Community safety is a top priority in our City; the City Council and I consider this is of utmost importance. Peachtree Corners is extremely fortunate to have the services of the Gwinnett County Police Department to patrol our neighborhoods and public areas.
However, we felt there was more the City could do to assist the GCPD in ensuring the safety of our citizens, our businesses and those visiting. You may have read in the news recently about Georgia Power’s program that offers cities a service to install cameras and license plate readers at strategic entry points. A number of surrounding cities have added public safety cameras through this program. The cameras record traffic movements and scan license plates.
We will begin implementing Georgia Powers’ program in the coming months. I am sure you have questions. Below is a series of Q&As which should address the majority of your queries. Please know, we are all available and happy to answer any additional questions you may have.
Editor’s Note: This Q&A was part of the city’s official news published in our April/May issue. Since publication we’ve learned that some of the cameras will be installed beginning in May but it will be August before all 15 are installed and working.
Q: Why is the City doing this? Has the crime rate risen in Peachtree Corners?
A: No. The cameras are designed to enhance GCPD’s crime-fighting capabilities. The City decided to add the video/license place recognition cameras as another step in ensuring everyone’s safety.
Q: How many cameras will be installed and where will these cameras be located?
A: With GCPD’s assistance, the city has identified 15 locations, which are all at major entry points into the City. The cameras will only capture activity in the public right of way. The locations were chosen based on factors such as traffic count and crime statistics.
Q: Will the cameras include recording activity in neighborhoods and other residential areas?
A: No, the cameras will only record activity on the selected 15 major access points. The purpose for these camera locations is to capture traffic on major thoroughfares coming in and out of our City. The accompanying map shows the locations where the cameras will be located.
Q: Will the City or residents have access to the video footage from the cameras? And how long is the video kept?
A: Only the GCPD will have access. The camera system retains video footage, which is stored in the cloud, for 30 days, after that new video footage replaces the oldest footage.
Q: Do the cameras simply record automobiles coming and going?
A: In addition to traffic activity, the cameras are equipped with License Plate Recognition (LPR) capabilities. The cameras will scan license plates and alert police if vehicles are flagged as stolen or of interest in a criminal investigation.
Q: Where are the cameras mounted?
A: The cameras and LPRs are mounted to utility poles and streetlights. They are high-speed, computer-controlled cameras that capture all license plate numbers that come into view, along with the location, date and time.
Q: How are the police notified? How does the LPR technology work?
A: The readers send an alert to officers’ laptops when a tag is read that may be connected to a stolen vehicle, car-jacking or other criminal activity.
Q: How much do these cameras cost? Did the City purchase them?
A: The cameras will be leased from Georgia Power for $285.00 per month per camera and Georgia Power will repair or replace any camera that isn’t working properly. This was a less expensive option over purchasing the equipment. Additionally, the lease agreement ensures the cameras will be maintained by the provider. The monthly cost includes the camera itself, electricity and cloud storage of data.
Q: When will the cameras be installed?
A: The City is coordinating with Georgia Power; the work is expected to be complete by late summer.
Q: Will additional cameras be added at a later time?
A: It’s possible, the GCPD will help in assessing whether additional cameras are needed.
Q: Can these cameras be installed at the entrance to my subdivision?
A: The City is working on a program that would allow subdivisions to request the cameras to be installed at the entrance. The subdivisions must meet certain criteria. Each neighborhood would be responsible for the cost of installing and the monthly/yearly cost of operation. We expect to have more information on this program in the near future.
Peachtree Corners has relatively low crime rates; however, we have state and county roads that run through our City carrying over 150,000 vehicles daily through our city limits. Adding an additional crime-fighting tool that the police can use makes our City that much safer.
Post 1 Councilmember Phil Sadd is hosting a non-partisan town hall meeting at Winters Chapel United Methodist Church on Tuesday, October 29 at 7 p.m.
The meeting will begin with an update on activities in the City of Peachtree Corners and an overview of plans for future projects.
