[ad_1]
A move by the City of Atlanta’s Department of City Planning to dissolve a neighborhood planning unit (NPU) and redraw the boundaries of other in Southwest Atlanta prompted action on Monday by the City Council.
The DCP’s proposal would reduce the number of Southwest Atlanta NPUs from four to three, redraw boundary lines, reassign neighborhoods and completely dissolve NPU-R, which includes the Adams Park, Greenbriar, and Campbellton Road communities.
The Atlanta City Council approved legislation Oct. 3 to amend the city’s Code of Ordinances to require that the council approve any changes to the existing boundaries of NPUs (22-O-1747). This legislation requires any modifications to the boundaries to be reviewed and approved by council.
The council also approved legislation requesting the current proposed reconfiguration of NPU boundaries in Southwest Atlanta be reevaluated and that the city’s chief operating officer bring the current proposed reconfiguration to an immediate halt.
Councilmember Marci Collier Overstreet introduced the legislation to put the brakes on the boundary changes.
“I’m grateful to my colleagues for approving this legislation unanimously,” Overstreet said in a statement. “Our NPUs are the pulse of our communities, and as elected representatives, it’s important to have an extra set of eyes on any boundary changes. The NPU system should properly reflect the character of neighborhoods, and this is particularly important as our city grows and changes. I’m thankful for the feedback I received from the Department of City Planning, as well as for the thoughtful responses I heard from my constituents as we considered this legislation. This is a wise step in the right direction to make sure any boundary changes to our NPUs are reviewed and approved by the Council.”
Councilmember Keisha Waites said she was “deeply troubled” by the threat to dissolve NPU-R. She called the proposed effort to dissolve NPU-R “unprecedented.”
“NPUs are one of the most, if not the most significant, contributions of one of Atlanta’s greatest mayors. Mayor Maynard Jackson created the NPU system in 1974 to provide citizens with a direct pathway to actively participate in plans, programs, and promises that directly impact our communities,” Waites said in a statemente. “I want every Atlanta resident to be rest assured that I, along with other members of the City Council, will do everything possible to protect the rights of communities and the long-standing legacy of the NPU process.”
Atlanta Progressive News delved into the reasons behind the move by DCP to dissolve NPU-R, including infighting on the board and a new economic focus on the area, which one DCP official said had the most vacant and undeveloped land of any of the city’s 25 NPUs.
[ad_2]
Source link
