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 JOIN THE DHCA HERE

The Druid Hills Civic Association is a membership organization serves the historic neighborhood of Druid Hills, a community nestled in the heart of Atlanta, GA.  Joining (or renewing your membership) helps ensure that we can do our best to advocate for and protect the neighborhood, keep residents in the know, and help build an even stronger sense of community.

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Subscribe to our monthly e-newsletter

If you haven't read the April 2021 e-newsletter, read it here.

 Read the latest issue of our quarterly DHCA Magazine

Published March 2021

The DHCA is proud to be a part of Olmsted 200, a coordinated national and local celebration of Frederick Law Olmsted's bicentennial birthday coming up in 2022. 

Neighborhood Logo Gear

We have T-shirts, caps, hoodies, long sleeve shirts, canvas bags, yard flags, car decals, and more available for purchase in our online store! Spring is around the corner so we will be phasing out our hoodies and long sleeve tees soon - don't miss out!

Thank you to all of our residents who pitched in and helped us get our "twittens" into shape during February's Neighborhood Service Day.  Click on a picture to check out our work!

 Join us for our next Neighborhood Service Day, Saturday, May 8th from 9:00am - 11:00am! 

We will be focusing on Chelsea Heights.  From park maintenance to sign cleaning, come meet some neighbors and give a little back to our wonderful neighborhood. Sign up to join us today - all ages are welcome!

OUR NEW STRATEGIC PLAN

DHCA is excited to begin 2021 by sharing our strategic plan. Thanks to the hundreds of members for supporting our efforts and shaping this vision.  We hope you see reflections of your insights and recommendations throughout our plan.  This plan sharpens our focus and defines the impact we will aim to achieve over the next five years and we encourage our neighbors to take ownership by getting involved.  Please find a broad overview of the plan here.


protecting our built environment

WHAT ARE TWITTENS?

There are currently 17 footpath cut-throughs between streets in Druid Hills, known in the neighborhood as twittens. Many of these were included in the original neighborhood plan. Some lead to "pocket parks" but the largest ones were used for residents to easily get to streetcars or trolleys, which ran from the Emory area to Ponce de Leon. Before people owned multiple cars, this public transit was the main source of transportation for people to get to work, school and to shopping in downtown Atlanta.

TWITTENS ARE OFTEN NEGLECTED

Twittens aren't technically owned by the county or the residents whose property borders them. This puts them squarely in no-man's land when it comes to keeping them safe and debris free. DeKalb county is supposed to do all repairs but since they are only footpaths and there are other repair priorities, twittens usually fall at the bottom of their to-do list. 

HELP US TAKE ACTION!

Our Public Safety Committee has been advocating for twitten repairs and maintenance with DeKalb County for some time. We think it's time for our community to help!

We're asking residents to write emails or letters to the CEO of DeKalb County. If enough of us do this, we are hopeful that it will encourage them to take action. Here is a template you can download to paste into an email or to fill out and print to mail.


CEOMichaelThurmond@dekalbcountyga.gov

jrader@dekalbcountyga.gov




DRUID HILLS PARENT GROUP

Calling all Druid Hills parents! As we rethink how the DHCA can best serve our community, we have decided to take a less formal approach to our traditional committee, formerly known as the Druid Hills Parent Network. We have created a special Facebook group called the Druid Hills Parent Group so parents can interact in real time. We hope people will use this group to set up playdates, arrange meet-ups, welcome new neighbors, share recommendations, plan community events, ask questions, share photos, and more - please join us!

Our goal is to foster a true sense of community within Druid Hills so that our residents - both parents and kids - can build lasting friendships with one another. 


KEEPING RESIDENTS IN THE KNOW

 TACKLING OUR SIDEWALKS

Your Membership Dues at Work

Have you ever been walking through the neighborhood, and tripped on an uneven sidewalk? That's a rhetorical question! Well, the DHCA has started doing something about it. While we don't have enough funding to repair fully broken sidewalks, we have been able to pilot a program with a local sidewalk repair company to address trip hazards, making them ADA compliant. Georgia Safe Sidewalks recently fixed 21 sidewalk trip hazards on three Druid Hills streets with heavy foot traffic - on Ridgewood Rd, Fairview Ave, and Emory Rd.

