Bill Kennedy

News Obituary Article

ATLANTA: Bill Kennedy, longtime city planner for Atlanta

By J.E. GESHWILER

Bill Kennedy played an integral part in Atlanta's growth. What he built was consensus about the direction of that growth. He helped hammer together the framework for the city's development codes, too.

On the city's planning staff for 33 years, he had an extraordinary command of his subject. "Bill was the Franklin Garrett of Atlanta planning and land use," said a friend, Kay Beynart of Atlanta, referring to the late city historian.

"I had the privilege of working with Bill Kennedy during the administrations of Maynard Jackson and Andrew Young," said Mayor Shirley Franklin. "He was one of the key players in the city's effort to develop Atlanta as an international city. Even after he retired and was a private consultant, he always had the interest of the city at heart."

The funeral for Mr. Kennedy, 62, of Atlanta is 2 p.m. today at the Cathedral of St. Philip. He died Wednesday of a pulmonary embolism at Piedmont Hospital. H.M. Patterson & Son, Spring Hill, is in charge of arrangements.

As Atlanta's zoning chief from 1979 to 1994, Mr. Kennedy "balanced the interests of developers against those of neighborhood residents and preservationists and managed to win the trust of everybody involved," said Leon Eplan of Atlanta, former city planning commissioner.

"Bill was a real peacemaker," said Katharine Kelly of Atlanta, president of Green Street Properties. 'Speaking from a developer's perspective, he was tremendously helpful in guiding us through City Hall regulatory hoops."

"Many places in the city are better off because of Bill Kennedy's willingness to share his expertise in zoning and land use to the benefit of neighborhoods and their residents," said Mtaminika Youngblood of Atlanta, chairwoman of the Historic District Development Corp.

Preservationists respected him too. "Bill was an outstanding planner with a great vision and a warm, generous spirit,' said Greg Paxton of Atlanta, president of the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation. 'He had excellent insight into the benefits of preserving the past and its relationship to the city's future."

Mr. Kennedy wrote or co-wrote Atlanta ordinances on zoning, signage, preservation and developers' impact fees. As a consultant for the last nine years, he advised metro city and county governments on land use and zoning.

At leisure, he enjoyed music, cooking and travel, often in the company of his children. In each case, said his sister Nancy Jessup of Duluth, he displayed a preference for things Italian --- whether he was going to the opera, fixing a five-course meal or touring Rome for yet another time.

Survivors include three daughters, Rebecca Seay of Smyrna and Marjorie Kennedy and Sarah Kennedy, both of Atlanta; his mother, Gladys Meredith of Cumming; another sister, Rebecca Fuss of Cumming; and a brother, Randy Kennedy of Cumming.

© 2003 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution