CBS Atlanta 46Dunwoody homeowners worried about PVC farm sale

Following rumors that the city of Dunwoody may sell the 16-acre PVC farm property to developers, members of the Dunwoody Homeowners Association discussed their concerns about what could become of the land at the group's monthly meeting Feb. 12.

DHA President Bill Grossman said he wants to make sure the group has a say in any development that takes place on the property. The city purchased the PVC farm – named for the pipes of an unfinished apartment complex sticking out of the ground – in 2011. Dunwoody had loose plans to use the land to build a park.

Bob Mullen, Dunwoody's marketing and PR director, said the city council may have talked about selling the property in executive session. Open meetings laws allow governments to discuss real estate transactions in private.

"Unfortunately right now we can't really discuss any of that topic because some of the discussions were recently held in executive sessions and preclude us from doing that," Mullen said. "I can't say I'm confirming anything other than there were some conversations."

Grossman said he hopes if development does occur on the property, it will be housing built for seniors, as called for in the Georgetown master plan.

DHA member Bob Lundsten criticized the city council for leaking information from executive sessions, which are supposed to be confidential. He also questioned whether the city has a right to sell the property to a developer of its choosing.

"This is the problem with the city getting involved and being a land bank," Lundsten said. "It's incumbent upon them, if they're going to sell land, to put it up for a bid. I think it requires open and full access."

DHA member Heyward Wescott said people would be upset if the land is not used to build a park, as the city said it would do when it purchased the property.

"The PVC farm was originally purchased to be a park," Wescott said. "I think there's going to be a lot of pushback."

Mayor Mike Davis said people are jumping to conclusions about a matter that should only be discussed privately among council members.

"All the rumors you've read and heard are wrong," Davis said.  "Rest assured, we get regular offers from people who are interested in it and we have to know about them as a council. That's just the way things work. Unfortunately there's an assumption that there's a whole bunch going on."

Story written by: Melissa Weinmann, Reporter Newspapers

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