Smyrna Ward 3 Report - Fall 2013

From: Teri Anulewicz <tanulewicz@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Sep 13, 2013 at 1:24 PM
Subject: Ward 3 Update | Fall 2013
To: Teri Anulewicz <tanulewicz@smyrnaga.gov>

Hi there,

I hope that everyone had a wonderful summer. There are enough hammers swinging in Ward 3 to indicate that the economy is strengthening, and I hope that you are all looking forward to a beautiful fall. One of the most notable things I've seen lately is the filling in of blank spaces in the Market Village. Most notably, the sale of the vacant building across from City Hall (where Young Chef's Academy and the frame shop were located) means that there is a new owner who has proven to be vigorous in his efforts to lease the vacant space. The entire top floor of the building will be filled by the new owner's equity management firm. The firm employs more than 40 full-time employees with an average salary of more than $60,000. I think that a combination of retail and professional services is a good mix to ensure the economic vitality of the Market Village. A new bridal shop recently opened in the Village, as well as an architecture firm. I think they are wonderful new additions to Smyrna and I encourage you to check them out or wave hello through the window the next time you are in the Market Village. There is also activity happening in the buildings adjacent to the Market Village - I am told that a new restaurant is coming soon to the spaces near Shan's Rib Shack.

Below is more information relevant to us here in Ward 3, and throughout Smyrna:

Budget in Brief

City of Smyrna residents will soon receive their property tax bills (the Council recently voted that the City's millage rate will remain at 8.99 mils, which is what the rate has been for more than 20 years). If you have questions about how, exactly, your tax dollars and other sources of City revenue, like fees and fines, are spent, you might like the Budget in Brief document that was prepared by the City's finance department. The Budget in Brief document features clear, concise explanations that will let you know where the money comes from, and where it goes.

Jonquil Update / Why Multifamily?

You have probably noticed the yellow rezoning notices in front of the Jonquil Village property (which is still owned by the Maxwell family, based in Florida). Branch Properties, who developed and own the West Village at Atlanta Road and I-285, holds the contract on this property and has submitted their most recent plans for the property. These proposed plans are available for viewing at the Community Development offices in Brawner Hall. There are two very important upcoming dates with regard to Jonquil Village:

• Monday, October 14, 2013 - the proposed plans will be discussed and voted on, and the public may comment on these plans, at the monthly meeting of the City of Smyrna Planning & Zoning Board. If you have anything you would like to say about these plans, I strongly encourage you to attend this meeting.
• Monday, November 4, 2013 - the plans, including any changes that happen as a result of the P&Z process, will be voted on by the City Council.

I have received many questions and concerns regarding the multifamily housing that is part of the plan. Before I continue, please note that multifamily housing is part of the current zoning, and has been since 2008. Multifamily housing is not new to the current proposal.

Furthermore, I have come to increasingly believe that quality, Class A and beyond, multifamily housing options are absolutely critical to Smyrna's continued growth and vitality. In order to attract young professionals, who we hope will eventually put down roots, establish their households, and raise their families in Smyrna, we absolutely offer high-quality multifamily living. 

As noted earlier, Branch Properties developed the mixed use development at the West Village at Atlanta Road and I-285. Those leased units have maintained an occupancy rate of greater than 95% since opening. There are fewer than three children living there - the occupants are young professionals who are single or who are just entering married life. Right now in Smyrna, there is not a single Class A multifamily property, and this is absolutely to our detriment. What's more, in order to provide a customer base for the shops and restaurants that we all crave, multifamily (the target residents of this project will make between $60K-$90K annually) is essential, both for the developers and for the banks who are financing these projects, as well as to potential businesses.

People are setting up households at a slower pace and in very different ways than previous generations, including Boomers and GenX. I believe that in a city, especially an inner-ring suberb like Smyrna, mixed-use and multifamily an essential element in our housing mix. Homeownership is much less of a priority for current and upcoming generations, for several key reasons:

• Newer generations highly value and prize their mobility. They want to explore opportunities without the encumbrance of homeownership.
• Newer generations have greater amounts of student loan debt that can preclude them from homeownership.
• Newer generations saw the housing market eviscerate their parents' savings and have no desire to repeat that experience.
• Newer generations have very different expectations than previous generations with regards to housing. They are less interested in yard space and more interested in having to spend as little time as possible in their cars. Remember, these are generations that spent a significant chunk of their childhood in the back of the family minivans, and most are reluctant to relive that experience.

For more food for thought, I encourage you to check out some recent data on housing and homeownership trends that I have found to be very interesting:

• The Steady Decline of Homeownership for Everyone, Everywhere
• If You Build It, They Will Come: How Cleveland Lured Young Professionals Downtown

Of note:

Nationwide, demand for walkable, urban living is on the rise—in a way that it wasn't in past decades, when high urban crime rates kept professionals in the suburbs. Leinberger believes demand will continue to rise as millennials and Gen-Yers focus on paying off student loans rather buying cars and houses, and baby boomers downsize to apartments. 

