Construction, Renovation and Neighbors

I'll admit I borrowed much of these thoughts from another website, which were copied, also uncredited, from somewhere else. The original author is unknown.

Renovation and construction projects require cooperation with neighbors who are impacted by the process. When planning a project, communicate with your neighbors before work begins. Sharing plans and responding to questions can resolve most issues. Anyone concerned about a neighborhood renovation should attempt to communicate directly with the property owner before involving City of Atlanta officials.

Talk with neighbors:

• Will trees be removed?
  

• Have erosion and water retention issues been addressed, especially for those homes situated on higher points?

• Have the appropriate building permits and/or variances been applied for and received?
  

• Is the renovation in keeping with the neighborhood?

Inform your contractors and subcontractors of regulations (or just good manners) and monitor for compliance.

• Limit parking to one side of the street to prevent hazards for cars and pedestrians.

• Do not allow mailboxes to be blocked.

• Locate port-o-potty away from the street if possible. (Even though this does keep some of our joggers from engaging in public indecency.)

• Require regular trash pickup and keep construction site clean. Ask that workers dispose of the remains of their meals in dumpsters and not on the ground.
  

• Install silt fencing and other erosion controls.
  

• Post permits in a visible place.

• Observe height restrictions, set-backs and all other zoning regulations.

• Schedule construction, deliveries and port-a-potty services with neighbors in mind: no earlier than 8am on weekdays and within the hours of 9am to 5pm on weekends. Excessively noisy work such as tree removal and jackhammers should not take place on weekends.

• Atlanta Memorial Park is not a dump. Landscaping debris should be disposed of lawfully. Professional landscapers are required to take it away. (Along those lines, residents may leave yard waste at the curb for pickup, so there is no reason to dump illegally in the park.)
  

If building codes and other ordinances are blatantly defied after civilized requests, of course reporting to the appropriate authority is in order. No one has the right to disrupt the neighborhood, build out of scale, damage the environment or cause someone else's home or land to be flooded.