Timeline

Mayor threatens to throw concerned citizens out of A-C Commission meeting

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Russell Posted in Better Athens, Press, Timeline | 4 Comments

Reposted from the Athens Banner-Herald, by Blake Aued

Athens-Clarke Mayor Nancy Denson nearly threw out people who came to a commission meeting tonight to speak against a Walmart near downtown, saying they were off-topic and disruptive.

About a dozen Walmart opponents attended the meeting. When the first speaker, Melissa Link, began to talk about tax incentives to entice Selig Enterprises to scale back the big-box anchor at its proposed Oconee Street mixed-use development, Denson stopped her.
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Petition Delivery for this Tuesday’s Commission Meeting!

Posted on January 1, 2012 by Russell Posted in Action Items, Timeline | Leave a comment

Happy New Year!

To start the new year right, People for a Better Athens will deliver our petition at this Tuesday’s meeting of the Athens-Clarke County Commission- their first meeting of the year!

This Tuesday, January 3rd at 7 pm at Athens City Hall- map.

We deliver our petition TONIGHT at the County Commission meeting at City Hall- 301 College Ave.

The meeting starts at 7 pm, but we will not have an opportunity to speak until near the end- so you do NOT have to be on time. It’s most important that you SHOW UP. Your presence speaks volumes, and our intention is not to have every single one of us get up and say the same thing at the meeting. However, if you feel so moved, speak!

Everyone who comes to the meeting gets a T-shirt to wear until we run out!

I encourage everyone to stay on target- We want the County Commission to legally compel Selig to shrink the size of their anchor tenant. A smaller anchor size means a grocery store can fit there- something pretty much everyone in our community wants or needs. It is naive to believe Selig will unilaterally throw money away and shrink the anchor size without being legally compelled to do so.

Stay positive- Stay on message- WE CAN DO BETTER THAN PLOP A 100,000 SQ. FT. WALMART IN DOWNTOWN ATHENS!
all the best, and see you on Tuesday! It’ll be great!

~People for a Better Athens

p.s.- RSVP to our Facebook event here: http://www.facebook.com/events/220559954690653/

Canvassing in E. Athens

Posted on December 3, 2011 by Russell Posted in Action Items, Better Athens, Timeline | Leave a comment

People for a Better Athens went door-to-door in E. Athens on Saturday, December 3rd. Out of 37 people that we talked to (young, old, white, black) 31 signed our petition. The other 6 thought it did not matter if they spoke out. Almost everyone wanted a grocery store, but not a huge box store that will clog their neighborhood with traffic. It’s easy to support Walmart or not say anything. The true test is if you’re willing to stand up for the people in the neighborhood who have been left out of this whole process.

Walmart and Vested Rights – Is Selig’s A&D Development a “Done Deal”?

Posted on November 30, 2011 by Russell Posted in Press, Timeline | 3 Comments

Reposted from Flagpole.com

The law of land use-zoning and planning-operates obscurely in the background most of the time. However, occasionally a controversy drives a land use issue into the headlines. Selig Enterprises’ plan to put a mixed-use development on the Armstrong & Dobbs site, possibly anchored by a large Walmart, is generating lots of media coverage. That makes for a great teachable moment for a land use law teacher like me.

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Interview with Michael Ripps, Co-Owner of the Jittery Joe’s Roasting House

Posted on November 27, 2011 by Russell Posted in Business Spotlight, Press, Timeline | Leave a comment