Applause broke out in the packed Atlanta City Council chambers Thursday after the Zoning Review Board voted to deny approval...
Atlanta City Councilmember Alex Wan in an email today to constituents said he would only target adult businesses in his proposed rezoning ordinances for Cheshire Bridge Road. That means car washes and auto body shops, which were included in the original legislations to be zoned out, are safe for now.
He also is extending the amortization period for the adult business to five years, rather than the original two years.
A new grassroots organization named Queer Up! Atlanta is rallying people to attend the Zoning Review Board meeting on May...
Bobby Hammill sits in his office in the new BJ Roosters on Cheshire Bridge Road. Opened just last month, the gay club is twice the size of its old location just down the street. His neighbors are Jungle and Heretic, two other popular gay clubs, and the Doll House, a strip club.
“I’ve lived in the area for 21 years and I understand what the complaints are about from the neighborhoods,” Hammill said. “But I personally feel what’s going on is unfair. It’s like they are prosecuting people who really aren’t doing anything wrong.”
What’s going on, and has been going on since January, is proposed zoning changes to the Cheshire Bridge Road corridor, long considered Atlanta’s red light district.
Zoning proposal pits gay City Council member, critics
Two sides debate the future of 'the most wonderful street in Atlanta'
At a recent public hearing, a speaker describing Cheshire Bridge Road as “the most wonderful street in Atlanta” drew chuckles from the audience. That the comment elicited laughs sadly captures the disappointment many hold in how the corridor falls far short of its real potential.
Over a decade ago, nearby residents, businesses, property owners and city planners undertook a long, collaborative public process to design a vision for the area. Their work resulted in the Cheshire Bridge Road Study adopted by the city of Atlanta in 1999.
Six years later, the zoning changes corresponding to that plan were enacted, creating two neighborhood commercial (NC) districts along the street, but in the eight years since 2005, no more meaningful progress has been made.
Cheshire Bridge Road: alluring, risque, diverse, authentic, vibrant, alive, and now... endangered because of people like Atlanta City Councilman Alex Wan, the openly gay official whose District 6 includes both Cheshire Bridge Road and Midtown.
Recently, we learned of a zoning effort to change the character of Cheshire Bridge by getting rid of restaurants, bars, clubs, and stores that were grandfathered in as part of a 2005 rezoning. Now Mr. Wan wants to go back and get rid of grandpa.
The legal aspects of this do not bode well for Wan nor for the neighborhoods he purportedly represents, as they have proposed an illegal “taking.”
Lost-N-Found Youth, a metro Atlanta helping LGBT homeless youth get immediately off the streets, plans to open a drop-in center on Dec. 2.
The drop-in center will be located within the 13,000 square feet of space that houses the organization's newly opened thrift and consignment store located at 2585 Chantilly Drive, Atlanta, near Cheshire Bridge Road and Interstate 85 in Midtown, said Rick Westbrook, executive director of Lost-N-Found Youth.
The non-profit organization is also set to open a new shelter in Midtown:
Just announced our 20-year lease for a new transitional home and drop-in center in midtown. Thanks to St. Marks for making this a reality.
— Lost-n-Found Youth (@LostNFoundYouth) November 21, 2013
Lost-N-Found Youth, a volunteer-led organization founded two years ago, is hoping the thrift store will bring in approximately $100,000 annually. The group's annual budget is currently $100,000 funded 80 percent by individual donations.
“Something is up in Atlanta,” Lee said to Robert. They were dining at Kevin Gillespie’s new restaurant, Gunshow, probably the hottest spot in town now.
“What do you mean?” Robert replied. “There’s always something up here.”
“I’m talking about the arrest of Baton Bob. I’m talking about this city’s obsession with curbing all that is off-the-beaten-path and sexy,” Lee said. “The minute Alex Wan loses his battle to close down Cheshire Bridge’s sex shops, the police cart Bob off to jail. I know the two aren’t specifically related, but geez.”
Sex shop owner pulls out of Atlanta City Council run
Michael Morrison, owner of Inserection on Cheshire Bridge Road as well as several porn stores, said June 17 he will not run against Alex Wan for Atlanta City Council.
Two weeks ago, Morrison said he was thinking of running against Alex Wan for the District 6 seat after Wan, who is the council’s only openly gay member, pushed for legislation that would have ousted adult businesses on Cheshire Bridge Road by 2018.
"I don't think that I will be running for City Council. While I don't like what Alex Wan did with Cheshire Bridge, I hope he understands now that adult/LGBT entertainment is important for the development of any city," Morrison told GA Voice.