Triangle Plaza redesign sparks controversy

Athens non-profit Farm to Neighborhood has received a $1 million dollar grant to improve Triangle Plaza in east Athens. They’re planning to grow a community garden, plant 22 trees and improve pedestrian connectivity to the plaza. This sounds great, but a few residents have some concerns about it.

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TRANSCRIPT

Athens non-profit Farm to Neighborhood has received a $1 million dollar grant to improve Triangle Plaza in east Athens. They’re planning to grow a community garden, plant 22 trees and improve pedestrian connectivity to the plaza. This sounds great, but a few residents have some concerns about it.

“Today, it’s a teaching kitchen and a garden. But tomorrow, it could be apartments, student housing, high land values and families priced out.”

That can’t happen. The plaza is protected because it’s part of what’s called a “planned development.” That means nothing, absolutely nothing, about the development can change without explicit mayor and commission approval. You can’t even plant a garden or improve the sidewalks there without weeks of public input followed by a vote like we’re having right now.

I hope that helps everyone feel more confident about the changes. But if you have any remaining questions, feel free to get in touch with the commissioner of the area, Tiffany Taylor. She lives very close by and seems to support it.

“I think this idea to get a community garden as well as a teaching kitchen in our community, I think that it’s a great idea. I think that it helps define the word ‘community,’ Taylor said. “I wouldn’t have any objection to the planning department’s recommendation to approve it.”