Tiger Moms of DES

Dunwoody Elementary School has more kids in its attendance zone than all other Dunwoody elementary schools.  Some vocal parents from DES want that to change.

DES Parent: Put my neighborhood back to Vanderlyn
DCSD: Denied.  Vandy is full.  You were zoned out of Vandy ten years ago. 

DES Parent: Put my house in the Austin attendance area.
DCSD: Denied.  You live closer to DES and Austin is now full, and will attract more kids to this area.

DES Parent: Put these apartment kids somewhere else. 
DCSD: Denied, temporarily.  However, Nancy Creek school will lose the magnet (brain-drain) kids and some multi-family communities from DES will move there in August.

DES Parent: No, we don't want them to go to Nancy Creek.  We want them at Austin because Austin moms make us mad and we want them to suffer for years, like we have.
DCSD: You do realize Vanderlyn has been overcrowded since 1998 and old Austin had trailers since 2007?

DES Parent: That Nancy Creek building sucks.
DCSD: Well, the magnet kids don't seem to mind it

DES is pulling many tricks out of their bag.  It's no surprise these are parents of STEM students.  The creativity is impressive.

Change.org petition HERE
"We have an entire 3rd grade class in trailers"  That's cute.  DHS class of 2018 from Austin and Vandy spent more time in trailers than classrooms from K-12.

Remove all “West of Ashford Dunwoody Road”   Wow.  Why didn't they just say "take all these apartment kids".  I'm sure those WAD kids and parents really feeling the love after reading the petition.  Nice job, Tiger moms.

AJC Video HERE

Here's the DES letter from earlier this week.  We expect another letter this weekend.  DES wants overcrowding corrected at DES, but only by sending apartment kids to Austin.  No other solution is acceptable, in their eyes.  

Sorry for the poor formatting of the DES letter.

Dunwoody Misses It By One Letter

Back a few years ago the roof top bars and chef-driven restaurant chatter was all the craze.  Dunwoody Green would have 5-6 such eateries, bustling with patrons from the metro Dunwoody area.  Dunwoody's own Urban Renewal Agency backed the idea, because we all know The Government knows what we want to eat. In 2017:

“This is to be our Canton Street [in Roswell] or Dresden Drive [in Brookhaven],” Starling said. “It will be walkable and is intended to give a sense of place … and that is a destination for folks.”

Then came the food hall concept.  Another Government idea that Dunwoody never tasted. In 2019:

Plenty of unique restaurants just up the road are thriving; but the Achilles’ heel for the Project Renaissance parcel is that it’s somewhat tucked-away, leading to drive-by traffic visibility and counts that one official described as “terrible.”

The real killer for local restaurants is home grown - it's the Dunwoody Area Restaurant Reviews Page. After a few minutes of scrolling this group's feed you soon realize half of Dunwoody writes for ZAGAT while the other half writes reviews for TripAdvisor.  We have such awesome food snobs here in Dunwoody, most out to destroy local businesses.

Top reasons for bashing a local restaurant - Dunwoody version:
1. Too many kids 
2. Not kid-friendly  
3. Deviled eggs too small
4. Salmon was canned, not fresh from the Flint River
5. Mac n Cheese noodles inappropriately too large
6. Salsa chips too salty
7. Salsa chips not enough salt
8. Beer served 2 degrees warmer than brewmeister recommended
9. Too loud, then it was too quiet, then the server disappeared
10. Had an Ossoff yard sign in front

So back to that one letter miss and chef-driven.  What's the hot talk all over Dunwoody's social media?  Our very own Chev-driven hamburger hut.  Yes, those folks two years ago clambering for Chef Ramsey and Paul Bocuse to open a cozy bistro next to Jiffy Lube are now head over heels for deep fried hotdogs and a 3X3 burger w pickles.  My how things have changed so quickly.

3X3 burger

Yes, NFA Burger is here and open for business.  It is the nation's first Chev-driven eatery, positioned inside the local Chevron, along with typical convenience store sundries.

