Editor’s Note: Sandy Springs Together periodically publishes letters or comments from community members who raise a concern we feel should be considered by the broader community.
Please let us hear your thoughts.
By Mary Baron
In an earlier blog, I discussed the need, and the best way, to hold our government accountable. Here is the second part of my blog entry!
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Editor’s Note: Sandy Springs Together periodically publishes letters or comments from community members who raise a concern we feel should be considered by the broader community.
Please let us hear your thoughts.
By Mary Baron
“Until we have responsive government close to home that is accountable to us, it is not representative government.” ~ Eva Galambos, The Atlanta Constitution, February 17, 2005
The movement for Sandy Springs’ cityhood was fueled by a sense that the representatives of the Fulton County Commission were not being responsive or accountable to the Sandy Springs residents. Sandy Springs residents were also paying more in taxes than they were receiving in dollar value for services.
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As Sandy Springs moves forward with revitalizing the North End, we are hopeful that not only the decisions themselves, but also the process, is inclusive and reflective of the needs and well-being of all of our neighbors. Everyone should be included and heard in the decision making process.
This is true no matter how much you earn, what you look like, or where in our city you live. Everyone deserves a voice.
All of us bring value to Sandy Springs. Isn’t that what Martin Luther King, Jr. would say?
Recently, Alicia Philipp, president of the Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta addressed the Atlanta Regional Commission’s annual meeting. Her remarks were truly impactful, and as we celebrate this week the life and legacy of MLK, we wanted to take time to highlight a few of Philipp’s remarks.
In her statement, she asked, “What is our path forward … as a city and as a region?”
She states that we must not only face the difficult issues, but that we must change the way decisions are made. In metro-Atlanta, more than a quarter of families do not have $400 on hand in the case of an emergency, while another 1 in 3 families spend more than 30% of their income on housing costs. She points out that we have all of the ingredients to become the land of opportunity and provide pathways to the American Dream, but that the system is falling short for so many.
She talks candidly about race, and how we tell ourselves the lie that there are no racial biases in society. Yet, in reality, we are more divided than united along racial lines, especially when it comes to education, health outcomes, employment and housing. The data is there — our minority neighbors are not prospering.
But at the same time, how decisions are made also contributes to these inequalities. She talks about the “Atlanta Way”, and how this needs to change, to be a more inclusive process.
“The future is not one voice, one language, one race, one faith or one gender,” Phillipp said. “We don’t all look the same, and the center of power should look like all of us not just some of us. How do we become more inclusive of all voices, races and perspectives?”
She concludes by saying, “Let every one of us find a way to reject indifference and make a difference in our community and our region. We MUST be better than that, we are better than that”.
We couldn’t agree more, and that’s why we were compelled to share this moving message with you.
If you’d like to read more from Alicia Phillipp, you can here: http://bit.ly/2TDBl7X
How can Sandy Springs — or any city for that matter — preserve the affordability of apartments which are privately owned?
Over the past year, you’ve heard us talk a lot about preserving the affordability of rent in Sandy Springs. But you might be asking yourself — how can a city actually accomplish that for privately owned properties?
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Are you ready for change?
The city of Sandy Springs is moving forward with its plans to engage a private design company to come up with ideas for how three shopping centers could be redeveloped.
The three shopping centers are:
Mayor Rusty Paul has said that the designs are intended to act as ideas or suggestions of what “could be” developed, and that the city could take the designs and develop the ideas someplace else in the city.
According to the Atlanta Regional Commission, rents in the metro region increased by 35 percent between 2011 – 2017, and home prices have increased 60 percent. One in three residents pays more than 30 percent of their income on housing.
Atlanta is no longer an affordable place to live.
And how are we doing here in Sandy Springs?
One thing is for sure, the city has done NO study to determine the impact the desired redevelopment of shopping centers will have on the affordability of housing. And all of this talk about redevelopment is driving the cost of land and rents even higher.
What are your thoughts about all of the proposed changes with no impact study being done? You will have a chance to share your opinions with the city soon.
The city will conduct community input meetings in the months ahead and your voice is needed. All of the walking paths, new retail and restaurants will be great to have, but at what cost?
Stay tuned to Sandy Springs Together to learn more about how you can make a difference by letting your voice be heard at the upcoming community meetings.
As we begin a new year — our second year as Sandy Springs Together — we want to review some of our best work from the past year and highlight a few headlines you may have missed.
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