Fresh Loaf

South Peachtree Creek Trail in DeKalb County

Another shot has been fired in the ongoing dispute between a DeKalb County civic association and the nonprofit PATH Foundation over a one-mile multi-use trail north of Decatur.

On May 19, the Three Forks Heritage Alliance and three of its members filed an $8 million lawsuit in DeKalb County Superior Court against the trail builder, claiming it should return money it’s received to construct several projects in the county, including one that connects Medlock and Mason Mill Parks.

A press release from the alliance announcing the lawsuit claims that “monies paid to PATH on this and at least seven other projects should be returned, in whole, to the DeKalb County coffers, which currently has a $64 million deficit.”

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A study commissioned by DeKalb County as part of a settlement with residents near Medlock and Mason Mill Parks shows that many trees were impacted by the construction of a controversial bike trail in the area.

The study, conducted by a private arborist and released last week, analyzed the health of 157 trees along the boardwalk and concrete trail north of downtown Decatur. According to the study, many trees in the vicinity of the trail were impacted. Of the 157 trees inspected, 59 were in “fair” condition, 97 were in “poor” condition, and one was determined to be “hazardous.” (You can download the study here.)

After the jump, a bit of background on the trail, as well as what happens moving forward.

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Members of the Three Forks Heritage Alliance, the community group that has fought a PATH trail between Mason Mill and Medlock Parks in DeKalb County, are surely cheerful today. A judge has blocked work on the controversial multi-use trail.

From the AJC:

A DeKalb County Superior Court judge on Wednesday issued a restraining order that bars PATH and its contractor, Lewallen Construction, from working on a mile-long route between Medlock and Mason Mill parks. Work must cease because the pro-ject is “illegal,” Judge Gregory A. Adams ruled.

Adams’ 30-day stop-work order follows a judgment he issued last week that DeKalb County government, which hired PATH for the $1.7 million project, quickly appealed to the state Supreme Court. Adams ruled on Aug. 6 that the county didn’t follow proper procurement procedures. The judge also ruled that DeKalb didn’t follow proper permitting procedures and allowed the walkway to stray too close to a stream in violation of its own environmental regulations.

Click here to visit the alliance’s website and read the judge’s order.

(Photo by Thomas Wheatley)

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The DeKalb County PATH trail between Medlock and Mason Mill Parks that has riled critics and become a hot-button issue — and caused a rift between neighborhood supporters and opponents — is now being spraypainted, evident in the photo of a vandalized silt fence along the planned multi-use trail. Construction of the project was recently halted by the state Environmental Protection Division and is now in limbo land.

For more photos, click here.

(Photo courtesy of the Three Forks Heritage Alliance)

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The controversial PATH trail planned to run between Medlock and Mason Mill Parks in DeKalb County began to take shape last week as work crews clear-cut trees and completed a construction entrance to reach the trail’s proposed location. The Three Forks Heritage Alliance, a neighborhood activist group that has been the most vocal opponents of the multi-use trail, have posted before-and-after photos of the construction on its Web site. The group claims that the county and the PATH Foundation — partners in the $1.6-million project — are violating a stop-work order issued by the county’s Zoning Board of Appeals.

And it looks like that’s something that’s happened before in DeKalb County and irks one of the board’s members.

From a DeKalb Champion article about the construction:

As construction continued April 10 and 11, it highlighted a continuing trend ZBA member Lundsten referred to during the hearing – that the county is ignoring many decisions made by the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Lundsten called the Three Forks case a “home run” to show that the county isn’t even following its own rules.

“How do we get this county to respect the actions of this board?” said Lundsten. “In previous administrations, any action or decisions by the ZBA were final.”

Members of the alliance say the multi-use trail — which has been in the works for more than 10 years — will mar the undisturbed forest that is already popular with residents and parkgoers. They also say the county’s goal to increase connectivity in the area with the trail is unrealistic and poorly planned.

A hearing about the construction is scheduled for Monday at 1:30 p.m. at the DeKalb County Courthouse.

(Photo Courtesy of Three Forks Heritage Alliance)

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Rather ominous screenshot, pasted below, from the Three Forks Heritage Alliance’s Web site. The organization is a neighborhood activist group that opposes the joint PATH Foundation/DeKalb County multi-use trail that is planned to connect Medlock and Mason Mill Parks.

In mid-March, the alliance successfully blocked preliminary construction on the trail. Critics of the concept — which originated under former County Commissioner Gale Walldorff — say the trail will mar the old-growth forest between the parks, fail to connect surrounding areas, and has a price tag that has risen from $750,000 to more than $1.6 million.

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