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Think of our city’s budget as a pie: there are slices of different sizes for parks and recreation, trees, public safety, traffic management and much more. The Next Ten Comprehensive Plan is the blueprint for how our city will be developed over the next 5 years.  

Now is your turn to ask for money and effort to be spent on those items you care about. What is missing?  

Our city leaders are in the process of making crucial decisions for Sandy Springs. With the future of our community at stake, Sandy Springs residents have important opportunities to voice their opinions during the month of June.

During this month, you will be able to share your thoughts and ideas on important matters ranging from our city’s budget to work plans for the Next Ten Comprehensive Plan. Below is a list of key dates where YOU can plan to be involved by giving public comment:   

o   June 7: City Council Work Session and initial FY2023 budget public hearing

o   June 9: Public Open House + Virtual Engagement on Next ten 5-year update

o   June 21: City Council final FY2023 budget public hearing

o   June 22: Planning Commission Public Hearing Next ten 5-year update

If you wish to provide public comment, the city offers two ways to do so: 

• In-person comment: An individual can choose to address the commission body in-person during the meeting. In-person speaker requests must be submitted to the City Clerk in advance of the start of the meeting.
• Audio conference via Zoom: Audio conference speakers must register to speak by noon on the day of the meeting.

After deciding how you are going to make a public comment, you should then consider exactly what you want to say. The most valuable public comments are unique, fact-based, and to the point. Following these practices will provide the most effective public comments.

Below are some more helpful tips on how to build a constructive public comment: 

• Be personable, respectful, and courteous: make sure to introduce yourself and say where you reside to label yourself as a constituent; use the proper titles (councilor, mayor); thank the representatives for their attention and public service
• Tell a story when possible: personal anecdotes are powerful. Use a first person voice. How has the issue you are commenting on impacted you? Why is this issue important to you? Stories enable us to communicate lived experiences and can move others to action  
• Provide research: if applicable, use data to bolster your comment. Make sure that you are up to date with local happenings related to your comment. Has there been a vote recently? Are additional agencies or organizations getting involved? Is this issue gaining notoriety, and how? What specific examples can you give to bolster your position?
• Prepare a clear ask: Say what you want the city leaders to do, clearly and repeatedly, and why, use the rule of three – tell them, tell them again, tell them what you told them.
• Be professional: avoid informal language and expletives. Your comment will go on record and be available to the public.
• Mind your time: Spoken statements or comments during city meetings are usually limited to two or three minutes per person. That time can go by quickly, so practice delivering your comment before the meeting to ensure your message can be completed within the limit. Use the following as a guide:
  • 1-minute testimony = 130 words 
  • 2-minute testimony = 260 words
  • 3-minute testimony = 390 words

This is an important time for our community, and your voice NEEDS to be heard. With a community full of engaged neighbors, we can take another step towards creating a Sandy Springs where everyone feels welcomed. 

Every May, Affordable Housing Month marks a time to study and discuss housing policies that will create more vibrant and equitable communities. As Affordable Housing Month comes to a close, let’s take a look at what is being done here in Sandy Springs to promote more affordable housing.

Could a housing policy be coming to Sandy Springs? 

Since March, as a state requirement, the mayor-appointed Next Ten Five-Year Update Advisory Committee has been meeting. The committee is reviewing the accomplishments and evaluating the Vision, Needs and Opportunities for each element of the original Next Ten Comp Plan, adopted in Feb. 2017.

On May 12, the Next Ten Advisory Committee met to discuss the feedback gathered from online surveys, in-person interviews and previous advisory committee meetings. Committee members also reviewed and discussed proposed work plans for the four elements of the Next Ten Comp Plan. 

These work plans will be presented at Sandy Springs City Hall during the Next Ten Draft Comprehensive Plan 5-Year Update Public Meeting on June 9 at 6:30 p.m. Parking for the event is available in the City Springs parking deck. If you are unable to attend this meeting, be sure to check out the Next 10 website for more information on how to review and comment on the draft recommendations. 

