Greetings Neighbors!

On behalf of the 2014 officers for NPU M I would like to take time to welcome you all to a new year of community service!

For those of you not familiar with our organization, Neighborhood Planning Unit (NPU) M is the official citizen’s voice to the City of Atlanta for people residing or working in the Old Fourth Ward, Sweet Auburn, Downtown, Castleberry Hill, and southern stretch of the Marietta Street Artery Association. The NPU system was established in 1974 to provide an opportunity for citizens to participate actively and to receive information concerning all functions of city government.  The system enables citizens to express ideas and comment on city plans and proposals while assisting the city in developing plans that best meet the needs of their communities.

2014 is poised to be a pivotal year for NPU M. With the economy recovering, the Atlanta Streetcar, Ponce City Market, the Beltline, new Falcons stadium, Multi Modal Passenger Terminal, continued growth of Georgia State, new City Council, and various other activities emanating from our vibrant neighborhoods, major change abounds like it hasn’t in a while — and with change comes opportunity.

We would love your help in maximizing community benefits from this change.

The NPU is currently looking for people to staff our 2014 committees. NPU committee work can be an experience rife with rewards personally and professionally. You can network with the movers and shakers in your community, help influence public policy by working with the City Council, collaborate with APD on matters of public safety, engage in city-wide projects with the Atlanta Planning Advisory Board, organize special events, develop and apply leadership skills, recruit new residents and businesses, or just have a good time working to improve your neighborhood with like-minded people. There is no residency requirement or minimum time commitment, if you have a pulse and ten minutes of time every now and then we can use you.

The standing NPU Committees and their responsibilities are:

Land Use and Zoning – Development and Land Use; Urban Design; Zoning Applications; Variance Requests; Special Administrative Permits; Land Bank Authority Requests; Historic Preservation.
Education – Redistricting; Use of School Facilities and Resources; Education Standards and Techniques.
Community Development/Human Resources – Tax Allocation Districts; Comprehensive Development and Master Plan.
Safety – Criminal Activity and Public Safety; Fire Prevention; Code Enforcement.
Transportation – Traffic; Parking; Transit.
Utility – Work and Construction.
Committee on Council – Legislation; City Council operations/activities.

Sound good?

Great! Just contact your neighborhood association or Matthew Jones, NPU Vice Chairman and committee coordinator, (vicechair at npumatlanta.org) to let us know about your interest. You don’t need to know anything about what you would like to do. We will be recruiting new members throughout January and have a retreat on February 1st at 2pm (venue to be announced) where we will give you a primer on the pressing issues in the community and what you can do to contribute.

In the meantime, why don’t you come to our first General Body meeting of 2014? It will be at 6:30 PM on Monday January 27th 2014 at the Helene Mills Senior Center (515 John Wesley Dobbs Avenue, N.E.). We hope to see you there!

Regards,

Rashid Z. Muhammad

Chairman, NPU M

chair at npumatlanta.org