The fact is we have lots of people thinking Dunwoody can sustain fancy food places on every corner, but in reality we are a burger and pizza type of town.

And yes, the DunwoodyTalk2 staff enjoyed delicious burgers from NFA recently (Jan 1st).  And we paid for our meals. We wish much success for NFA.  The burgers and tator tots were excellent and we will go back, despite what naysayers on NextDoor or FB may say about it. Welcome to Dunwoody!

And the great news is that NFA has no competition coming soon as the city council has banned new businesses for the Village area for six months - at least.  Probably to prevent things like the free market and NFA from happening again.  Because our local government knows better than the free market. Just look at all the food halls and chevf-driven restaurants in Dunwoody as proof.

Hopefully the aforementioned Facebook groupies don't visit and complain of the tator tot diameter.

Merry City Administrative Offices Closed Day

The City of Dunwoody wishes you a Merry City Administrative Offices Closed Day!

Dunwoody Grinch Council

The City of Dunwoody can't say the C word, but has no problem being The Grinch.

The Dunwoody City Council has halted all development in Dunwoody Village for up to six months, allowing the new council to decide what property owners can and cannot do with their properties.  Property owner MUST continue to pay all taxes on property during the moratorium, despite being barred from bringing in new tenants.

The moratorium is put in place to force property owners to do what the city wants them to do.  The free market has no say for development in the Village area apparently. Moratoriums are put in place to reach a predetermined end.  Predetermined by the government.  And in this case, that government is the new city council.  Expect many many apartments in Dunwoody Village in this next LandUse plan.  Of course these apartments won't have kids and won't affect traffic. 

This is the opposite of the city's last moratorium when the city stopped apartments under the disguise of safety. 

Dunwoody Village 2025

I've attended many meetings over the years here in Dunwoody.  The city hires consultants to meet with us and tell us what we need/want.  It's even better when said consultants are MASSholes from up north.  These consultants deploy the Delphi (effect) method whereas they have the end result of the meetings and surveys already sealed in an envelope, ready to hand over to council and the city manager when they get their payment.

Here is a link to the Land Use Master Plans on Dunwoody's web site. We have/had a plan.  If that Plan failed, will the next one as well?  Will we have a new Master Plan after every election?  Was the moratorium put in place simply because elected officials want to control the new plan?

Very little notice was given on this newly enacted moratorium.  Hopefully this is not the new M.O. for city council.  Where is the Perimeter Chamber on this? No mention of the moratorium on their web site or Twitter.  The Chamber usually feels a thrill going up its leg when Council talks.  And the topic was not mentioned at the December DHA meeting.

If the newly elected council believes there is an emergency in the Village, it is much faster (than six months) to make amendments to current zoning.  

For those looking for something to go in at the former Burger King location or at the old Texaco / steam car wash, forget it.  This action stops all activity in the Village.  Unless a permit has been applied for, you will NOT see anything new for close to a year.  See HERE for details

the Mayor and Council believe that it is in the best interest of the City that a temporary moratorium be enacted regarding the Village Overlay Area to prohibit the filing of any new Applications for Special Use Approval, Permitted Use Approval, or Building, Land Disturbance, Site Plan and Design Review, or other Permits such moratorium will allow the City the opportunity to move the Village Overlay Amendment through the zoning process to receive public input and for the City council to consider the Village Overlay Amendment for adoption; and WHEREAS, it is determined that a temporary moratorium of 180 (one hundred-eighty) days is the minimum time necessary to allow for a full evaluation of the Village Overlay Amendment via the zoning process and potential adoption by the City; 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DUNWOODY, GEORGIA:  During the moratorium neither the City nor any of its departments or staff shall accept, process or review new or revised applications for Applications for Special Use Approval, Permitted Use Approval, or Building, Land Disturbance, Site Plan and Design Review, or other Permits within the Village Overlay Area;

Yet Another Anti-Vandy Map in Dunwoody

In what seems to be an ongoing theme here in Dunwoody, yet another map (see here)dissing the Vandy Posse has appeared.  A local duo has thrown gasoline on the fire by creating a Christmas and Hanukkah Decorations Map that excludes and detours the new Vanderlyn district.  And Captain Kingsley will not like this map either as Kingsley is completely ignored. Both school PACs have submitted letters of protest to Dan Drake and demanding to know why no houses in their attendance zones were on the map.  "We bought this house because of the 12:12 pitched roof line.You know how awesome ice-cycle lights look on a 45 degree roof?  Apparently not!" exclaimed a local FaceBook contributor.

