Davis Place Parking Survey Seeks Residents' Feedback

An online survey issued Thursday asks Davis Place residents whether they would consider having on-street parking restrictions eased in exchange for the preservation of three houses on North Biltmore Drive by .

"We would like your input on whether you prefer tighter on-street parking restrictions or retaining the houses for now, assuming that it is not possible to have both," Davis Place trustees stated Thursday in an introduction to the survey. "We understand that you may decide that neither is an optimal choice."

Responses to the survey were requested by Sept. 6.

The church has .

Discussion of parking-restrictions bill tabled in May
In May, the Clayton Board of Aldermen agreed to in the subdivision to create one-hour residential parking zones from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday on Davis Drive, Mohawk Place, North Biltmore Drive and West Biltmore Drive.

Alderman Steve Lichtenfeld said at the time that an election for the church's board of trustees was expected to happen soon and that trustees would meet with residents in an effort to develop a solution.

Central Presbyterian communications director Bill Wichman could not immediately be reached for comment this week on the status of discussion about parking.

Davis Place trustee: Survey aims to 'get a pulse'
Debra Rabinovich, the third-year trustee for Davis Place, said this week that about 100 people have responded to the survey so far. Most of those live west of South Bemiston Avenue, she said, and she is hoping to get more responses from the more than 60 homeowners who live east of that street.

"We're trying to get a pulse of the neighborhood about where they stand in terms of the parking restrictions," Rabinovich said. It marks the first survey Davis Place trustees have circulated about the parking issue this year.

The surveyed residents to gauge their feelings about parking restrictions earlier in the year. As a result of that survey, tighter restrictions were implemented on a trial basis beginning in April, and they remain in effect.

This summer, the church's parking committee indicated the church might be willing to keep the houses it owns on North Biltmore Drive—Nos. 818, 820 and 824—instead of tearing them down to build a parking lot if on-street parking restrictions are eased, Rabinovich said. It met with Ward III aldermen and Davis Place trustees July 15.

Rabinovich developed the survey issued last week because she felt the aldermen didn't have enough information to make a decision about how to proceed.

Davis Place trustees already have collected names of more than 250 neighborhood residents who oppose the houses being taken down because of noise and other issues that would result, she said.

The survey attempts to gauge residents' thoughts on whether they would prefer to relax parking restrictions or preserve the houses. They also have the ability to say they don't think on-street parking should be linked to the proposal to tear down the houses.

Once the survey results are collected, Rabinovich said, she wants to make sure that they are statistically significant. She said she thinks the more transparency there is, the better the process will be. The Davis Place News website likely will be among the ways trustees communicate information about the process to residents.

"It's not a vote," Rabinovich said. "It's meant to guide the aldermen."

Editor's note: Those who live in the neighborhood and have not received a copy may request one by emailing davisplacetrustee@gmail.com.