Your DHCA membership helps support this multi-year effort to improve our community's sidewalks. Help us Do Better by becoming a member or renewing today and let's fix some more sidewalks around Druid Hills! Send us a picture of the sidewalks that annoy YOU by emailing us at publicsafety@druidhills.org

    HELP US TAKE ACTION!

    Our Public Safety Committee has been advocating for major sidewalk repairs and replacement with DeKalb County for some time. We think it's time for our community to help!

    We're asking residents to write emails or letters to the CEO of DeKalb County. If enough of us do this, we are hopeful that it will encourage them to take action. Here is a template you can download to paste into an email or to fill out and print to mail.


    CEOMichaelThurmond@dekalbcountyga.gov

    jrader@dekalbcountyga.gov

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Our President, Kit Eisterhold, recently wrote a letter to CEO Thurmond regarding the state of our sidewalks. He was copied on the following email written by Commissioner Rader to CEO Thurmond in support of our cause. This is great news! Let's keep the momentum going - we encourage all residents to write CEO Thurmond advocating for sidewalk improvements. (We've made it easy... just copy and paste from our template.)

    Dear Mr. CEO,

            I fully support the request you recently received from Kit Eisterhold, President of the Druid Hills Civic Association detailing the need for sidewalk maintenance and pedestrian safety upgrades in this historic neighborhood, attached hereto.  The points made related to the extreme age of the infrastructure, increasing vehicular traffic and speeds and the impact of a reasonable commitment by the County on increasing stakeholder satisfaction are relevant and persuasive. 

            Over my term in office, new sidewalk infrastructure has always taken precedent over maintenance.  But maintenance in the extreme cases highlighted in Mr. Eisterhold's letter rises to a priority insofar as people have been injured on our rights of way due to clear deficiencies in the infrastructure.  I have responded as I can, both through a constant stream of requests and notifications to Roads and Drainage, and in the development of the North Decatur Road Traffic Calming Project where, working with Senator Parent, we have secured a half million discretionary grant from GDOT to install crossing protections and traffic circles in this corridor between the Fulton County line and Emory University.

            Please prioritize County resources to repair the most dangerous of the problems identified, and develop a sidewalk evaluation and maintenance protocol that can be applied in Druid Hills and County wide.  While such conditions are concentrated in this old neighborhood, they exist throughout the County.  Many other jurisdictions (you only have to walk the streets of Decatur, for instance) have engaged contractors to plain down trip hazards and have replaced sidewalk segments heaved up by tree roots.  The ubiquity of such attention elsewhere makes DeKalb's lack of a program obvious in comparison.

            Please let me know how you and your administrative team will respond to this request and how I can assist in making sidewalk maintenance and safety a priority throughout DeKalb.

            Sincerely,

            Jeff Rader
            Commissioner, District 2
            DeKalb County
            jrader@dekalbcountyga.gov
            404/371-2863

    RESTORING THE TRAIN BRIDGE

    The Druid Hills railroad bridge, our eastern gateway to Decatur, has received a "Condition Assessment Report" as the first step towards restoration/rehabilitation. The DHCA underwrote the report with participation from OLPA and a trio of enthusiasts. Click here to read the assessment.

    HELP US TAKE ACTION!

    We need Druid Hills residents to join us in advocating for the restoration of this eastern gateway to our community.  

    We're asking residents to write emails or letters to the CEO of DeKalb County. If enough of us do this, we are hopeful that it will encourage them to take action. Here is a template you can download to paste into an email or to fill out and print to mail.


