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STS SSPE FS SP Tt. ee oe a a FAS ae Se Spe OW Se 6 ee La oy Se ae
7 July 1967
Mr, Thompson He Shuttleworth, Chief
LandeUse Control Division
Department of Planning
City of Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
Dear Mr, Shuttleworth:
This is to acknowledge your letter of 27 June 1967, I have commnicated its
contents to members of the Boulder Park Association of Civic and Community
Clubs and other groups who are allied with us in our efforts to effect the
best possible land-use control in the Adamsville community, The membership
will make every effort to comply with the wishes of the Aldermanic Zoning
Comnittee by the September 1 deadline.
We are being temporarily delayed in our attack on the zoning problem be=
cause of the community's preoccupation with Project 0C8(Operations Cool
Summer) which involves a major total area commitment to ease neighborhood
tensions, particularly in the shopping center area, and avert the threat
of mid-summer violence, Our particular concern is with unemployed teen=
agers and those merchants who are not in complete sympathy with neighbor=
hood improvement programs, Significantly, our big handicap is a lack of
recreational facilities in the area «= no swimming pools, no community club
houses, no YMCA nor YWCA, no library, no supervised recreational facilities,
We hope, through Project OCS, however, to advertise our needs and encourage
@ little more effective cooperation from City Hall,
Admittedly, the Department of Plarming is not immediately concerned with an
area's teenager problems, but wise urban planning does involve fashioning means
for the effective absorption of burgeoning area populations, So this problem
does at least lie on the periphery of your department's area of concerne
As for the specific matter of the rezoning petitions, I have three personal
reactions:
(1) First, I cannot personally conour with the view that every
neighborhood must have multiefamily units in order to be
considered a “wellebalanced” commnity, A well-balanced
community, it seems to me, is one that has suffictent ser-
vices to accommodate the needs of its citizenry, To im-
pose multi-family units on an area lacking these essential
services brings a precarious imbalance to a commnitye
«ls
(2) Secondly, 4t seems to me that, by giving the com
munity a deadline, the Zoning Committee has relieved
the petitioner of the burden of the proof and placed
it on the citizenry, Instead of the petitioner having
to prove why @ zone change should be granted, the com=
munity is being asked to concede that the petition has
validity and recommend areas for multi-family dwellings.
In other words, we are being subtly inveigled to coopere
ate against our best interests.
(3) Finally, I think that all petitions for zone changes
for building multi-family units should inolude “hard*
plans for building adjacent schools and recreational
facilities, as well as a traffic study of the area
in which the units are to be constructed. In other
words, the petitioner should provide the Zoning Committee
with a “package” plan, detailing the installation of
services to accommodate the citizens who will live in
the multiefamily units.
I hasten to add that much of the sbove represents my personal point of
view, In the weeks to follow, I plan to confer with some of my friends
in HUD and federal and public housing in order to become more informede
In the meantime, as we make our plans to scoperate with the Zoning
Connittee, we will probably call on you for guidance and assistance.
co ve truly
<ches Ke(ho
Richard K. Barksdale, Chairman
Boulder Park Association of Civic
and Comunity Clubs
663 The Honorable Evan Allen, Jr.
Mayor, City of Atlanta
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