Forested areas ITP that need protection (Atlanta: homes, zoning, floor)

[bryantm3]

Have you ever seen those forested patches that you're horrified someone will come along and destroy ITP? I'm not talking about your generic woodsy areas, I'm talking about those beautiful areas with creeks and trees over the road and whatnot. As Atlanta becomes more dense, a lot of these areas may come to developers' attention and may be at risk. Shouldn't we protect some of these areas? I know that zoning is a protection of sorts, but zoning can change all too quickly and upset a lot of people who don't have any recourse. Wouldn't it be a good idea to try and get the city or state to designate these locations as wildlife sanctuaries or parks?

The reason I bring this up is that this is one of my favourite spots in the metro area, and I'm always horrified it will be plowed over by Emory or by a single family housing development, both of which are threats nearby:

http://goo.gl/maps/onu7o

[Esteban5]

Who owns the land?

[atler8]

Is that a photo of the point where a very old stretch of the original Briarcliff Road passed over a creek?
I haven't been in that glen for years but it looks like a place I recall that is well below thee current roadway, below a rail line bridge & to the south of & downhill from Sage Hill Shoping Plaza.
When I first discovered it decades ago, I was in awe of the surroundings. It's a lovely, little pastoral spot & I too fear for the future of such areas.

[bryantm3]

Originally Posted by atler8

Is that a photo of the point where a very old stretch of the original Briarcliff Road passed over a creek?
I haven't been in that glen for years but it looks like a place I recall that is well below thee current roadway, below a rail line bridge & to the south of & downhill from Sage Hill Shoping Plaza.
When I first discovered it decades ago, I was in awe of the surroundings. It's a lovely, little pastoral spot & I too fear for the future of such areas.

yes! that is the spot. the only thing that stinks about it is the lack of reverence the surrounding property owners show it. for example, the hill that goes up to the shopping center is always covered in trash, emory recently mowed down a bunch of it for no apparent reason, and the lights around there... you really don't understand how bad our light pollution is until you go down there at night. a CDC building literally a quarter mile away has a 1000W sodium vapour lamp mounted on the sixth floor that apparently has no other purpose than to shine into the forest. we need a lighting code, especially around these areas.

[AnsleyPark]

I love that little stretch of road behind the shopping center. Makes me feel like a little bit of the north Georgia mountains are in the city. It's truly a lovely spot. Thanks for posting!

[bryantm3]

this spot isn't in any danger, i don't think, because there are homes hidden in the forest. but it's another nice spot as well. almost OTP:

http://goo.gl/maps/p3oUB

[bryantm3]

here's another... three miles from midtown!

http://goo.gl/maps/zrxBT

[waronxmas]

I think ITP will be fine. Many of the areas in this thread are near nature preserves, so if a push was made it could be extended to add to the areas.

The real threat is the area inside the Beltline. Aside from the park system along it's borders, any patches of nature inside the border are toast in the next half century IMHO. That is not necessarily a bad thing though. If the majority of high density development was ITB, it would be a net benefit for the "region".

[aries4118]

I think we need to focus on protecting forested areas all over Metro Atlanta--ITP (ITB & OTB) and OTP.





Atlanta
the city in a forest

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by bryantm3

Have you ever seen those forested patches that you're horrified someone will come along and destroy ITP? I'm not talking about your generic woodsy areas, I'm talking about those beautiful areas with creeks and trees over the road and whatnot. As Atlanta becomes more dense, a lot of these areas may come to developers' attention and may be at risk. Shouldn't we protect some of these areas? I know that zoning is a protection of sorts, but zoning can change all too quickly and upset a lot of people who don't have any recourse. Wouldn't it be a good idea to try and get the city or state to designate these locations as wildlife sanctuaries or parks?

The reason I bring this up is that this is one of my favourite spots in the metro area, and I'm always horrified it will be plowed over by Emory or by a single family housing development, both of which are threats nearby:

http://goo.gl/maps/onu7o

Have you visited the kirkwood urban forest?