Please review the following
2021-08-12 LCN Special CRC Meeting Zoom Notice
You are invited to join Lake Claire Neighbors
in a specially called meeting to discuss
plans by the Children’s Rehabilitation Center
to fence the Frazer Forest.
Thursday, August 12, 7 p.m. via Zoom
1. Join the Lake Claire Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85886885707?pwd=emkzeTArYjBrZnV3SGZ3Z09Wd1lndz09
2. Zoom Invitation from a land-line or cell phone
a. 1 929 205-6099 or 1 301 715-8592
b. Enter ID: 858 8688 5707
c. When prompted to Enter Participant ID: Just enter #, there is no participant ID
d. Enter Meeting Password: 434887
3. One Tap Mobile:
a. +19292056099,,85886885707#,,,,*434887# US (New York)
b. +13017158592,,85886885707#,,,,*434887# US (Washington DC)
The following Monday,
the Dekalb County Historic Commission
will hear this request for a
Certificate of Appropriateness – as it applies to the portion of the property outside the City of Atlanta in unincorporated Dekalb County.
Historic Commission Zoom Meeting:
Click to access August%2016%202021%20HPC%20Agenda.pdf
The message below was sent via email to Ellen Adair Wyche, [public relations representative of the Children’s Resource Center Board, (CRC)], on July 27, 2021 following a July 21 meeting with her, CRC Board Member Mike Armstrong, and the Lake Claire Neighbors Land Use Committee.
Dear Ellen Adair,
Thank you so much for meeting with the Lake Claire Neighbors Land Use Committee last week. We know everyone has a busy summer and we appreciate you taking time to talk with us about the important work of CRC and its management of the beautiful property that includes the Frazer Center, Hospitality House, Cator Woolford Gardens, and the surrounding old growth forest acreage – a rare and precious ecological landscape in our growing city. We are sorry to hear that the CRC is taking steps toward fencing the property after so many decades without requiring a fence. As neighbors who treasure the land as you do, we stand ready to help resolve your concerns in any way we can. We respectfully request that you delay the construction of a fence while we work together to assess the options for the most effective, lowest cost, long-term solutions for you and the surrounding neighbors.
As we discussed, Lake Claire Neighbors and many individual neighbors have an extensive history of supporting both the mission of CRC and Frazer Center. Generations of neighborhood children have attended preschool at Frazer; many of us have had the pleasure of attending weddings and other events in the gardens; and, thanks to your generosity, in non-COVID times we hold our monthly neighborhood meetings in the Rose Room. We are most appreciative to have long enjoyed the respite and rejuvenation one finds walking along the trails through the forest, catching a glimpse of a red fox, hearing the call of the Barred owls, or (for those fortunate adjacent neighbors) simply viewing the forest from the windows and back porches of our homes.
Lake Claire Neighbors has taken a special interest in the forest and over the years we have sought ways to be better neighbors and stewards of the forest. Recognizing the forest as an ecological treasure, we established Friends of the Frazer Forest in the early 2000s. For years we sponsored workdays with local neighbors, high school groups, and Boy Scouts to remove invasive plants, add mulch and water bars to trails, install sandbags to slow erosion along creek banks, and we earmarked donations to support restoration in the forest. More recently, following a period of less engagement, we helped organize and publicize volunteer and education efforts led by EcoAddendum and Trees Atlanta. Adjacent neighbors on the eastern side of the property also monitor and clear debris to ensure the free flow of the waters of Lullwater Creek [correction: Peavine Creek, South Fork].
Years ago, with a growing awareness of the special nature of the old growth forest – as well as the problems created by stormwater runoff from surrounding areas — a group of neighbors spear-headed the effort for the City of Atlanta to acquire and protect greenspace on Harold Avenue adjacent to the property. One hundred residents attended the hearing at City Hall in 2005 which led to protection of the greenspace and its spring-fed tributary that flows into the forest. In 2008, the community also organized and raised matching funds to preserve the wooded slope above Lullwater Creek [Peavine Creek, South Fork] (and increase Lake Claire Park by 18%), thereby reducing stormwater impact to the stream which flows onto CRC property.
Sadly, we understand that not all neighbors have been sensitive neighbors and not all visitors to the forest have given it the full respect it deserves as an environmental treasure – and as private property. However, we stand ready to help identify, assess, and find solutions for current problems in the forest, whether with volunteer labor, distribution of educational materials and publications, door-to-door outreach, or other means.
Thank you again for meeting with us. We look forward to continuing the discussion with you, adjacent neighbors, and the larger community.
Sincerely,
Lake Claire Neighbors Land Use Committee
Joe Agee, President Lake Claire Neighbors
Carol Holliday, VP-Planning / NPU-N Representative
Beth Grashof, VP-Zoning
Kathy Evans, Member