On Tuesday afternoon, a group called “Together in Atlanta” announced on Facebook that they had gotten the support of Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed to annex the Briar Vista and Fernbank school zones – which include both Druid Hills and Emory University – into the city of Atlanta.  (Yes, you’ve seen this map before)  Here’s that announcement…

Together In Atlanta is extremely pleased to have the support of Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, and looks forward to working with the Mayor’s office and legislators to make our state’s flagship city bigger and better in 2015.

WABE has an extensive report on this recent news, with reasoning from a Mayor Reed Senior Advisor…

A big factor moving forward is Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed has thrown his support behind Together In Atlanta’s annexation plan. Reed Senior Advisor Melissa Mullinax explains why.

“The map includes Emory and the CDC, which we think are prestigious institutions that we think ought to be in the city,” said Mullinax. “The other piece about it is this is a neighborhood that really always has been thought of as in the city so this is just formalizing that.”

Mullinax says annexation makes a lot of sense on both ends. For the city, the fact that the area is affluent and would add to the tax base isn’t lost on Reed.

According to the WABE article, DeKalb Commissioners are not thrilled with the Mayor’s support of the annexation, since any potential annexation would cut into DeKalb County’s tax base.

From the front page of the Sunday Times’ National Section and website…

…as the team makes plans to head a dozen miles northwest to a new $672 million baseball stadium in Cobb County, a regional civic conversation has begun: Is the move a blow to a city beginning to enjoy a post-recession urban renaissance, or is it a signal of a new era in which traditional assumptions about the divide between city and suburb no long apply?

…“We’ve got to make a decision — either we’re going to be a region or we’re not,” [Mayor Kasim Reed] said at a packed news briefing the day after the Braves’ announcement. “It bothers me that we have not come far enough as a community that people feel that a team moving 12 miles is a loss to the city of Atlanta.”

Decatur Mayor Bill Floyd writes in urging folks still with outstanding T-SPLOST questions to attend a transportation rally Monday on Decatur Square.  Click the flyer to the right to enlarge (PDF).  Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis, State Senators and Reps, and more will be in attendance, along with Mayor Floyd.

Additionally, Floyd, a man with deep knowledge of the Atlanta metro’s political system’s capabilities, writes in no uncertain terms…

This vote is crucial. Don’t vote no because you think there will be a better option later, there won’t be, and don’t not vote because you think your vote will not matter. Every vote is essential. It is our time to step up to the plate, take our responsibility and move this region forward. Let’s not let our children or grandchildren have to go to some other part of the country for jobs that should be here. Please vote YES. Bill Floyd

The Turner Environmental Law Clinic at Emory and Georgia Organics just released a comprehensive look at urban agriculture policy across the US. The 94-page study surveys the zoning ordinances of sixteen cities, from Nashville to New York and including Atlanta, for the ways in which each municipality has incorporated urban agriculture into its land use plans and practices.

You know you want to download and read this baby. It’s right here.

I, for one, hope that its readers include members of Decatur’s Zoning Ordinance Revision Task Force. There is some valuable stuff in here. Each city in the study was chosen either because of its longstanding support for urban agriculture or because of its recent efforts to revise its zoning. Ultimately, the authors of the report conclude, “there is no exact formula for the successful implementation of urban agriculture initiatives.” Each community needs to craft its own approach, based on the needs of its residents and available land.

That said, some common themes emerge. Most of the cities in the study include provisions in their zoning for community gardens, produce sales, and keeping animals, such as chickens, bees, and yes, small hoofstock (yes, I still want my goats). They do regulate these activities—especially animal keeping—and it’s well that they should, for the well being of both the human and non-human creatures. Read the rest of this entry »

In a 5-0 vote, the 5-member Atlanta Transportation Roundtable Exec Committee – which included Mayor Bill Floyd – approved their final version of a regional transportation list yesterday.  The list will now go before the full 22 member roundtable for final approval by October 15th.

As Mayor Floyd pointed out at last night’s city commission meeting, the larger group could decide to throw out the executive committee’s suggestions and start over if they wanted.  However, Mayor Kasim Reed seems to think that’s not much of a possibility. From the Green Building Chronicle…

…Reed says the larger group will most likely go along with the Executive Committee’s proposals. “The Roundtable’s going to do just fine,” he told us.

The Final List can be found HERE in PDF form.

The Clifton Corridor MARTA line survived the round of last minute cuts unscathed, with $700 million allocated to the project, which is projected to cost $1.1 billion.  The other transit biggie for DeKalb is $225 million allocated to extend MARTA’s East Line from Indian Creek to Wesley Chapel Road near I-20.