A local realtor shared his opinion on the matter. "Life is NOT good when your area is not on the official Decorations Map.  People bought homes thinking we'd be on that map forever.  We've always controlled that map, and now we don't.  We mad!"

An open records request revealed our local school board rep intentionally reduced the power to the electrical grid to certain school areas.  "He had a cap put on the amount of juice running into our house.  How the hell am I supposed to keep my Mickey Mouse and Friends inflatables up all night on 20 kWh per day?  I'll tell you; you can't do it!" a local father posted on NextDoor.  

At quick glance, it's easy to see these maps heavily favor the Austin district, and we can't fault others for being mad.  This elementary school stuff has hit a new low.  

"The biggest issue is there are no multi-family lights highlighted on any of these maps.  You'd be surprised how creative people can be with just one string of lights on a 2nd floor balcony," shrieked a mom as she loaded her groceries into her Subaru hatchback.

And that's not all.  Not one mention of Oxford Chase lights.  "Even though you can't turn left after viewing the holiday lights in our neighborhood, we do get a lot of people driving through.  We know some of those people are just lost, but they do make the loop anyways," stated the OxChase HOA spokesperson.

Dunwoody Useful Phone Apps

The City of Dunwoody has launched its new New iphone Mobile Background Yearly (NiMBY) just in time for the holidays late December.  The $84,000 project by CivicsMoxy, a Boston firm that tells southern towns what they don't know.  

RoadWork - keep informed on the progress of the Mt Vernon Road / Vermack intersection.  After screwing it up a few times and adding a telephone line pool in the middle of the intersection, the new end date is March 9th, 2022.

Anti-4th - Be aware of those "safety" roadblocks police checks in north Dunwoody.  These pop up once in a while to keep a Dunwoody judge happy.  It's not fair to have these events only in high-crime areas.  

Fake Ice Finder - this is a seasonal app, usually active around Christmas late December.  Don't confuse this app with its sister, Real Ice Finder.  Nothing sounds more like a winter wonderland than skates on a large kitchen cutting board.

Not Your Field - widely popular with baseball teens (only those who identify with He/Him) in surrounding cities.  Not popular in Dunwoody.  Find out when kids from Chamblee, Norcross, Atlanta, Brookhaven, Smyrna, and more are using the Dunwoody taxpayer built fields at Peachtree Middle Prison School.  The app cost only $100 to create, compared to $4 million of Dunwoody taxpayer money spent on fields for girls boys.

Elementary - the most popular app!  Turn on Location Services on your iphone and always know what elementary school attendance zone you are in.  Accurate from Oxford Chase to Bldg 4 at The Lacota.  Great for real estate agents.  Features include hidden trails showing how to walk to Austin from DCFW,  how to get more volunteer hours from those pesky apartment parents, and even tells you what's on the school lunch menu

LostCat - self explaining here.  Help reunite Winnie, Lebron, and others with their owners.  Use this app with CoyoteFinder for the best and worst of the animal kingom.  This same developer is working on Deer-App.  This app will allow you to hire a bow hunter, recipes for backstrap, find fresh road kill, and alert others that a deer ran in front of your car.

Bank - find a bank in Dunwoody

Trash - perfect for the person who has resided in DeKalb for 10 years and still doesn't understand that a holiday means your trash day gets pushed back one full day

Triggered - use this app to report nativity scenes, Menorahs, Santa,  and other religious items you just don't want to look at.

Chef Driven - this app really never worked as initially designed because the chef-driven crap was always a false narrative for Dunwoody Green.  The app now redirects you to Canton Street and Chamblee eateries. No updates planned to this app until 2023 elections.

