South DeKalb sets standards

People have said to me within the last year that if they could move from south DeKalb County, they would do so because of what they perceive as a “decline” in the environment. What stops them is their housing values are so low, they cannot afford to take the loss. My message to them: Don’t leave! Now is the time to stay.

The seeds of change are being planted, and some are already showing forth lovely little buds. Leaving now is like leaving the stock market when it’s hit bottom and has begun the climb up. If your stocks go down but you don’t sell, and they then go back up, you’ve never really lost your value. So, I’m here to say the southern part of DeKalb is on its way up. If you leave now, you lose your investment.

A relatively unknown but telling indicator of change is the Economic Bill of Standards — a document conceived, written and vetted by community residents to set standards to improve the region’s appearance and attract business. It began as a project of the South DeKalb Improvement Association’s Economic Development Committee.

In March, the committee explored community benefit agreements — an agreement between developers, local government and residents about standards and benefits for the community from a particular project. Committee members wanted to develop an agreement with the East Metro DeKalb Community Improvement District, but it was still forming.

While the committee was exploring a project for 2014, two South DeKalb board members, David George and Ken Taylor, approached two major retailers to ask them to better maintain their premises. Based on the cooperative attitude of George and Taylor, a positive relationship began. The stores made changes to improve their appearance.

South DeKalb’s Economic Development Committee wanted to reach out to mom-and-pop stores, medium-sized franchises and big-box stores to let them know we residents care about how they look. We want dumpsters behind stores without overflowing; premises maintained and free of litter; and painting, curbs, signs, lighting, sidewalks and so forth kept up.

The idea for a Bill of Standards emerged from an expansion of the community benefits agreements concept to what committee members wanted from all businesses.

To improve the economic environment, we didn’t stop at what could be seen, but what would be attractive to residents and businesses. Sparkling spaces attract consumers who, in turn, attract businesses. Diversity of restaurants, encouragement of entrepreneurship, green and sustainable buildings, job training to produce quality employees and more became a part of the standards. We began to describe our economic dream. This is the beginning; we’ll add more as we move forward.

South DeKalb’s Economic Development Committee, its board and residents reviewed the standards at an August community forum. We set a goal of 1,000 signatures to show everyone we care and that this is what we want to see in and near neighborhoods.

The Economic Bill of Standards is not binding. But it is what we will ask for, what we will work from and what we expect for our neighborhoods and communities.

We ask that you sign the petition. It benefits the whole region if South DeKalb is clean. View the standards and show your support by clicking on or copying the following link: http://chn.ge/ZMTVee.

The seeds of community involvement, commercial attraction and improved appearance are emerging and changing our environment. Those lovely buds are people exercising their voice, demanding standards and, eventually, creating change.