Fresh Loaf

Just another night in Buckhead

City Councilman Kwanza Hall surprised his colleagues with a proposal yesterday to examine whether allowing Atlanta bars to close later would be a boon for the city’s nightlife and budget. From the AJC’s ubiquitous Eric Stirgus:

Hall introduced legislation Monday requesting the city study the revenue opportunities of expanding the hours to sell liquor from 2:30 a.m. to 4 a.m. City Council President Lisa Borders sent the legislation to the council’s Finance/Executive committee for further discussion. Hall wants a summary report by Jan. 30.

Hall said the sales tax money from extending the hours could fund public safety improvements. He said the city could enact the longer hours in areas of Atlanta where it’s more practical.

“I think we need to look at revenue,” said Hall, whose district includes portions of Castleberry Hill, Midtown and the Old Fourth Ward, where nightlife is more prevalent than other parts of the city. “Who knows how many millions of dollars we’ve lost?”

Some councilmembers weren’t pleased with Hall’s proposal. Councilman Howard Shook, who represents Buckhead neighborhoods that pushed for the earlier bar hours, said Hall’s idea would be “dead on arrival.” City Council President Lisa Borders called the idea “absolutely irresponsible.” Buckhead Coalition President Sam Massell said the additional revenue wasn’t worth the potential headache.

But Hall’s been tweeting about the proposal nonstop and wants residents’ opinions, which is why we’ve created this high-tech “blog.” Comments will be printed and hand-delivered to the appropriate council committee by bowtie-wearing monkeys holding balloons. The event will be filmed. And if council lets bars stay open later, we’ll release the monkeys back into the wild. It’s up to you, people.

UPDATE: Hall elaborates on his proposal in the comments below.

(Courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

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The qualifying period’s still weeks away, but that’s not stopping unions and organizations from endorsing candidates in the Nov. 3 city elections.

The Atlanta-North Georgia Labor Council, which boasts approximately 9,000 members who live inside city limits and nearly 70,000 more in metro Atlanta, made its final endorsements last week for the Atlanta mayor and City Council races. Included in the list are incumbents Ceasar Mitchell and Ivory Young and political upstarts Amir Farokhi and Miguel Gallegos.

ANGLC President Charlie Flemming tells CL that 17 of its 42 affiliate organizations sat down with candidates to discuss privatization, cost-of-living wage increases, workforce housing, and other labor-related issues. The slate of endorsed candidates either agreed with policy stances or had reached out to labor in past policy discussions.

The union’s endorsement has been like the touch of God in the mayor’s race: for the last 20 years, its pick to run the city has gone on to win office. Flemming says its record isn’t as spot-on for council elections, but political hopefuls lucky enough to get a nod — or unlucky enough, depending on how voters’ opinions of unions — can expect a strong force working in their favor.

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Poncey-Highland community members and Atlanta City Councilman Kwanza Hall next week will begin a four-month planning effort to determine how the intown neighborhood should grow.

Councilman Kwanza Hall

According to a press release from Hall’s office:

Among the topics to be considered during the four-month process are land use issues; traffic calming; greenspaces and streetscapes; historic preservation; and sustainability.

The second community meeting for the master plan, a public workshop, is scheduled for Saturday, June 27, from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. at Druid Hills Baptist Church. The workshop will include child-friendly urban design activities led by the Atlanta chapter of the American Institute of Architects. At the end of the morning, children will share their vision for the future of Poncey-Highland with the adult participants in the workshop.

The meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 17, in the Carter Center’s Cyprus Room from 7:00-8:30 p.m. For more information call Hall’s office at (404) 330-6038 or send him an email.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Mayor Shirley Franklin took an Atlanta City Councilmember to task last night for his noble efforts to reach residents through Twitter.

At last night’s Young Democrats of Atlanta fundraiser at Sweetwater Brewery, Franklin — the night’s honoree — addressed the crowd and took questions.

Attendees noticed the flames of Hades rise, however, as Franklin directed her hatred for new technology at Councilman Kwanza Hall, who was also at the event.

Hall, who represents a sizable chunk of intown Atlanta, is well-known for his Twitter habits.

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For most of the Beltline’s history, concerns about displacement have largely focused around slowly gentrifying neighborhoods in Southeast and Southwest Atlanta. The land and homes are less expensive and ripe for the picking by a developer agog at the thought of a project near the 22-mile loop of parks, trails and transit.

But at Monday morning’s Atlanta City Council meeting, councilmembers heard from concerned residents who feared a plan to save a key part of the $2.8 billion project would potentially uproot them from their homes.

At yesterday’s special-called meeting, council unanimously OK’ed a deal reached by the Georgia Department of Transportation, Amtrak and Beltline officials that saved residents near the Piedmont Park the headache of high-speed trains lumbering nearby on tracks called the “Decatur Belt.” The move also saves the entire Beltline project — late last year, the city poured money into the area when it purchased the property from a Gwinnett County developer for at least $66 million.

But the vote came without some last-minute amendments thanks to Marietta Street residents who said Amtrak, GDOT and Beltline officials’ plan to save the Decatur Belt merely shifted the burden of high-speed rail on to them — and placed their homes at risk. According to rough plans presented to GDOT’s board last week, the alternate plans for high-speed rail serving Atlanta involve expanding the tracks and potentially seizing property. The buildings and lofts in which the residents could very well be some of those.

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The Midtown Ponce Security Alliance hosts a special meeting tonight at the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer to address the city’s crime problem. Atlanta City Councilmembers Kwanza Hall and Anne Fauver and Major Khirus Williams of the Atlanta Police Department’s Zone 5 will attend. The public is welcome.

Full release and additional details are after the jump.

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The Old Fourth Ward, which has coped with prostitutes, drug dealers and gentrification, is on tap for a facelift.

The Atlanta City Council is set to adopt a master plan this month for the historic intown neighborhood, which includes Auburn Avenue and Boulevard. It served before desegregration as the business district for black Atlantans.

But city planners also are trying to fend off a potential traffic mess and other problems that could come with the renewed interest in intown living. The Bureau of Planning predicts the neighborhood’s population will rise over the next two decades from 6,000 to 20,000 — approximately the same number of people who lived there before the Civil Rights Movement. The redevelopment vision could create more walkable streets lined with energy-efficient buildings.

To view the plan, click here. (PDF file)

(Screenshot courtesy of City of Atlanta)

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