PublicNoWork - email Dunwoody public works when you see something that needs fixed.  Then delete the app because they will ignore you.

WaterBreak - perfect for reporting waterline breaks on Chamblee Dunwoody Road and elsewhere.  One bonus feature is that it reminds you not to drink the water if the water coming out of your spigot is brown and smells really bad.  Very popular with people using the Trash app

Farmhouse - the first app ever for Dunwoody.  Developed in 1874, long before people even knew what an app was.  Click it and hear old recordings from Nelly Chesnut, Grandma Redfield, Uncle Charlie from the Bannister app, and more.  A hidden button on the app lets you hear "Dinky" and "Old Buck" blow their train whistle to alert Major Dunwoody that a fresh train-car of moonshine and produce was headed into town.

ParkTool School - this app helps your student find a parking spot on a neighborhood (PUBLIC) street.  Has an alarm feature to wake your kid up at 5 AM to get a move on it to the spot!  A newly added feature now helps your kid find a seat in the cafeteria.  

Alarm - Tired of the same old annoying phone alarm?  Now get an early wake up call from Nixel.  Custom messages can warn you when rain is approaching (up to 72 hours in advance), or when the temperature dips below 40 degrees.  

SeeClickSuckIt - Dunwoody's most useless app ever.  See a problem on the road or sidewalk?  Simply click it, and get a reply from the city telling you to suck it.  

Facebook birthdays - It's your birthday and nobody remembered?  Simply log on to Facebook and get a Happy Birthday greeting from local resident(s).  

NextDoor - the Mother of all neighbor apps.  Everything from free worthless giveaways (for people too lazy to use the Trash app), lost pets, reviews from contractors who went out of business five years ago, and warnings about strangers (Amazon delivery drivers) in your 'hood.  This app is a threat to LostCat, DeerFinder, CoyoteFinder, and other animal related apps. Ideal for widows over 85 years old, people with limited grammar skills, and guys who know everything in the world, except that they themselves are idiots.

The Viking Strikes Back

See End for Update

Ragnar is out and Lagertha is back in charge of the Vandy PAC.  Enough of the Tigers and Eagles flailing in air! No more Comets fizzling in the eastern sky. Lagertha has emerged from her stealth location buried deep beneath the 5th hole at DCC and is taking no prisoners, nor apartment kids.

Vandy PAC Chariwoman

Using sunstones and sundials passed down from Sigurd, the Norse mapmaker of the 13th century, the Vandy posse has employed Common Core math formulas to create a new map for their Dunwoody longphort.  The map reaffirms Vandy's guarded location in Kattegat.  In the process, Lagertha has banned non blue-eyed from the territory, citing lack of parental involvement in Viking activities.  It is rumored the Vikings also complained would-be immigrants to Kattegat would not bring the required treasures of gold, silver, rubies, silk, and Penicillin. 

Proposed Vandy Map 

The Common Core math calculating percentages detailing high-density housing is currently under review by the Austin Science Olympiad team for accuracy, but leaked results (Jefferson Apartments Snapchat) hint at altered numbers.  LifeinTheWoodVandy has hired outside firm apartments.com to audit the results as well.

There was no search and rescue letter sent to Drake when Oxford Chase was banned from Viking territory.  The Ox team was dismissed to the King and Lagertha didn't flinch an eye.  But when the fertile soil of The Forest was taken away, a call to arms was made.  Golf carts from all directions plowed their way to convene and channel their inner Odin for guidance.

Regarding 'closest school' rule we keep hearing about - half the kids in Dunwoody can claim Austin as their closest school.  Kids in south DeKalb travel up to eight (8) miles to elementary school while in da wood we argue 1.2 versus 1.5 miles.  You want to keep neighborhoods together, travel east to west (quickest way around inner Dunwoody)?  Here are your maps:

The Vikings will invade Monday's board meeting to protest the new map.  T-shirts are being printed at this moment, but I'm fairly sure the group will be easy to identify.