    CEOMichaelThurmond@dekalbcountyga.gov

    jrader@dekalbcountyga.gov

    RECENT NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS 

     NEIGHBORHOOD PARTNERS

    The Druid Hills Patrol regularly patrols our neighborhoods. It is funded by its membership and is run by volunteers.

     VISIT THE DRUID HILLS PATROL WEBSITE





     VISIT THE OLMSTED LINEAR PARK ALLIANCE WEBSITE


    OLPA oversees and protects the Olmsted Linear Park, a chain of small parks that run along Ponce de Leon Ave. 


    The Emory Village Alliance (EVA) is a nonprofit community organization committed to the vitality of the historic, commercial heart of Druid Hills in Emory Village. Our alliance of volunteer stakeholders includes residents, businesses, property owners, and representatives of Emory University.


     VISIT THE FREEDOM PARK CONSERVANCY SITE

    Freedom Park Conservancy, a non profit organization, raises money to promote the improvement and preservation of the park for a diverse public.

     VISIT THE FREEDOM PARK CONSERVANCY SITE


     HISTORIC PRESERVATION

    This was the original plan for Druid Hills, as designed by Fredrick Law Olmsted in the late 1800's. 

    As the only neighborhood in the South designed by famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, Druid Hills stands apart from the other Intown neighborhoods in Atlanta, for the quality and integrity of its historic architecture and for the sweeping wide open spaces and the soaring canopy of its mature hardwoods.

    In order to protect the integrity and historic legacy of the neighborhood Druid Hills has been established as a historic district.  Anyone who wishes to make significant changes to their properties must apply for a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) through either the City of Atlanta or DeKalb County, depending on where your property is.  The two principal jurisdictions are the DeKalb County Historic District and the City of Atlanta Landmark District.

    Thanks for helping us preserve and protect the unique heritage of historic Druid Hills. Read more about how historic preservation got started in Druid Hills here.


     PLANNING A RENOVATION?

    In order to protect the integrity and historic legacy of our neighborhood, Druid Hills was designated as a historic district.  Our neighborhood falls under two principal jurisdictions: DeKalb County Historic District and The City of Atlanta Landmark District. Each follows a different set of guidelines.

    If you are planning on making any improvements to your property please feel free to reach out to the DHCA so that we may help guide you through the process of applying for a COA. We are very familiar with the historical guidelines and can offer tips to make the process a little easier for you.

    If you reside within the city of Atlanta please reach out to: atlantahistoric@druidhills.com. 

    If you are in unincorporated Dekalb please reach out to: dekalbhistoric@druidhills.org.



     HISTORY OF THE DHCA

    One of most active neighborhood groups in the South, DHCA was founded in 1938 to help residents preserve and protect the unique heritage of Druid Hills as envisioned by its creator, landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. Much of our work involves exercising vigilance in land use and zoning matters, communicating with local and state officials, informing the residents about community issues, and promoting the general welfare of the neighborhood for the enjoyment of its residents today and in the future.

    Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Druid Hills Historic District incorporates in its entirety the area formerly listed as the Druid Hills Parks and Parkways Historic District. 

    Learn some of our rich history as experienced by many of our long-time residents by watching the delightful "Druid Hills History Happens Here".

    Did you know the DHCA worked ardently over 25 years to prevent the expansion of the Stone Mountain Freeway and the proposed Presidential Parkway from being built straight thru Druid Hills?


    There's so much more that we've done since we were founded in 1938 that we even wrote a book about it! Want a free copy? 

    “An Informal History of the Druid Hills Civic Association, Celebrating 75 years” was written in 2013 and Thea Roeser, our membership chair, would be happy to deliver one to your home. Please send your name and address to membership@druidhills.org and she will deliver one to your mailbox!

    CONTACT US

    DRUID HILLS CIVIC ASSOCIATION
    P.O. Box 363, Decatur, GA 30031

    mail@druidhills.org
    druidhills.org

    ©2017 Druid Hills Civic Association.  | Druid Hills Civic Association, Inc. is a Georgia non-profit corporation. 

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