City commissions study to envision future of Turner Field site - but it won’t be binding

??? ? ?

• Maggie Lee??
• Members of the Turner Field Community Benefits Coalition, wearing white, appeared at Atlanta City Council Monday in support of a LCI study of their neighborhood.?

???? ?
? Something huge is coming to the site of Turner Field ... sometime. People who live nearby hope a study just commissioned by the Atlanta City Council will inform what eventually happens on the 77-acre site after the Atlanta Braves move to the suburbs in 2017.?

? ?
? By a unanamious vote, Atlanta City Council commissioned Perkins+Will to undertake a Livable Centers Initiative study for the neighborhoods around Turner Field. The LCI study will be a survey of the people, their infrastructure, and their businesses. It aims to prepare the area for the kinds of developments and enhancements that the neighbors want and that would do the most good.?

? ?
? “Our community has seen a lot of major development that has not benefitted us,” said Sherise Brown of Peoplestown, at a City Council meeting on Monday just before the council vote. “This is an opportunity for us to make this right.”
? ?

? ?
? It’s a study that Brown and fellow members of the Turner Field Community Benefits Coalition strongly support. ?

? ?
? The Coalition wants an inclusive planning process and seeks a development that allows everyone in the area to be able to access jobs, recreation, housing, and other amenities.?

? ?
? What it doesn’t want is a no-bid sale of the land without community input. Matthew Garbett of Adair Park, who is also a Coalition member, said the neighborhoods want to work with the consultant and developers “so that we can all come together and say ‘Yes.’”?

? ?
? The conversation could result in an “incredibly beneficial” development that stands out not just in the city, but the region, he said. ?

? ?
? The Coalition counts some 42 organizations as its members, including neighborhood associations, community development corporations, and advocacy groups.?

? ?
? The survey results are not binding on Atlanta-Fulton County Recreation Authority, the current owners of the stadium and its adjacent parking lots. The Coalition is hoping City Hall pays attention.?

?