March 10, 2003 MLPA Board Meeting Minutes

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Board members present: Dianne Olansky, Norman McKay, Ruth Alexander, Joelle Spain, Mike Carew, Alan Perry, Mae Reich, Pat Gardner, Steven Rowell, Joe Giardina, Charlotte Gillis.

Pres. Olansky called the meeting to order at approximately 7:32 pm.  First order of business was the approval of the February 10, 2003 minutes. Secretary noted a typographical error in draft minutes as circulated.  As amended, minutes approved.

Councilmember Anne Fauver and House Rep. Pat Gardner recognized.  Anne Fauver spoke on a resolution that will come before Council shortly.  If you work for or contract with the City or receive a certain level of tax credits/abatements, you must pay your employees a "living wage," defined as 10.60 if benefits are included and 12.25 if benefits are not paid.  Her opinion is that the bill is not well thought out and hopes that it will be tabled.  Costs of some City contracts, security contracts, certain parttime employees would be increased if bill passed.

Question asked about HipHop; police working hard on plan to help out Dogwood Festival and Midtown Tour of Homes with traffic concerns.

Movement of Ga. Power followup to front of agenda presented to Board by President.  Passed.

Presentation entitled "Georgia Power Company Lenox Road Substation Project" Privileged and Confidential.    Objective tonight was to share information on other sites.  Request for environmental studies denied.  Willing to share executive summary and to discuss it with smaller group, even to review the report.  4/799-2151: Jim Candler.  Summary read.  Request to identify those portions on the map subject to wetland protection.  404 permit needed for 20% of substation site.  Fill needed.  GP met with WUFG last week.  Retention pond will be necessary.  2 or 3 options.  Offered to work with WUFG on this pond.  Questions re standing water.  Not yet designed so cannot offer specifics.  Questions re design of pond: need to look at what a 100-year rain event will produce so you can deal with it.  18 foot earthen retaining wall above the floodplain.  Question re access to the substation: after built, 2-3 times during the week.  Underground back to the east.  Cannot do away with existing overhead wires.  MARTA planning to buy CSX right of way.  Most likely scenario would be overhead at Lenox Road; studies have not been done.  Very iffy.  Emory very interested in connecting to Lindbergh.  Route east from Substation, going by city streets.  Looked at following train tracks but not possible.  Construction should not impede traffic on Lenox during the construction.  Building of distribution lines will cause traffic disruption during that period.  Lines running south on Lenox may be overhead or underground.  (Transcript produced by Secretary of portion of Georgia Power's presentation to be attached as addendum to minutes).

Question re sale of Boulevard adjoining property to Hillside.  Station at Boulevard pretty well landlocked.  Before sale of any land, proposal sent through various depts to make sure they cannot use it in the future.  Station acquired by eminent domain? GP does not know.  Missed the boat?  Denied.  Not sure if tract of land usable.

Other sites examined on Cheshire Bridge Road and Zonolite area.  General discussion about siting projects.  Looked at in broad scope.  First make sure that they cannot use what is already in place.  Second look at whether can add to the lines already in place: rebuild/add on to.  If cannot do either, then either build a new line or site a new sub.  The 230 line running N/S is the one they need to tap.  Looked at Cheshire Bridge and Zonolite carefully.

Technology not available to place 230 transmission lines underground.  Cheshire Bridge: in commercial area.  Disadvantages: transmission line required, large trees would have to be cut, visual impact, commercial buildings to be purchased, road right of way conflict along Cheshire Bridge, physical difficulties turning transmission line, cost.  Zonolite area the other finalist of the 3 sites.  Because of 120 feet of right of way needed along Lenox Circle, would probably have to buy 10-12 homes.  Trees cut in front of homes.  Similar advantage and disadvantages: buy homes and commercial buildings with tenants, transmission line required, community impact, visual impact, not ideal location to serve MLPA area, cost.
Why planning to build site where it is: no new transmission line required, minimum transmission modifications at substation, less community impact, reliability, cost, best location to meet community electical needs, disadvantage is the purchase of at least one home.

Question about why you cannot build it near CDC. CDC said no room.  Presentation postponed to move on to Zoning.

Zoning: Steven Rowell reported.

