April 2025 Newsletter
Cedar Creek
CIVIC ASSOCIATION
ATHENS, GEORGIA
Upcoming CCCA Board Meetings:
April 17, 2025, 7 PM, 160 Spruce Valley Rd
May 15, 2025, 7 PM, 160 Spruce Valley Rd
Current Membership: 210 toward our goal of 266 of 657 homes
April marks our final effort to encourage more Cedar Creek residents to join the CCCA. Non-member residents will soon receive a postcard reminder in the mail. Please discuss the CCCA with your neighbors and invite them to help us maintain our community's status as the best in Athens.
CCCA Board News
Board Members Needed: The Board still needs a Secretary and Leaders for our social events. We are getting by without a secretary, but without someone volunteering to lead either the summer yard sale event or the fall festival event, neither can move forward this year. If you are interested, email CedarCreekCAAthens@gmail.com.
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Change to Board Membership: David Forker recently resigned as Chair of the Landscape and Beautification Committee. Cla Allgood, has agreed to fill the position through the end of this year. Cla has a degree in landscape architecture from UGA and is manager of a Georgia company that specializes in landscape architecture using water features. We welcome Cla to our board.
CCCA Stickers
We are still distributing stickers to new CCCA members. If you have paid for 2025 and have yet to receive your stickers, let us know via email to CedarCreekCAAthens@gmail.com.
Ponderosa Dr entrance sign light
This light has been out for some time now due to the failure of the electric meter pole. We have been pursuing permission from the county to install a solar panel in the median to power the light. Due to the unique nature of this request, we have experienced delays. We hope to settle this by the end of April.
Update: Cedar Ridge Planned Development
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At the request of the developer and Cedar Creek residents, the Mayor and Commissioners on April 1 voted to delay a final vote on this development for 40 days until a formal traffic study could be performed to determine whether a traffic light is warranted for the new intersection of Gaines School Rd, Ponderosa Dr and the proposed extension of Woody Lane. The traffic study was performed and the conclusion is that a traffic light is not warranted. The expected number of cars entering/exiting Gaines School Rd from Ponderosa Dr and expected growth from the proposed Woody Lane extension are insufficient to justify the expense and additional risk of a traffic signal (most traffic accidents happen at lights). Other issues with the proposed Cedar Ridge Planned Development, such as high building density, buildings placed close to roads, reduced green space between the buildings and roads, uncertain tree replacement plans, and building heights up 35 feet, describe a development that is out of proportion and unlike the surrounding residential neighborhoods and other commercial businesses along this stretch of Gaines School Rd. Our Commissioner, Patrick Davenport and Commissioner Taylor in whose district this development is located are on record as opposing this development. A vote on this development will be taken at either the May 6 or June 3 regular Mayor and Commissioners meeting. We will keep you posted.
TSPLOST 2026 Advisory Committee Meeting April 14
Georgia law allows local communities to use Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (TSPLOST) proceeds for transportation purposes if approved by voters in a referendum. Voters approved the first TSPLOST in 2018 and again in 2023. These programs added a 1% sales tax to the overall 7% sales tax for Athens-Clarke County If a TSPLOST 2026 program is approved in May of 2026, the 8% rate would continue.
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To date, 71 proposals have been submitted for TSPLOST 2026 funding. A list with summaries of all proposals is available at https://www.accgov.com/tsplost2026. The TSPLOST 2026 Advisory Committee is charged with recommending candidate projects for adoption by the Mayor and Commissioners who make the final decision of which projects will appear in the referendum. Funding is limited and competition to get projects approved is great. The Advisory Committee will review two Eastside projects on April 14th in the Planning Department Conference Room, 120 West Daugherty St at 5:30 PM. We encourage Cedar Creek residents to attend this meeting and support the following projects:
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Project 13. The Eastside Athens Complete Streets Redevelopment Project proposes to make Eastside Athens safer and better connected by creating separated multi-use paths (mups = walkers+bicycles+scooters) from Cedar Shoals HS to Hilsman Middle School in Phase 1. Later phases add mups south to College Station Rd and north to Lexington Rd. The project also includes improvements to intersections, roads, and storm water infrastructure. The goal is to eventually have non-vehicle connections among neighborhoods, schools, businesses and the future Eastside Town Center
Project 37 The Barnett Shoals Crosswalk & Safety Project aims to install 3-4 more Pedestrian Hybrid Beacons (crosswalks) and refuge islands at selected locations between Research Dr and Lexington Rd to allow residents living, walking and cycling to safely cross Barnett Shoals Road and to allow safe access to the new Eastside Library, to county trails and to bus services. The project would include a roadway safety audit, roadway preservation treatments, and improved bike lanes.
ACC Future Land Use Map Town Hall
Hilsman Middle School,
April 16 5:30 - 7 PM
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We strongly encourage Cedar Creek residents to attend.
The Future Land Use Map will drive development and
investment in the Eastside of Athens for years to come.
Voice your concerns before these maps are finalized.​
Posters showing current and future proposed land use will be on view.​
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Commissioner Carol Myers, will provide the big picture perspective on why the future land use map is important.
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Alex Sams, Future Land Use Map Steering Committee chair, will discuss its membership and charge, how the committee approached the issue of accommodating growth while retaining a neighborhood scale, and why having a Future Land Use map is important.
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Bruce Lonnee, director of the ACC Planning Department, will discuss the Town Center concept, Minor Corridors and other land use designations with focus on Eastside Athens.
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A Q and A session will follow. Click here to see more information on the Future Land Use Map
2025 State of the Community Address by Mayor Kelly Girtz
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The 2025 State of the Community Address video from Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz provides an overview of 2024 ACC government and community activities, accomplishments, and responses, as well as a look ahead to future initiatives. View the address on YouTube here:
Cedar Creek Swimming Pool 2025 Registration
Registration for 2025 pool membership opened on April 1. Pool membership is open to anyone in the community- not just Cedar Creek residents. The pool contains saltwater and is chlorinated. It stays warm all season and there are plenty of sunny and shaded spaces for members to relax. The pool season runs from May 3 to Sept 21. Go to https://sites.google.com/site/cedarcreekpool/membership-information for information on how to join.
Going Native by Sheila S. Hudson
What I know about gardening could fit into a thimble. So how did I get the assignment to write about native plants of Georgia? Only God knows! Nevertheless, I am not one to shirk responsibilities so I went to the person with the most insight on this subject – the Grumpy Gardener. If you are wondering, he is a columnist at Southern Living. He recommends a couple of varieties of pampas grass and dusty miller for borders. Another suggestion is to use ornamental ground covers in place of boring grass, something which I am going to check out.
This is my first spring in Cedar Creek so I am checking out the foliage and buds on our plants. I know we have a couple of tulip trees which are really magnolia cousins. I’ve also spotted some kind of weird lemon tree as well as bountiful azaleas. I can’t wait for them to bloom. The jonquils and daffodils planted by the former owners have now popped up their yellow faces. They are most welcome! I want to encircle them with rosebushes and tulips when the weather permits.
On my daily – more correctly three times a week walk – with my chiweenie, I’ve discovered dogwoods that are ready to bloom along with a crocus bed and blueberry bushes. My neighbors are proliferate gardeners so their yard promises to be a colorful one this spring. As for me, I will continue my following of the Grumpy Gardener aka Steve Bender who is very nice and not cranky at all.
The CCCA Board and Committee Chairs regularly post on the Cedar Creek Neighborhood groups on Next Door and Facebook. Join us there.
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​Printing of this newsletter graciously provided locally in Athens by Jack Jones of Duplicating Systems, Inc.