Some Alpharetta residents are upset with changes to a planned downtown redevelopment project, saying the new design differs from the concept sold to voters.
Residents say they were presented a vision of parkland, a new city hall and limited parking when they approved a $29 million bond issue in November. Now, they say the city is pushing a plan that cuts back on park land, adds parking and opens the door to residential development.
The City Council is scheduled to vote on the plan at a meeting 7 p.m. Monday at City Hall.
The city center project, unveiled a year ago, called for a 22-acre complex that would include a new 47,000-square foot city hall, a 450-space parking deck, a 1-acre town green and a 5-acre park. It also allowed 3 acres for a new Fulton County library and another several acres labeled for future development.
Public meetings were held throughout last year to garner public input on the style and shape of the development. Those meetings have continued into this year.
At a June 6 public meeting, several residents spoke up to say the latest plan has begun to look more like a mixed-use development and that park space was reduced and buildings expanded. They said the latest plan is not the same one they voted for in November, when they agreed to tax themselves over the next 30 years to pay for a revitalized downtown.
"We knew it was a conceptual drawing, but if you look at the intensity on that plan versus what we have now, it's a stunning difference," said resident Kim Bailey. She also said the city is including sidewalks in its measurements of parks and green space.
Also unpopular: land originally designated for future development on the original plan is now being suggested for "mixed use," and a consultant has suggested residential in that area.
Mayor David Belle Isle was not available for comment on the changes to the plan, but the city issued a statement about the proposed plan.
"The plan for City Center is still being developed and changes continue to be considered," it read. "We encourage citizens to be part of that process and help to shape the plan that is ultimately approved.”
"The way it was sold to the public before the referendum was that this would be a municipal space," said resident Jill McMullan.“Clearly they have a much, much bigger plan for putting more people there than what they've been letting on."
Councilman D.C. Aiken has argued that, just because the plans call for a mixed-use component, it does not mean residential. Mixed use, he said, could be office and retail. It won't be decided without public input, he said.
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