V-03-18A: 1258 North Morningside Drive: variance to reduce east side yard setback from 7 feet to 2.6 feet to allow for 2nd story addition.  Building on footprint.  Committee recommended to approve per conditions: per site plan received by City on 1/14/03; per architectural plans dated 11/21/02; written approval received from east neighbor no later than NPU-F meeting on 3/17/03; seconded and passed.

V-03-19: 800 Lambert Drive.  Special exception to reduce the on-site parking from 166 spaces to 65 spaces.  Committee recommended deferring application for one month due to failure of applicant to appear.  Passed without opposition.

V-03-36: 1510 North Highland Avenue: special exception to allow for 5 foot fence to be erected where otherwise a 4 foot fence is allowed.  Motion to recommend approval as long as no objections from any neighbor before NPU-F.  Passed without opposition.

V-03-38: 1005 McLynn Avenue: variance to reduce west side yard setback from required 7 feet to 4 feet 3 inches to allow for addition to home and east side yard setback from 7 feet to 2 feet and the rear setback from 15 feet to 2 feet to allow for detached garage.  Committee, after much effort, passed a motion to recommend approval per existing site plan received by the City on 2/12/03; that the front, rear, and side elevation views are provided no later than the NPU-F meeting on 3/17/03; that the front extension of the house not exceed any more than 10 feet past existing structure and that the front extension only be a single story covered front porch; that the rear extension of the house not exceed any more than 12 feet past the existing structure; that the application be amended to remove the garage.  Extensive discussion regarding lack of plans for garage and lack of information about site available to Committee.  Motion made to approve per Committee conditions, passed 10 in favor and 2 abstentions.

President asked Committee members to shorten reports due to time constraints.  President sought approval for reimbursement of $212 for one-call.  Approved.  Parks Committee plans work on April 12 at 10:00: Woodrow Wilson Park.

Security Patrol: leave stuff out of cars.

New liability insurance for MLPA/MSP:Same coverage as before for 1500 less: motion made to approve purchase of new insurance.  7500 new coverage; approved.  Motion made to approve not more than $500 for Woodrow Wilson work; already in budget.  Passed.

Back to Georgia Power: Ross Mansbach commented and addressed some remaining questions: why couldn't Lindbergh or Boulevard be expanded?  Boulevard already addressed.  Lindbergh area being redeveloped and capacity needed to deal with that development.  Boulevard really could not be expanded; must build on new footprint.  Cost twice as expensive (rough guess) to expand Boulevard and Creek Park.  But also engineering reasons why could not expand Boulevard.

Why not get whole report for Lenox site?  Internal document to be maintained at the Company.
OK to see it at the Company but cannot get copies.  Do any feasibility studes on any site?  Additional costs are those addressed earlier.

Put in writing that Georgia Power would not expand substation?  No.  Plan is to reduce footprint of substation.  Reasons expansion impractical: encroachment into flood plain; design of station involved folding in of transformers so as to make expansion of station unlikely.  Impact of alternative sites outweighs increased expansion possibilities for locating in industrial areas.  Lenox Road will serve CDC/Emory, Morningside and Midtown.  Need to supply power to CDC and Midtown and be able to tap into the 230 line.  Views expressed from several residents that Georgia Power has not made a persuasive case for the location of this substation in a residential neighborhood.  Challenged view is that the substation will satisfy Midtown and CDC/Emory growth, not our neighborhood's.  GP admitted that CDC will fund a portion of Lenox Road expansion.  Questions raised about the use of federal funds -- does this not require environmental studies or other federal laws to be applicable?

GP agreed to take another look at Hillside property.  Underground duct bank is the largest cost component as opposed to the substation itself.  Point made that substation itself is the largest impact on the neighborhood.

GP representative said they went back and took a second look, knowing that they would be in front of the group at some point.  He feels good that they have done everything they can do to canvass the various opportunities.  It has been reported on up to the management level but he, as Chairman of the planning group/site selection group, states that the buck stops with him.  Costs are not even close and the impact upon the neighborhood is not even close.
Notes once again the impact of new 230 "double circuit" lines.  States that the choice is the "most practical" site and that impact upon the neighborhood is a significant criterion.

Question asked: can they start working with group on screening plan?

Pres. Olansky said that she is not sure at all that it is time to discuss screening.

Question from Lindridge-Martin Manor representative about GP meeting with their group.  Meeting is to take place.

Meeting adjourned at approximately 10:20 pm.

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