How do you Disappear a Middle Class? By disappearing their homes.

A Special Guest Post from Laura Ellis

Report from Dekalb County, Georgia

If you have motored around Dekalb County (Atlanta, Georgia) lately, you’ll notice something different. That something is the towering “McMansion” that threatens to replace all the existing homes in ITP (Inside the Perimeter) Atlanta, as well as those in suburbs nationwide (as reported on repeated Primetime, 20/20 like magazine news shows in recent months). This massive-scale development exceeds any reasonable rate of speed at which suburbs have been planned, approved, built and inhabited in the past.

As a lightning rod for national consumer trends, relatively young and economically stable Atlanta is at the forefront of this destructive wave, cheering it on in many quarters, through a combination of tradition (remember “Save the Fox?”), ignorance about how property values are affected, and a dash of myopic self-absorbtion.

“Oh, of course, that can’t happen!” you say. “I live in one of these homes! My neighbors are well educated, with prestigious jobs in established neighborhoods and with strong bonds with schools, churches and community! We would not CHOOSE to sell our houses to be torn down!”

Well, the choice is no longer a choice once one of these blockbuster developers gets his hands on a home on your street. After the landscape is defaced and left as a sci-fi horror, none of the remaining “lesser” homes are increased in value, and history shows that flight is inevitable. Developers pay less and less as they march down the once-stable street, mowing down houses that are now desirable for nothing but the lots they rest upon.

“But I want to expand MY home!” you may say. “Why would I vote for another restriction?”
Because after you read the facts on these websites, you may understand that you may not have a home to expand……..

Want to know more? read on………

savedekalb.org
dekalbinfill.org

Show your support for the infill amendment

Come to the Board of Commissioners Hearing
Monday, November 21, 6:30 pm (4th, 5th and 6th items on agenda)

This should be the final vote on the proposed Quality of Life Ordinance, so it’s important for those who support the amendment to come and express their views. Show your support by wearing a green shirt or jacket.

The meeting will be held at:

Maloof Auditorium, 1300 Commerce Drive, Decatur. (404) 371-2886