Wheatley forwards a call-to-action from StandUpDeKalb, over the land use redesignation of the Williamsburg Apartments at the southeast corner of Clairmont and N. Druid Hills Road.

The note promotes opposition to the redesignation because the apartments were not part of the County Planning Department’s original list of “appropriate town centers”, and because the developer JLC (not to be confused with 315’s JLB) has turned down the neighborhood’s request to submit a detailed site plan.  However, a site plan isn’t required for land use redesignation in the county, only for rezoning.

This project is part of the larger ARC project to create senior-oriented mixed use development in this car-centric area of DeKalb County.  Duany talked the neighborhood specifically in his opening address to the ARC a few weeks back, and though the neighborhood says the apartments weren’t part of the county’s original “town center” list, I believe Duany showed inital plans for this very intersection.

Unfortunately for everyone, with the advent of sprawl, today we have these huge plots of developed land that rely solely on automobile use.  And whether you believe in “climate change” and our “dwindling natural resources” or not, you must admit that the only 50 year-old concept of “retirement homes” is a rather depressing result of our car culture.  The only feasible way to “start over” in these massive plots, and allow our aging population to “live in place” (read: avoid the retirement home) is to let developers take them on at once, building these large mixed-use communities.

Its NOT the optimal solution.  I’d much rather see individual properties with different owners, slowly redevelop their individual plots to create more organic mixed-use growth.   But that ship sailed long ago.  Now, thanks to the huge land grabs made 50-60 years ago, these large-scale redevelopments are about our only option.  I’m not advocating that we let the developers run wild.  Do your part.  Go to the meetings, challenge their plans, make them second guess everthing.  If you have a critique, make it known.

But don’t stand in the way just because its new and different.