During the meeting, community members will be able to review and comment on draft recommendations for:

• Economic Development
• Green Space, Natural Systems and Sustainability
• Housing 
• Land Use and Community Character

Among the items being recommended is the creation of a city housing policy. 

A city housing policy would determine the approach our city takes to meet its housing objectives. Housing policies help coordinate the actions of all other city government agencies that directly impact housing. From zoning and development codes, to economic development and planning, strong housing policies support the use of federal, state and local financial resources, as well as resources from the private and philanthropic sectors. 

Creating a housing policy would give our city a clear path toward creating more affordable housing for all income levels. It will also give our employers confidence in knowing that we are working to address their challenges of employee retention and recruitment due to a lack of affordable housing in Sandy Springs. 

A housing policy that leads to more affordable housing can also help address the declining public school enrollment by providing our neighbors a path to homeownership in Sandy Springs as their families grow. AND…a housing policy CAN address the “downsizing” need for seniors and starter homes for first time homebuyers.    

All of this can be possible if our city council approves the recommendations of the Next Ten Five-Year Update  Advisory committee. You have a chance to voice your support for this on June 9 at the public meeting.  

Each year, Sandy Springs city officials work together to prepare a detailed budget that is used to determine how to best allocate our tax dollars. The budget provides a blueprint for how the city will invest in our community, our people, our roads, parks and public transportation.

In 2022, Sandy Springs’ fiscal budget was $144.6 million, which was a new high mark for our city budget and a 19 percent increase from the prior year. The city began its public budgeting process for fiscal year 2023 on May 3, 2022, and the final budget will be presented to our City Council on June 21, 2022. 

Think of our city’s budget like your family or personal one. It’s important to prioritize the most pressing needs and sometimes tough decisions need to be made. The good news is that you have a voice in how the city makes the call on what’s important, and what can wait.

The budget provides accountability to Sandy Springs residents on how the City of Sandy Springs spends our tax dollars. Ultimately, the adopted approved budget reflects our city’s values. 

How can I make sure my values are reflected in our city’s budget?

Throughout the budgeting process, there are opportunities for Sandy Springs residents to voice their opinions on what’s most important to our community right now.

We encourage you to stay informed by attending any of the scheduled budget meeting workshops to hear from our elected officials and give input: 

•        Watch the May 3 initial Fiscal Year 2023 Budget workshop

•        May 17 at 2 p.m.: Budget Workshop 2; Barfield Conference Room at Sandy Springs City Hall (1 Galambos Wy, Sandy Springs, GA 30328)

•        May 24 at 4 p.m.: City Council Proposed Budget Presentation

•        June 7 at 6 p.m.: First Public Hearing and Budget Workshop

•        June 21 at 6 p.m. Final Public Hearing and Budget Adoption

Check out the city’s website for more in-depth information about the annual budget process.

The Georgia Municipal Association (GMA) also provides a helpful Budget Guide for Georgia’s Municipalities. In this guide, you can learn more about what goes into a city’s budget and the process. The guide includes definitions of budgeting terms, an explanation of the roles of stakeholders in the budget process, a step-by-step guide to developing a municipal budget and the laws, regulations and principles that guide the budget process.

Sandy Springs is poised to have another large budget that determines how we move our community forward. The great news is that when you get involved, you have a say in the future of Sandy Springs. 

In our recent blog, Why Do We Need More Apartments? many of you took the time to comment. We appreciate your feedback and engagement on this important issue. Many of the comments were in alignment with the points we made. Traffic was mentioned often as a reason to NOT build more density.

Karlene Barger wrote:

…Increased density adds more cars to the road structure!…  why should we support more and more roads for people to cut through our neighborhoods?

 Drmbrooks wrote:

 I have lived in Sandy Springs for more than 15 years and have watched it grow from a quiet peaceful area to the squashed-up housing and roads where there is often a traffic jam – viz Pitts Rd.

So do we need more housing and more traffic?

 Brett Levinson wrote:

We need less people here. Place has gotten insane with traffic

And we agree that traffic is a problem, but that is because our housing is too far from our places of employment, retail, and other services, causing these essential workers to spend more time on the road.

