315 West Ponce de Leon Ave, Decatur GA (pic submitted by Scott)

In a letter to the Decatur City Commission, as part of tonight’s City Commission agenda, City Manager Peggy Merriss proposes a temporary moratorium on demolition of single family dwellings and the “removal of certain trees within the R-60, R-85, and HDSF zoning districts”.  Here’s the full letter…

The purpose of this memorandum is to propose that at the October 21, 2013 City Commission Meeting, the City Commission consider establishing a temporary moratorium on the demolition of single-family dwellings and the removal of certain trees within the R-60, R-85 and HDSF zoning districts. It is anticipated that it would be recommended that the moratorium be effective from October 22, 2013 until January 24, 2014.

At your regular meeting on Monday, September 16, 2013, the City Commission approved the selection of the Decatur Coding Studio Team, led by TSW, to prepare a Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) for the City of Decatur. Phase One of the project includes development of a detailed technical report that will provide a table of contents for the new UDO and outline exactly what should be changed.  The current schedule calls for the technical report to be presented to the City Commission in January, 2014. Extensive stakeholder interviews and community engagement on desired code changes are scheduled to occur during the temporary moratorium period.

The temporary moratorium would preserve the status quo during this period of study, research and deliberation.  The temporary moratorium would allow staff and the City’s consultant team the opportunity to identify primary areas of concern from the community, particularly as those concerns relate to demolitions and removal of trees on private property. Temporarily halting further single-family demolitions would also provide time for research and analysis of a number of issues that community members have raised about recent single-family development that would inform decisions about the direction that the UDO should take such as:

• the number and type of demolitions;
• the size and scale of new single-family detached residences;
• the type and number of variances granted by the Zoning Board of Appeals; and,
• other general development issues.

It would also allow time for the tree canopy analysis to be completed and reviewed and the issues of boundary trees and tree removal on private properties to be researched before additional trees are removed.  We would also anticipate review of current staffing and professional services contracts to determine if changes or modifications in service delivery need to be considered.

At this point we anticipate that the temporary moratorium on demolitions and tree removal would only apply to development or redevelopment of detached single-family dwellings and would prohibit removal of any healthy trees with a 12-inch or greater “diameter-at-breast-height” (DBH).  Commercial zoning districts are already subject to the existing tree ordinance. The temporary moratorium would not apply to demolition of dangerous structures or dangerous or diseased trees, as determined by a certified arborist or urban forester. An appeals process for exceptions to the temporary moratorium requirement will be available.

Decatur Police’s Jennifer Ross has provided us with the monthly trends of recent arrests and reports of suspicious activity back to April.    Note the increases of reports in July and the drop in burglaries.  Also note the increase in auto entries this past month and don’t leave any valuables in your car – especially in plain sight.

Sgt. Ross also provides detail on what constitutes “suspicious activity” and a call to stay alert as the holiday season approaches.

Suspicious Person/Vehicle/Activity Calls

April – 226

May – 200

June – 248

July – 416

August – 213

September – 207

Reported Burglaries                   Reported Entering Autos

April:              10                                                        18

May:               15                                                        14

June:             20                                                        12

July:               9                                                          11

August:         11                                                        9

September:    17                                                        33

*These numbers include cases that have been cleared, unfounded and that are still under investigation.

When you look over some of the arrests officers have made in the past few weeks, you will see several cases where a concerned citizen or homeowner called police to report something suspicious which resulted in arrests being made.  Suspects looking to break into a house or car are not going to do so when they see the police.  They are going to wait until an officer passes by or they will simply go to another location to commit their crime. Having the eyes of the 20,000 plus residents of Decatur watching out along with the officers makes a difference.  Please do not hesitate to call when you see something or someone suspicious.  Your call could result in an officer simply checking out a situation, thanking someone for their time and going about their way.  Your call could also result in an officer stopping a crime before it happens, motivating a would-be thief to leave the area or lead to an arrest if a crime has occurred.  It also announces to potential suspects that our community pays attention and calls the police.

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