“The upcoming town hall will not only provide our residents with information and an opportunity to ask questions, but will also allow me to hear directly from them about their concerns and desires for the future of our city,” said Sadd.
Topics to be discussed include:
New development/redevelopment
Trails and parks
Transportation improvement projects
November 5 ballot questions
Candidates for state and county local seats
An informative public forum
For the upcoming November 5 election, Peachtree Corners voters will have decisions to make on very important local issues. Topics on the ballot include a county-wide transit SPLOST referendum, amendments to the state constitution and the election of local state and county Officials.
“Unfortunately, there hasn’t been a public forum in Peachtree Corners during this election cycle that covers all these topics,” Sadd stated. “Every voter should have the opportunity to be informed about every item on the ballot, so they fully understand each question they need to answer and each vote they need to make.”
The Town Hall will provide information about these topics, as well as an opportunity to hear from and meet the local state (both senate and house) and county (chairman and commissioner) candidates that are on the ballot.
(left to right), Bobby Cobb, Mayor Mike Mason, Mayor Lois Salter and Mayor Craig Newton // Photos courtesy of George Hunter
In what has now become tradition, the Southwest Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce hosted mayors from Berkeley Lake, Norcross and Peachtree Corners at a panel discussion on July 12 at the Hilton Atlanta Northeast.
The conversation centered around strategies for revitalizing and expanding metro Atlanta cities, with a focus on redevelopment, zoning ordinance reform, pedestrian and bicycle safety and investing in local schools and affordable housing initiatives.
Zoning changes
“We are beginning a really big project in our city. We have had ordinances that we’ve been working on ever since the city was incorporated in the 1950s,” said Berkeley Lake Mayor Lois Salter.
“We feel that we need to overhaul the whole zoning ordinance system and hire a consultant to come and elicit understanding and opinions from our citizens. We want them to be a part of that. We have some folks that resist any kind of regulation. They just want us to regulate their neighbors,” she added.
Norcross Mayor Craig Newton agreed that evolving needs are an important reason to change the zoning, and planning for what lies ahead is paramount. He pointed out that all Georgia cities must implement a comprehensive plan to maintain their qualified local government certifications and remain eligible for selected state funding.
Land development
“We intend to focus on improving pedestrian bicycle safety downtown and establish a sidewalk activity improvement,” he said. “We’re also looking at approving parking in our town center and constructing the Norcross Greenway, which will bring a much-welcomed park, green space and a trail,” he added.
The county announced earlier this year that the project involves redeveloping the existing property into a park that will span almost two acres. It will offer various community spaces, including a multi-use trail, playground, covered picnic area, restroom building and a 41-space parking lot.
In addition to its amenities, a 12-foot-wide concrete trail segment will wind through the park and utility corridor, connecting Singleton Road to Dickens Road.
The trail is part of the 2018 Gwinnett Trails Countywide Trails Master Plan‘s Norcross to Lilburn Trail with an internal loop trail connecting to the neighborhood.
Commercial use
Peachtree Corners has had several “community-friendly” projects come online in the past year, but the effects of the pandemic continue to linger.
“When you think about the future, you’re thinking about the landmass and buildings and commerce. Probably the most significant issue facing a lot of us in the near term is modern office space,” said Peachtree Corners Mayor Mike Mason. “There’s a lot of space. The question is, are people going to come back?”
He said that the central retail area has shifted with the revitalization of The Forum and that’s making city leaders rethink city planning.
“We’re having a look at our code and things like that. But from another point of view that will drive the decision about what communities are going to look like,” he said. “For example, there are people coming into the city that say some buildings are technologically obsolete.”
Public safety
Even though Berkeley Lake is the smallest of the three cities and has the highest average home values, all the mayors agreed that public safety is a growing concern.
“Living in Norcross offers residents a dense suburban feel that’s somewhat rural compared to the city of Atlanta,” said Newton. “But some of our public safety initiatives are increasing police presence in high crime areas.”
