasauga, right onto Cannochee Drive, left onto Oostanalua Drive, right onto Tugaloo Drive, left onto Coosawatte Drive and right onto Briarwood Road;
- From Briarwood Road, turn left onto North Druid Hills Road, then right onto Colonial Drive;
- Turn left onto Pine Grove Avenue, along the railroad tracks up the DeKalb County line.
The central focus area to be studied is generally defined as:
- Starting at Peachtree Road at the Dekalb County line, travel 1.8 miles up Peachtree Road to Redding Road;
- West of Peachtree Road to encompass Oglethorpe University campus;
- 0.8 miles of Dresden Drive from Peachtree Road to Camille Drive;
- Along Dresden Drive and Peachtree Road to encompass the MARTA station; and
- All commercial and medium high-density residential parcels along the corridor.
Due to the limited amount of funding and the large area to be studied, it was necessary to break the study into 2 groups. The emphasis of the study will be on the central focus area. This will allow the consultants to concentrate on the area that will be impacted the most. All residents in both study areas will have ample opportunities to voice their opinions, comments and concerns.
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