CAMPUS LIFE: EMORY; Neighbors Fight Plan for a Hotel On a Wooded Lot

Published: August 27, 1989

ATLANTA— Emory University and its neighbors seem to agree on only two things these days: that the university's 28-acre wooded lot is the best in the state and that despite strong local opposition, Emory is going to build an 18-story hotel on a six-acre piece of that lot. That is 13 stories higher than DeKalb County zoning laws generally allow.

Emory now places visitors in local hotels, but a recent expansion in the number of conferences for which the university is the host - in conjunction with organizations based on campus like the Federal Centers for Disease Control and the American Cancer Society - has found existing buildings wanting.

''We commissioned three feasibility studies, all of which showed the need for this sort of facility,'' said Thomas Bertrand, secretary of the university.

DeKalb County zoning laws prohibit construction of any structure higher than five stories. The university applied for a variance to build what was originally to be a 21-story building. The application immediately provoked an outcry. Crime and Traffic

Local residents complained that the hotel would destroy the character of the neighborhood, increase crime and create traffic problems. Many people, like Dr. John Bugge, an English professor at Emory, argued against the variance. ''Granting the variance would go against the area's land-use plan,'' he said. ''Next time, there would be no legal standing to not grant a similar variance.''

Students are divided in their reaction to the hotel. The student government's president, Tim Doyle, finds the proposal ''eminently sensible.'' But Joseph Versaggi, a senior physics major, asserted that ''such a structure would ruin the area's pleasant residential character.''

The County Commissioner, Manuel J. Maloof, delayed the zoning board vote for several weeks, trying to force the parties to compromise. And Emory officials did offer some concessions: they lowered the building height by three stories and placed the service entrance on the larger of two roads. Neighborhood residents were not satisfied, and the proposal went to a vote. The result was five in favor, one opposed and one abstention.

Central to the debate was a counterproposal, from the zoning commission itself, for a twin-tower nine-story design. But the university noted that the twin towers would require destruction of more than 14 acres of forest, as against the 6 acres that would be destroyed to make way for the single structure.

The university's board of trustees says the rest of the lot will be preserved as a natural retreat for at least the next 20 years.

***

John Bugge shared a link.

April 21, 2014

Demand that PepsiCo Go Deforestation-Free - Union of Concerned Scientists

PepsiCo lags behind industry peers who have promised to ensure that they won't buy from palm oil suppliers linked to tropical deforestation. Tell PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi that it's time to go deforestation-free.

SECURE3.CONVIO.NET