I hope this is helpful - please let me know if you have any more questions. Please note that I do not think that multi-famiy housing is any kind of a panacea for Smyrna. It has to be the right project, and the right quality level, and the right location. For more than five years, we have been confident that Jonquil is a good location for that housing element.

Event Calendar

If it seems like there's always something happening in Smyrna, it's because there is always something happening here! Be sure to check the City's Calendar of Events and Facebook page for all the latest news and events.

Upcoming Meeting Agendas / Live Streaming and Archived/On-Demand Video

You might know that you can watch City Council meetings live on Charter channel 19. Until recently, those of us who don't have cable, who use satellite service, or aren't in front of the television at 7:30 PM on meeting nights didn't have many options for watching the meeting. Now, though, anyone can watch our meetings anywhere in the world live or on-demand, on the computer or through a mobile device. Information and links to the video streams are here. Additionally, agendas and information for upcoming council meeting can be found here. Agendas are generally available the Friday prior to Council meetings.

Citizen of the Year

Nominations are open for the Cobb Chamber of Commerce Smyrna Area Council's Citizen of the Year. Past winners include Williams Park residents Ron Davis (2007) and Liz Davis (2011). Please consider nominating anyone you know who is making outstanding contributions to the Smyrna community. You can find the nomination form here.

Facebook

I post regular Ward 3 and City of Smyrna updates and information nuggets at my Ward 3 Facebook page. This is a public page and you should be able to see all posts even if you don't have a Facebook account. Of course, you are always encouraged to call me (404-931-8374) or send me an email if you have questions, comments, suggestions, or anything else you would like to discuss.

--
Teri Anulewicz

Smyrna City Council, Ward 3

404-931-8374

Reminder: Please pay 2013 dues.

This is a courtesy notice that the 2013 annual dues were missed by some Springleaf Circle properties in Smyrna, GA.  $100 is now due for 2013, but the HOA Board is choosing to extend the $50 discounted fee until July 5, provided payment is made or postmarked by then.  Paypal payments are available to windyhillforest@gmail.com.  Payments should be mailed to the address below.

--

Windy Hill Forest Homeowners Assoc. Inc.
PO Box 1704

Smyrna GA 30081

phone:  404-955-8101
fax:       404-921-3754
email:  windyhillforest@gmail.com
web:    windyhillforest.com

Storm Water Detention Pond Repairs

Springleaf Circle has 168 homes send storm water runoff into the street and down into a detention pond at the horseshoe curve of the subdivision.  The majority of the homes and the majority of the water comes from Windy Hill Forest HOA.  A picture of the area is below.

Every development of homes is required to have a storm water routing arrangement so that water is collected and temporarily detained. The idea is to impede flash flooding during heavy storms.  After the storm passes, the detained water gradually spills down its natural path.  Our water eventually flows into Rottenwood creek.

Our detention pond is 30 years old and appears to never have been maintained.  The City of Smyrna has stepped up its inspection of storm water collection systems, and has asked us to make repairs.  This is really an extension of courtesy on their part.  If they wanted to be adversarial, they could ask the State Environmental Protection Department and the Federal Environmental Protection Agency to issue orders compelling us to act and dramatically increasing our costs by requiring expert legal assistance.

The work involves trimming back brush, overgrowth and debris, but it also includes a major repair to a dam structure at the far southeast end of the pond.

What this means for Windy Hill Forest Homeowners' Association, Inc.  We are alerting the HOA that these costs may require a $100 special assessment per home.  We are working on ways to arrange contribution from the neighboring property, and we are stepping up collection activities on the small minority of homes with past due accounts.  

This is the dam wall that needs repair.

Parking Policy

The subdivision has had problems with some properties having more cars than their driveway can accommodate. The HOA policy is that residents are not to use street parking, so that is available for service vehicles and for short term, infrequent guests if absolutely necessary  -- the HOA expects members to move their own cars to other allowed places (such as a friend's driveway spot or the street parking next to Cayce Foods) so there is room for the guest's car.  It is also policy that vacant homes are deemed to imply consent to parking in their driveways, provided contact info is in the parked car's dash and no sign is present saying "no parking" or "no trespassing."  (And please don't hog the whole driveway by carelessly parking one car.)   Also, if the residents can fit 3 cars into their driveway without being on the road, for now the HOA board is not considering that arrangement a violation .

Please do not park your vehicles in front of your driveway or on Springleaf Circle. It obstructs the access others have to enter and exit their own driveways.  It also adds to congestion on the road and creates more hazards for drivers and pedestrians.

