About 80 Alpharetta residents turned out Monday to cheer and jeer the city's latest proposal for a revitalized downtown.
Opponents say the plan bears little resemblance to the concept they were presented last fall when they voted nearly 3-to-1 to approve a $29 million bond to fund it. They argue the city has systematically encroached on green space to expand areas for future commercial or retail development.
But proponents say the city stressed all along that plans for the project would change throughout the design process until construction begins. They say the basic outline promoted last fall — a 5-acre park, a 1-acre town green, a new City Hall, a parking deck and a library — remain in the plan.
Not everyone agreed.
"The newest plan we've seen — and there have been many plans — looks like something we might call Buckhead North, with high-density pod development," resident Alexander Williamson said. "This is not what my wife and I voted on as we understood it."
Another resident, Julie Hogg, accused the city of losing its bearings as a tree city.
"This council, these plans seem to be communicating that the city doesn't care about sustainability anymore," she said.
But others said they see the changes as a practical progression of any major project. Officials estimate this project will be finished in the summer of 2014.
Art Trotter, a local businessman and commercial property owner, said that for downtown to survive, it must be a commercial center.
"I think the plans that have been presented are prepared, well thought out by people who are smarter than I am," he said. "I'm pleased with what I see."
City officials pointed out that the new plan actually saves one more existing tree than the draft plan from last fall and includes a 4.82-acre park and a 0.94-acre town green.
Councilman D.C. Aiken said accusations that the city has abandoned its commitment to trees and green space are unfounded. He said the city continues to strengthen and enforce its tree ordinances.
Rough counts show the city has planted more than 1,000 trees since 2007 at a cost of about $350,000, said Pete Sewczwicz, public works director. There has been a slight reduction in plantings over the past several years due to the drought, he said.
Mayor David Belle Isle said he will continue to conduct public workshops on the City Center project so residents' input can be weighed as the plans develop further.
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