Comments on: Get Caught Up on All CSD Master Plan Happenings

By: Glenn Carroll

Glenn Carroll — Mon, 06 May 2013 22:55:16 +0000

What makes you think anyone is interested in developing it? It’s been there for a LONG time already. Again, 110,000 square foot of SCHOOL BUILDINGS with tons of parking. Move the kids right in!

By: Scott

Scott — Mon, 06 May 2013 21:57:34 +0000

I don’t think we get to be fiscally prudent in debating the master plan options while simultaneously dismissing key opportunities to boost the city’s tax revenues through productive use of land. If we’re wanting the city to be judicious stewards of our financial assets and resources, we need to remain focused on both income and expenditure.

Incidentally, the parcel in question isn’t zoned Residential, which is what would accommodate tract housing. It’s zoned Mixed-Use, which is our category most likely to be net-positive in terms of tax income vs. service outlay (i.e. we make money, which can help cover our revenue negative single family neighborhoods).

By: Walker

Walker — Mon, 06 May 2013 20:36:50 +0000

The DeVry property is walkable for only a very small portion of the city. It is not centrally-located at all. Half the city already has to put their kids on the bus for 4th and 5th grades because that school is not a neighborhood school. Let’s not do that again! Also, where are the majority of young children — the bubble? In the neighborhoods farthest from DeVry. Right now Renfroe and DHS are centrally-located and MANY kids/teens walk — they’re already being taught about the alternatives to automobiles. They can also walk to jobs after school pretty quickly from DHS. That is the independence I want for my children before they go off to college.

By: Glenn Carroll

Glenn Carroll — Mon, 06 May 2013 20:22:05 +0000

Looking into the DeVry property further, you know, it has a 110,000 square foot school building and ample parking included in the $17.5 million price tag. It is adjacent to Sycamore area housing and close to MARTA. It has forested, undeveloped land buffering it from four-lane access road DeKalb Industrial Way. It is turn-key classroom space with lots of room for future growth! Ever creative Home Town Decatur could build walking and biking trails, add wild land to its great community gardening projects make MARTA into a city partner and teach our children about alternatives to automobiles.

It seems to me the most resistance to using this land for the schools is the hope that a developer will build tract housing, and dump more tax revenue, and students into our small city. The land has been available a LONG time. How much growth is enough (as the bumper sticker says, “unlimited growth is the ideology of the cancer cell”). Adding the DeVry property to the City Schools of Decatur’s holdings is a positive idea!

By: MrFixIt

MrFixIt — Thu, 02 May 2013 17:14:59 +0000

Yeah, but don’t we have those pesky state and federal government agencies that will throw up roadblocks to creative solutions such as that… being that we are a public school system?