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Avondale Estates City Commission to consider funding for Placita Latina 2021 festival

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Avondale Estates City Commission to consider funding for Placita Latina 2021 festival

Photo obtained via the city of Avondale Estates website.
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Avondale Estates, GA — The Avondale Estates City Commission will meet on Wednesday, July 28, at 5:30 p.m. for a regular meeting immediately followed by a work session. The City Commission meetings are held in person at City Hall, 21 N. Avondale Plaza.

Anyone wishing to make a public comment must do so in person, Mayor Jonathan Elmore has said at previous meetings.

To view the meeting agendas, click here.

The city will consider funding for Placita Latina 2021, a celebration of Latin heritage that has four events planned over a month, beginning Sept. 15 and ending Oct. 15.

The organizers have requested $5,000 and the Avondale Estates Downtown Development Authority has approved $3,000 and the organizers are seeking an additional $2,000 from the city.

The event was created by former Avondale Estates Commissioner Adela Yelton and Mayte “Maria” Peck, president of SheLends Consulting and principal managing partner at Mark of the Potter. The planning committee is also made up of several Hispanic residents of Decatur and Avondale.

The purpose of the event is to host an inclusive celebration of colorful sights and sounds during Hispanic Heritage Month, build community and increase awareness of Hispanic culture, highlight Hispanic-owned businesses in the cities, and partner with Georgia Hispanic and Hispanic non-profit community organizations.

Events could include a coffee tasting event with live music in partnership with Banjo Coffee in Avondale Estates. Another potential event is a mini art exhibition in Decatur that would showcase Hispanic visual artists.

Organizers are also planning Placita Latina day at the Avondale Estates Farmers Market and curate Hispanic food and artisan vendors to be invited to join other vendors. The event could also feature a musical or dance performance. The final event would be salsa dancing on the Decatur Square that would include a live band and two dance instructors.

Also, on the agenda for the regular meeting is the second reading, and vote, on the city’s zoning code rewrite.

The City Commission and staff have been working on rewriting the city’s zoning code for the last 18 months. In 2017, the City Commission authorized an audit of the zoning code and a consultant was then selected to develop the draft zoning code.

The amended zoning code dissolves the Architectural Review Board and combines it with the city’s Planning and Zoning Board. The board would become the Planning, Zoning and Architectural Review Board and two seats would be added for individuals with design experience, Decaturish previously reported.

One of the biggest changes made to the draft zoning code in May involved the city’s street grid. The draft previously seemed to require that developers build a street in accordance to the street grid. But the city cannot require that a developer build a street for public use, so the staff had to get creative with ways to incentivize developers to construct the street grid.

The City Commission, at the June 23, meeting heard many comments and concerns about the planned unit development section of the zoning code rewrite. Planned Unit Developments, or PUDs, allow the city to consider projects that don’t fit with current zoning law.

The PUD has been in the city’s zoning code for about five years but is new in its specifics and requirements, Bryant previously told Decaturish. It is a zoning designation that someone can ask for and is not automatically given.

“The purpose of a PUD is to provide the flexibility to consider projects that meet the long-range vision of the city but might not fit well within an existing zoning classification,” Bryant said at the June 23 meeting.

During the work session, the City Commission will discuss all thing trees, the agenda states. The board will consider potential appointments to the Tree Board to fill current vacancies. The City Commission will also discuss the city’s approved tree list, the tree ordinance, and continue discussion about the city’s annual Christmas tree.

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