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9 Communities to be Awarded a Total of $800,000

 brought to you by Chrissy Neumann

East Cobb

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• Gorgeous traditional style home in the Sope Creek, Dickerson, Walton district!
• The home is just five years young and boasts all the upgrades in new construction
• Chef’s dream kitchen, complete with two dishwashers, double ovens, grill top stove, granite countertops and custom cabinetry!
• Family Room boasts tons of light overlooking the private backyard
• Built-in bookshelves, columns, extra crown molding, two fireplaces just to mention the added attention to detail in this home
• Relax in your backyard and take a dip in your pool or Jacuzzi
• Total of 6 bedrooms and 4.5 baths!
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Tuesday’s Tip

9 localities win grants from ARC

The Atlanta Regional Commission will announce today nine town centers and transportation corridors that have won a total of $800,000 in federal transportation planning grants.

Since 1999, the Livable Centers Initiative program has awarded money to communities for studies to guide their growth. The blueprints identify places where residents can safely walk or bike to shops or transit stations. Fewer cars on the road would bring better air quality.

With this sixth round of grants, 60 metro Atlanta communities will have received them. This year, the ARC also awarded grants to transportation corridors that would link the town centers. The winning applications are along Ga. 78 in Gwinnett County, Bells Ferry Road in Cherokee County and Ga. 278 in Newton County.

The ARC extended the original five-year program and enlarged the pot to $136 million in federal transportation money, making the budget $360 million. Those communities with completed plans can also apply for money to help build sidewalks and crosswalks. In some cases, parking decks and road realignments also qualify.

Tom Weyandt, ARC's director of comprehensive planning, said local governments are changing their zoning ordinances to adapt to the redevelopment plans. A 2004 assessment of the program says that 18 communities reported the creation of special zoning districts to help implement their studies.

The focus of the program also has been expended beyond the ARC's 10 counties to include Barrow, Bartow, Coweta, Forsyth, Newton, Paulding, Spalding and Walton.

The opening of LCI to more exurban counties caught the interest of Kay Lee, director of the Center for Community Preservation and Planning, a nonprofit group in Newton County.

She helped organize an effort that met every Monday morning for members of the school board and the water and sewer authority, developers and business people. Their task was to pick an area that could meet the requirements of the LCI program in order to win a grant.

The Newton group — 22 people — refined its plan by putting maps on walls and identifying a half-dozen potential study areas, Lee said.

"In the end, what we did was narrow down to two or three projects and actually voted," she said.

The winning proposal included the county seat of Covington with its historic downtown, another emerging area ripe for development and the four-mile stretch of Ga. 278 that connects them.

Covington and Newton County won a grant for $100,000. The local governments also must come up with a match of $20,000.

Weyandt said the Newton County group showed so much determination to win the grant that the community likely will implement its redevelopment plan.

"We look as much as anything for some level of assurance that there will be follow through on the plan, commitment to implement the findings of the plan," he said.

Lloyd Kerr, director of building and zoning in Covington, said the four-lane highway is mostly built out, with major retailers and car dealerships. "It's the quintessential sprawl development," he said. "We want to try to make it a more pedestrian-friendly space, and we want to try to move traffic through the corridor a little more easily."

The LCI program also continues to encourage development around transit stations.

The area around the Brookhaven MARTA station in DeKalb County, for example, won an $80,000 grant. The neighborhood includes three major roads, Peachtree Road, North Druid Hills Road and Dresden Drive, and the county wants to create safe ways to get to the station.

DeKalb CEO Vernon Jones said he wants to see more housing, restaurants, shops and offices around the station. He said housing will be more attractive around transit hubs as people want to drive less because of traffic.

"Having a home near the public transportation system will be a key feature people will look for when they buy houses," he said.

By JANET FRANKSTON
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 02/14/05

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Chrissy Neumann "Making You Feel At Home" www.CastlesByChrissy.com
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