Residents Fight for Turner Field Development that Works for Everybody

Today we were excited to join the the Turner Field CommunityBenefits Coalition, which represents the neighborhoods of Summerhill, Mechanicsville, Peoplestown, Pittsburgh and others nearby Turner Field, has spent the last several weeks collecting more than 2,000 petition signatures in support of community benefits across the communities affected by the redevelopment of Turner Field. 

 This morning Coalition we converged at Atlanta City Hall to deliver thousands of petition signatures to Atlanta Fulton County Recreation Authority director and Atlanta City Councilwoman Keisha Lance Bottoms in support of negotiated community benefits between the developer and impacted Turner Field communities.

“These petition signatures affirm that Atlantans in the impacted neighborhoods and across the metro area want a new model for major redevelopment projects in this city,” said Jason Dozier, Mechanicsville resident. “We need the Recreation Authority, City and County to know that we don’t want community benefits decided for us – we want to be at the table and part of the decisions.” The petition asks the Recreation Authority to require the developer to meet with and come to an agreement with the neighborhood groups in the impacted areas to determine what the specific community benefits will be. The communities have conducted an extensive community planning process to identify specific recommendations, which are set to be completed in the next two weeks.