Druid Hills Residents Protest Clifton Ridge Subdivision
Developer: "They can protest until the cows come home."
A group of Druid Hills residents protested the development of a residential subdivision on Clifton Road last week after a crew arrived to begin clearing land.
But the crew stopped work after a DeKalb County Superior Court judge issued a temporary restraining order halting work for the next 30 days so the court can address concerns of the Druid Hills Civic Association, which has opposed the development known as the Clifton Ridge Subdivision.
"[This development] is just very contrary to the nature of how Druid Hills was designed," said Mark Goldman, one of the protesters who lives about five homes down from the proposed development near the corner of Clifton and Oxford roads.
Atlanta attorney Robert Buckler wants to build seven homes on about three acres near the intersection and subdivide it, including a cul de sac. But residents of the historic district say the development violates building guidelines. The land is zoned for three homes, not seven, Goldman said.
"Most of us who live in this area like the ambiance of it. We like having lots of trees," he said. "Some of us are disturbed by other neighborhoods where they put up 5,000-square foot houses next to 1,000-square foot houses."
Buckler did receive proper permits from DeKalb County and said Thursday he expects the stop order to expire and work to continue.
"These people have lost at every step of the way," he said. "If they want to protest, they can protest until the cows come home. It doesn't bother me."
The protesters rotated throughout the course of the day, clutching protest signs, to the honking of passing cars.
Barbara Baggerman
1:16 pm on Saturday, January 26, 2013
This does not fit the historic guidelines and will be an ugly aberration and eyesore in the otherwise beautiful, spacious, forested neighborhood. The fact that the plan calls for a retention pond means it destroys natural water-retention systems. The plan should be revised to retain enough trees and natural pervious surfaces that a retention pond is not necessary; i.e., fewer homes. Spare me the blather about maximizing profit. That should take a back seat to maximizing sound environmental practices. Go maximize profit elsewhere where it can be done within the law, using appropriate building and land use practices. Greed destroys.
Retention ponds are a developer ploy that often don't work as planned. Tree loss and impervious surfaces inevitably mean more volume and rapid influx of water in the creek, causing more erosion, tree loss, and flooding of homes and businesses downstream. This is absolutely the wrong kind of development for this location. Greed destroys.
name is my number
9:15 pm on Saturday, January 26, 2013
"This does not fit the historic guidelines and will be an ugly aberration and eyesore in the otherwise beautiful, spacious, forested neighborhood..."
Translates to: "I was here first and my older home's value cannot compete with nicer, newer construction."
Barbara Baggerman
3:14 pm on Sunday, January 27, 2013
You must be translating some other language, not mine. A clear-cut cul-de-sac crammed with seven closely-spaced large houses is an aberration in an area of single large homes on large forested lots on winding streets. And no, I don't live there. It's about appropriate development and appropriate land use. This project is neither.
Chris Murphy
9:21 am on Sunday, January 27, 2013
@name: In Druid Hills? The newer homes will never have the value of the older ones there: they are some of the most expensive dwellings in the county. But, if it's legal- and I don't understand how it is, given the restrictions- it's legal.
Rafael
9:36 pm on Saturday, February 23, 2013
It destroys the charm of the neighborhood. I do not live there but travel by this area on my way to do volunteer work at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History. It is all about $$$ and greed!