Our HOA has the been very fortunate to have a member of the Smyrna Police Department as a resident.  The department prefers that officers bring their vehicles home with them, and the Windy Hill Forest Board of Directors prefers that police presence be very prominent so as to deter theft, vandalism and other crimes.  The presence of a squad car on the curb or in front of the officer's driveway is exempted from the HOA parking policy.  No others should assume they are exempt also.

Article II, Section 4 of the recorded HOA Covenants make it clear that each home is to park within the bounds of its driveway (click image below to enlarge).

Your HOA's Access

Our HOA needs to be able to communicate with residents.  It also needs access to observe how well buildings and lawns are maintained.  And it needs to leave notices at the door from time to time.  So the question comes up, can a homeowner declare their property off limits and threaten trespass sanctions if an HOA representative comes on their property while conducting HOA business?  It is a remarkable posture given that each of us shares a common wall with one or two neighbors.  We have chosen to live in a close community, and the tendency is to discover trespassing objections when a resident doesn't want to cooperate with HOA messages or operations.

At the end of Section 1, Article VII of the HOA Covenants (which are recorded in the county records and are binding agreements on each home) provides the following (click it to enlarge):

Also, a separate document, the HOA bylaws, provides a useful encouragement in Section 9.2:


Harmonious Use.  The members and their townhomes are in such close proximity that each member is called upon to preserve and foster harmony and to refrain from conduct or neglect that compromises the quiet enjoyment or value of any townhome; further each member is responsible for making all persons it allows in the subdivision to similarly comply and may be sanctioned for the noncompliance of such persons.  The Board of Directors shall take any and all measures it deems reasonable or necessary to enforce the use restrictions set out in Article IX of the Declaration and to publish Rules & Regulations to clarify such 
restrictions and other member duties set out in the Declaration.  Such Rules and Regulations may be established and revised by majority vote of the Board of Directors, they shall be published on 
the Association website and they are incorporated into the Association Bylaws by this reference.  Said Rules & Regulations are appended to these Bylaws

BE COYOTE AWARE

A Coyote was spotted in the area recently by one of our homeowners.

Project Coyote's recommendation is to keep them wary of humans by acting large and using voice and gestures to indicate that they are unwelcome.

See the image below.


We also suggest these links:

http://www.coyoteproject.org/resources.html

Coyote Hazing Field Guide

Minutes of 2013 Member Meeting

WINDY HILL FOREST HOMEOWNER’S ASSOCIATION (“WHFHA”)

MINUTES OF MARCH 9, 2013 MEETING

Minutes taken by Attorney Mark P. Groves, acting secretary of the meeting.

The 2013 annual meeting was held March 9, 2013 at 1:30pm at Smyrna's Brawner Hall. This meeting was held as part of written notice mailed on Feb. 26, 2013 to all 89 homes in WHFHA and the required quorum of 9 homes was exceeded. Notice was also published at the WHFHA entrance and on the windyhillforest.com website.

It was moved, seconded and unanimously resolved:

I. that the minutes of the March 3, 2012 annual meeting be approved, except that the standard annual dues are not increasing to $120.

II. that the following persons be elected by the membership to serve as the WHFHA Board of Directors:

Rochelle Martin, Susie David

Mark Groves, Carmine Lombardi

Sandy Vazquez, Maria Deramos

III. that for homeowners in goodstanding, the annual dues be set at $100 with a $50 discount for timely payment. Further, the Board shall have discretion to set conditions for adjusting discounts in return for receiving current contact information on home owners and home occupants.

IV. There was discussion on how the covenants commenced in 1985 with an annual lawn maintenance free of $216 which was subject to a 5% increase on the prior year amount. After calculating the annual increases, the amount for 2013 is $847. Then there was discussion on how the covenants call for the Association to maintain lawns and that the Board's policy has been to allow homeowners care for their own lawns. It was resolved that the Board has discretion to refuse that privilege on a case by case basis to homeowners who do not care for their lawns or who fail to perform as required under the covenants and policies of the Association.

Various discussion of subdivision matters occurred but no other resolutions were adopted.

\s

______________________________

Mark P. Groves, acting secretary

2013 Annual Meeting

NEW MEETING PLACE: Brawner Hall! 

WINDY HILL FOREST HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION INC.   ("WHFHA") 
www.windyhillforest.com email: windyhillforest@gmail.com

 NOTICE:Annual Meeting is 1:30pm on Sat., Mar. 9, 2013 in the Conference Room at  Brawner Hall, 3180 Atlanta Rd.  It's the large white building in the first floor conference room.

To:  Owners of the following homes on Springleaf Circle:1400-1474 (even nos.), 1401-1465  (odd nos.) & 1471-1505 (odd nos.)  If you are a tenant, please pass this along to your landlord.

Thank you for your support over the last year.  It is time for this year’s annual meeting.  We will elect directors, discuss speed humps, fee policy, repair policy and continue to seek to amend the covenants so they are updated with the new Georgia Property Owners Association Act. 

Click on these images to enlarge the map: