This Is Our Year, Fellow Citizens of Dunwoody

I was going to give you this picture today, a snippet of the extensive construction going on all around the mall, this one taken on the road that goes to our new City Hall. That's because I want to talk a bit about the community involvement process of the Comprehensive Plan, and this photo says development, zoning, mixed use, density, overcrowded schools and all those growth buzz words that tend to get folks fired up. Yes, all these things will be discussed as part of the community involvement process, I'm guessing.

But I'm going to give you this photo instead. That's because this photo reminds me that our challenge is not only to suggest parameters for building buildings. It is to propose fresh, new ideas for building community.



You see, my teenager attended Dekalb School of the Arts this past year, on North Druid Hills Road. On the occasions that I drove there for some reason, I always took the side roads (I don't just make slow meals; I travel slowly, too!) and I passed this sand volleyball court (there are actually two of them) after making a left from Peachtree Industrial Road onto North Druid Hills Road.

Here's the thing. The courts were always, always being used, by what appeared to be teenagers to me. And this got me thinking. Where do our teenagers go? Where do they go? Yes, I know the churches try to plan programs to engage them. And of course there is the mall. But, in general, do you ever see teenagers out there? It's as if they don't exist in our community. I overhead some of my daughter's friends talking about where they were going to live when they grow up. No one even imagined the possibility of living in a place anything like Dunwoody. There's nothing for them to do.

And so, when I think about the comprehensive plan, I think about this group that will be of the home-buying age in the next fifteen to twenty years. I think about what it will take to make our community vibrant, attractive, and yes, sustainable to the younger generations in the face of global change and opportunity elsewhere. I think about the fact that I will be twenty years older as well (we sometimes forget that, don't we?!) and if this community will have what I need to live a full life at that time. I'd like to think I'd still be riding my bike, walking places, having time to linger at local cafes with friends and lending what will surely be by then some semblance of expertise to community and school gardens. But none of that will exist in any real way unless it is accounted for in this Comprehensive Plan.

This is our year, fellow citizens of Dunwoody. This is our year to be heard, and to make a difference in a way that may never be seen again. This is the time to get involved whether or not you've ever been involved before. This is the time to simply show up, and share your input, insight and ideas, even if you don't have a fingernail's worth of zoning experience (yeah, that would be me, although the recent farmers market discussions may get me up to fingernail status now). There will be days, a year from now and twenty years from now, when you will be glad that you did. There will be a day when you are walking or biking or driving around our city and you will see something and say, "I helped make that happen." And you will tell your children and grandchildren that. And it will matter.

One more reason to show up? The consultants hired to take our city through this process have different "themes, exercises, and information" planned for each of the community involvement sessions. Doesn't that at least get you curious?!

Here's hoping to see you at 7 PM at Dunwoody United Methodist Church on Mt. Vernon Road (by Dunkin' Donuts) on June 2, June 23, July 7, August 3 and September 24. At least come to one of them.

And here's hoping to see you around town, imagining, envisioning, and ultimately making your mark a little bit more each and every day. To make a volleyball reference, the ball is in our hands. It's our serve.