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April 23, 2015 | johnscreekherald.com | 75,000 circulation Revue & News, Johns Creek Herald, Milton Herald & Forsyth Herald combined | 50¢ | Volume 19, No. 17
Despite heavy weather, Johns Creek comes through OK Little damage reported in city By HATCHER HURD hatcher@appenmediagroup.com
HATCHER HURD/STAFF
David Csont, Urban Design Associates chief illustrator, uses his computer to turn the ideas, likes and dislikes he has heard from citizens into something visual. He says knows he’s got it right when people tell him, “I want to be in that picture.”
THE DISTRICT:
Designing a city block by block Residents get to weigh in again in Round 2 By HATCHER HURD hatcher@appenmediagroup.com JOHNS CREEK, Ga. – The city’s plan for The District is coming into focus as the second of three phases of the planning stage comes to a close. In a three-day blitz, the city’s consultants on The District, headed by Urban Design Associates, met with residents in focus groups. Culminating in a public charrette, the planners showed how they had refined the ideas voiced by residents to become pic-
tures on paper and computer screens. Tuesday of last week, focus groups including developers and homeowner associations met with the design team to hear what the team had learned about the strengths and weaknesses of The District, the now 780-acre Central Business Planning District (as they referred to it), and what opportunities are there. Wednesday was the chance to talk with designers and discuss how the ideas are translated from thoughts and
desires to scale modeling on the computer screen. The design team will take away new ideas and suggestions from the charrette it held last Wednesday to refine the plan and return with a final report in June or early July. What the land designers were doing was showing residents pictures of types of architecture and design elements to get a better feel for what the public liked. They were much like the optometrist placing and replacing lenses for the eye patient and asking, “Is that
See DISTRICT, Page 9
JOHNS CREEK, Ga. – Heavy storm clouds blew into North Fulton with a full tornado warning and Alpharetta’s sirens blasting. In the end, though, the storm was hail. Johns Creek had little damage to report, although some schools held up the release of their students for about a half hour. Many residents reported large quantities of hail fell during the 30-minute storm. Chattahoochee High School Principal Tim Duncan said the school went into “full tornado drill” in which students crouched under desks, students in classrooms with windows were doubled up in rooms that didn’t have windows and the two outdoor portables were evacuated. “That is one of the advantages Chattahoochee has in having classrooms without windows. It gives me more space in which to bring the kids,” said Duncan. Next door at Taylor Road Middle School, it was much the same. Go into the tornado drill and wait out the storm. TRMS Principal Ed Williamson said his students knew what to when the tornado warning came because they have monthly drills for a range of situations. Because of the danger of glass shattering, stu-
There was quite a bit of hail in some places. This photo posted on the Johns Creek Police Facebook page shows a pile of hailstones. dents sit in the school hallways facing the walls. “Every kid knows what to do because we drill. One month it’s for a tornado, one month for an intruder, one for fire and one for a bomb,” Williamson said. “Today they got in the halls and covered their heads. We were in place in about two minutes. “The teachers know their jobs, and the kids were quiet,” he said. Meanwhile, the school sent out e-blasts to alert parents and let them know there would be delays at school. But by
See WEATHER, Page 7