Roswell is a wonderful place to put down roots.  Multiple generations choose to move here and to stay, as my family did — my parents and their friends thrive as they enjoy watching their children and grandchildren flourish.  We are proud to live here.  This city is a part of us.

When my family moved here, I was in the second grade and 400 was two lanes each way.  Not quite a dirt road, but close!  One of my goals is to preserve what makes, and has always made, Roswell so special – the kind of place people want to stay through all of life’s phases – while ensuring that it progresses and develops in creative and targeted ways.  I don’t want to go back in time 30 years.  I do want to make sure that when we grow, it’s not just for the sake of growth, but in thoughtful and focused ways that best serve the people who live here.

The Unified Development Code.

Roswell’s current zoning code is confusing and messy.  It needs to be refined and clarified.  It needs to encourage and welcome smart growth that will support our families and small businesses.

As we re-work and re-think our city’s structure and how we approach it, it is critical that we apply long-term vision to maintain our quality of life and the things that make Roswell such a special place.  If we generate a zoning approach that sacrifices our city’s character and does not align with the best interests of our citizens, then we have done the future a great disservice.

The Unified Development Code (UDC) brings clarity to zoning processes in Roswell, but as written, it will allow for unprecedented density within our city.  As of this writing (things are changing quickly and it’s difficult for residents to keep up with the changes), the UDC conditionally allows for new apartments to be built in ten zoning categories.  It reduces setbacks in the Historic District and permits buildings as tall as 8 stories in our commercial corridors with no mention of improving infrastructure to keep up.  Residents of Roswell have been told that since most residential properties will have the same zoning characteristics under the UDC as they do now, they will not be affected.  But what about the density we’ll be passing every day as we go to work, school, the grocery store, soccer practice?  Will we not be affected when it takes 3 light changes to get through an intersection, when Holcomb Bridge Road is backed up for miles in both directions as we try to get on 400?

What do we want our city to look and feel like?  Roswell needs to revitalize areas that have been neglected and that stand empty; Roswell does not need to pack in more people and retail than our roads and other basic structures simply cannot handle.  Let’s grow and improve creatively and collaboratively.  Let’s work together to generate innovative development options that protect Roswell’s integrity.

Community Engagement.

I wholeheartedly believe in a robust model of community engagement in which people and their elected representatives interact openly and in a structured format that allows for a real exchange of ideas.  I don’t want to hear from the same handful of people, or select few groups.  There needs to be a two-way street for folks to participate in government.

When my family and I decided to settle in Roswell, I got involved in local issues.  I was disappointed in the way that the city interacts with residents.  There’s a sense that the city does things “to” people and neighborhoods.  Not “for” us or “with” us.  There’s an unfortunate sense among residents that what we think doesn’t matter, because the city is going to do what it’s going to do.  Why bother?  They’re tired of fighting.  Their opinions are collected for show rather than for real input.

I believe that the government has a responsibility to reach out to residents and small business owners when issues affect us.  I also believe that when the government only reaches out to a select few and hears the same voices all of the time, then it ceases to understand the rest of us fully.  Roswell is a city full of diverse interests.  It needs a government that understands and embraces that.

When government truly and honestly communicates with residents, and when residents feel like their voices are heard, then the government is truly representative and functional.

Trust.

That said, everyone doesn’t want to be involved in government — everyone doesn’t have the time or inclination.  Simply, people want to trust that their representatives are looking out for their best interests and are making good decisions for the overall health of their city.  Believe that when I am your council representative, I will make decisions based on what is best for the people who live here and who work here: the residents and small business owners who make Roswell so special.  I will respond to your concerns.  I will ask the questions that you would ask if you were on council.  I will do my homework.  That is the point of the job.