As the only one of the three cities with a full police department, Norcross is seeking creative ways to implement effective community policing strategies to build trust and communication between law enforcement and the residents.
Newton mentioned programs such as Neighborhood Watch, youth outreach programs and educational initiatives along with enhancing emergency response capabilities with training for the local fire department and EMS services.
“Our response time goal is for an officer to be on-site in an emergency within 30 minutes,” he said. “But that doesn’t happen.”
Extended-stay hotels tend to attract crime, so Newton said the city has worked with owners to improve lighting in the public spaces to deter criminal activity.
“We’ve partnered with nonprofit businesses and local stakeholders to support social services employment opportunities for at-risk individuals,” he said. “By working together with various organizations and entities were able to address the complex challenge of public safety.”
Community accountability
With no police force, Berkeley Lake relies heavily on cameras and old-fashioned “knowing your neighbors,” said Salter.
“Some of our individual HOAs are buying and furnishing and paying for cameras to safeguard their neighborhoods,” she said.
Although there may be pockets of criminal behavior around the city, Salter said a police officer once described Berkeley Lake as a “black hole” of crime because there’s so little crime data.
“One of the reasons for that we feel is that historically we’ve been a very neighborly people,” she said. “There is an amazing system of community cohesiveness.”
Peachtree Corners is taking its own approach.
“We’ve recently added a Marshal Service and as Lois mentioned we’re also leaning on technology,” said Mason.
The marshal department doesn’t take the place of the services provided by Gwinnett County Police, it primarily enforces city code and aids Gwinnett PD when necessary.
“We’re utilizing as much technology as we can,” said Mason.
Gwinnett PD is instructing where to locate cameras and the city keeps adding them. There have been several instances in the last year or so where coordination among agencies and the use of technology have thwarted or caught criminals.
At the end of the day, the three mayors said the cities all rely on each other. Being so close means that economic development, enhanced entertainment and other desirable amenities are boons for them all.
From Peachtree Corners Mayor Mike Mason’s monthly column.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, the city noticed a development trend that focused on the importance of social interaction. It began seeing development applications for indoor pickleball, virtual racing, garden clubs, car clubs and other recreational uses.
When our city was established in 2012, it adopted Gwinnett County’s codes and ordinances to maintain consistency and these new social interaction-focused uses were not initially considered in the city’s current Comp Plan or zoning code.
Working from home is another market trend having a big impact on local office parks. This economic engine is driven by office parks such as Technology Park and there’s always been a priority placed on preserving office stock.
Even though the commercial office market is waning right now, that pendulum is still trying to figure out where it will settle in. Most of these new socially focused uses find the best home in an office setting.
Due to the increasing number of these applications and the evolving market trends, the city has imposed a six-month moratorium on projects in the Central Business District character area. The moratorium came into effect on May 3 and will end on November 3.
This halt will allow the city six months to pause rezoning applications, special use permits and variances applications for residential or mixed-use development. It will help the city maintain the status quo, stop new applications from coming in and allow for officials to consult with experts and delve deeper into the code and comprehensive plans.
The city plans to conduct extensive research, analysis and strategic planning during this period to help determine if any changes should be made to the comprehensive plan and zoning regulations.
For instance, it might be beneficial to designate downtown as a distinct character area separate from the central business district. Implementing new zoning regulations to transform it into an entertainment district or a unique downtown character area could be a viable option. Many cities have already adopted this type of zoning.
Office parks and businesses throughout the city provide a balance of jobs and residents that allow the city to be the second largest in the state with a zero-millage rate or no city property tax.
Therefore, as part of this process the city will research ways it can preserve, stabilize and enhance the economic engine through the activation of underutilized spaces within office parks.
This proactive approach will help maintain the job-to-resident balance that allows the zero-millage rate while positioning the city for success as the office market pendulum settles.
The most important thing this moratorium does is allow the city to consider what will work best for Peachtree Corners. Furthermore, it communicates to developers that the city requires a pause because current zoning regulations and comprehensive plan do not adequately address future goals.