 2 comments »Going Gated | Alpharetta and Milton Neighborhods Installing Gates Often when we ask people, particularly those relocating from Florida, their requirements for a new home in Alpharetta, they say they want to live in a gated community. The reason is not so much exclusivity, but security. They don’t understand that for all intents and purposes we have no crime.So why in the world then would two of Alpharetta’s largest subdivisions just elect to gate their communities? Read on to find out.
The cost to a Crooked Creek home owner for a gate and new amenities? An increase of $675 a year in HOA dues, which would basically double what they are currently paying for new dues of $1,425. But what about the non-Crooked Creek resident. Don’t they have rights to roads, too? After all, these are roads that county taxpayer money has supported for the past 10-12 years. Plus, the neighborhood is asking the City of Milton to make $600,000 in road improvements BEFORE they install the gates. Does that sound fair to someone who doesn’t live there and lives in a neighborhood that likely needs road resurfacing more badly than Crooked Creek? I totally understand that residents of Crooked Creek want to limit the cut-through traffic. I’d want to if I lived there. But I also understand how hard it is to get from east to west in Milton. Most neighborhoods only have a single entrance and don’t offer any overflow options to crowed two-lane roads. Before we know it, though, residents of Landrum Road, Nix Road, Wood Road, Summit Road will all want to close their roads to non-resident traffic. Heck, Landrum Road residents have already tried it. White Columns Adding Guarded Gate The effect of cutting off the cut-thru will be to put more cross traffic on Nix Road, which is a dirt road in very mediocre condition, particularly when the new elementary school is complete in the Fall of 2009. I’m sure the people on Nix Road will have something to say about this. There will be no code access from the Birmingham Hwy back entrance to White Columns; the only way to get in that gate will be with a clicker. Non-residents will have to get pass the guard on Freemanville Hwy. I guess I’ll have to get my wife to make some more of those killer coffee-laced brownies to use as my guard bribes. Hey, a realtor needs access. The cost of the guard at White Columns? About $1,000 a year in increased HOA dues and something like a $900 one-time assessment. Questions for YouWhich brings me to my questions for you:1) Would you pay more to live in a gated community? Would you pay more for a guarded community? Does it depend on which side of GA-400 you live? 2) Have the Crooked Creek residents figured out what they will do will people learn the gate code…and they will learn the gate code with some many residents in the neighborhood. Will a guard be the next step at Crooked Creek? Indeed, is a guard the only way to effectively keep out cut through traffic? 3) Has anyone thought about the impact on real estate sales? As a realtor, I love gated communities for selfish reasons: they limit public access. No longer will the general public be able to drive through Crooked Creek on a Sunday afternoon and window shop. That is not good for "for sale by owners." To get in you will have to make an appointment with a realtor. In White Columns, the gated section, I even heard that they were considering getting rid of for sale signs altogether. Who needs them if the general public won’t we riding through?http://www.alpharettarealestatehomes.com/00392A Posted on May 24, 2008 23:39:34 by
 Kevin.Warmath  Posted in Miscellaneous, Alpharetta Real Estate, Golf Communities Comment from: Mike [Visitor]  You need to get your facts straight. The plan for Crooked Creek has always included a guard at the front (Hiway 9) entrance and a card reader at the back. Guests would come to the front entrance to check in with the guard. Guests can be registered either online or calling the guard. Your point about taxpayers paying for the roads in CC is somewhat valid. However, the county has done little to no road repairs in my 12 years in CC. All we are asking is the city (with money from the county that was never spent in CC) to live up to their committment. Then, we will own the roads. Basically the money is to recover past usage, not future. Then the residents will support the roads. Crooked Creek, nor any primarily residential street, should not be used just because getting from west to east Milton is challenging. It should be noted that not only is the traffic excessive but (in order to make it just as timely as going around CC) the average speed on Creek Club Dr. is probably 35-45 mph. Trust me, I live on that street. The increase in homeowner's dues is double, however, for quite some time ours have been less than comparable areas and this simply brings our in to line with similar, gated communities. Even if the gating only increases my home value by 2% it will be well worth the extra cost (e.g. if I sell in less that 10 years I will still reap more value than I pay).  Permalink May 28, 2008 13:43:37Comment from: admin1 [Member] · http://www.netamorfasis.com/Hey, Mike: Aren't you glad that you can participate on this blog and correct me - or at least add more detail and flavor as a home owner in Crooked Creek. I am! That is my vision for this site: collective knowledge that is closer to the "truth" than one person's characterization. sooooo, thanks for commenting and adding your perspective. As far as the "plan" for CC including a guard, that was a dozen years ago. I don't know if it holds any ground now. As far as trying to recoup what is due the neighborhood from neglected maintenance by Fulton County, I say: "Get in line." There are neighborhoods older than CC that have been ignored longer. Every neighborhood has a claim to this money that CC is requesting and I'm not sure you can say any was every specifically earmarked for CC. Where did the $600k number come from? Bottom line is that maintenance of all the neighborhood streets is going to be a giant pill to swallow. There hasn't been a neighborhood resurfaced in Milton that I'm aware of. The City of Milton has $1.5M budgeted for pavement milling and resurfacing. I don't know how much roadway you can do for that amount and whether there is a focus on main roadways or neighborhoods. Regarding using Creek Club Dr as a cut-thru, believe me, if I lived on the street I wouldn't like it either. Bottom line again, though, is that it is a public street and people should be able to use it (and they should abide by the speed limit.) The structural problem we face is that most of our neighborhoods are single entrance so you cannot cut through. I grew up in the West where our cities were laid out on grids and you had alternative routes; in Alpharetta and Milton you're pretty much stuck on the main roadways and congested intersections. The plan in Crabapple was to alleviate some of this by adding connecting roads, which now exist in Crabapple Crossroads and Crabapple Station. I just wonder how long until residents in those neighborhoods want to shut off cut through traffic for the same reason you do. Finally, on the dues in CC, I'm not making any judgment on the amount. I think it is great that you have been able to keep dues down for so long. I will say, that with many neighborhoods now reaching the 12-14 year old mark, that improvements do need to be made. Unfortunately, getting a capital assessment passed in a neighborhood is sometimes challenging, but you are absolutely right: your home value is going to be increased by quality amenities, perhaps not by having a gate/guard, but certainly in my opinion by having quality amenities. And the HOA should promote that as a service to the homesowners to support home values. I've rambled on, but you brought up some good points I wanted to touch on. Thanks again for reading and commenting on my blog. I appreciate the insight from an actual resident in Crooked Creek. I hope that you will continue to read and comment again in the future. k. Permalink May 28, 2008 17:22:41Comment on this article Trackbacks Trackback address for this post:This post has 3 comments awaiting moderation. |
White Columns is the second neighborhood on the list to add access control to its neighborhood. I say "access control" because I’m talking about the section of White Columns that is already gated. They are now adding a guard. Why you ask? Well, a lot of people, including many who lived in the non-gated portion of White Columns, knew the gate code and would use it to cut through the neighborhood to get from Freemanville Rd to Birmingham Highway.