Sandy Springs is a regional employment center, and as such, our city DOUBLES in size each workday, according to the Housing Needs Assessment Report. Nearly 112,000 cars commute daily INTO our employment centers and other city destinations.  These employment centers are a major portion of our city’s tax base, so we want to keep our employers happy.  

Currently, employers are having difficulty retaining and recruiting employees because Sandy Springs  lacks housing.  We have a shortage of 6,320 owner units for employees earning less than $80K.  We also have a shortage of 5,270 rental units for employees earning less than  $33K. 

The solution is two-fold…

1. IF we could offer housing that is closer to jobs, our traffic would be less because employee commutes would be shorter, and they could also walk to their favorite restaurants, parks and other amenities.

2. Traffic flow and volume needs to be addressed by our government and MARTA.  Use your voice to support our local and regional transportation studies and programs that are geared to reduce congestion.  Here is a link to the North End Roadway Safety Analysis.

In fact, there IS a correlation between a reduction in traffic and housing being close to centers of employment.  As urban researcher William Fulton put it,” Instead of building expensive roads, we could be building housing that limits how far people have to drive in the first place.” 

The new development around City Center is a perfect example of apartments that are close to restaurants, the City Green and retail.  You see people walking to their destinations daily.  The newly proposed redevelopment in the old Parkside Shopping center, where Egg Harbor is, will feature a similar concept: close-in housing in easy proximity to restaurants, retail, greenspace, and employment. This concept is called, “Live, work, play” and we applaud it…BUT some of the housing needs to be affordable to our workers making $50,000 or less.  

We go into more detail about traffic and housing in a recent blog: What Came First the Chicken or the Egg? 

Originally asked by a user on a Sandy Springs Together Facebook post, the question of, “Why do we need more apartments?” appears to be a reasonable one at first, especially considering that our city already has a fair share of apartments. 

However, according to a 2019 New York Times article, 85% of residential land in Sandy Springs is zoned for single family homes. That percentage places Sandy Springs amongst the top ten cities IN THE COUNTRY with the highest percentage of residential land zoned for single family homes, alongside Los Angeles, Calif. and Minneapolis, Minn. 

• Read: Cities Start to Question an American Ideal: A House With a Yard on Every Lot

With so much land being used for single family homes, where can we build new homes? If we are unable to build new homes, we will struggle to meet the needs of our citizens as our city undergoes an expected period of growth over the next several years. 

If we want our city to grow, we must start by addressing the housing crisis we are facing. This is where building more apartments can help. 

Here are the facts: 

• We need more workers in our restaurants, shops, medical offices, schools and other professions. Building more apartments will provide more affordable housing options in Sandy Springs which, in turn, can support an increased workforce. 

• Employers and local business owners have stated a desire to have their employees live near the places they work. Without enough affordable housing options, we will struggle to recruit and maintain employees in Sandy Springs. 

• The city’s Economic Development Plan states that opposition to higher-density housing is dangerous because, “This position underestimates the positive impact that housing diversity has on preserving and attracting workers for entry and mid-level jobs being sustained and created locally. These workers are essential providers of the services and amenities that contribute to Sandy Springs’ desirability as a place to live.” 

So, why is there still opposition to building more apartments? One main complaint that persists is traffic congestion. Simply put, apartment renters are being blamed for causing traffic congestion on OUR ROADS. While it is true that higher density means more cars on the road, if the apartments are located near the jobs, then there would be LESS traffic; but if people have to drive to or through Sandy Springs to get to their job, then traffic is worse, as we are finding. Addressing traffic flow isn’t the responsibility of the renters; it is the responsibility of the city, county and state; and where they are located can be under our control.

Instead of blaming our neighbors, who are renters AND our workers for our traffic congestion problem, we should work with the city to find more expedient ways to get around. 

If you are unfamiliar with Sandy Springs’ Transportation Master Plan, follow this link to learn more about what the city is working on to improve our transportation situation. 

You can also contact your city council representative with your concerns.