By Emily Taff
A number of people have asked, “why does the Candler Park Historic District proposal address density?”
The historic district initiative was an outgrowth of years-long conversations around how Candler Park should grow in the future. It was brought to the forefront again by the top-down action of the citywide MR-MU proposal in 2021. So this is more than an initiative to create a historic district, it’s about collaborating on a plan to guide inevitable future changes in the neighborhood.
Atlanta is growing. People are moving intown and increasing density in and around neighborhoods like ours. This is something both the City and Candler Park residents are concerned about. Nearly 50% of respondents to Historic Designation Committee surveys last fall indicated they felt the number of dwelling units on R4 and R5 lots could (or should) increase (see Worksheets #1 and #4). As our consultant Aaron Fortner put it the survey results do not support moving forward with a historic district without addressing density.
With the chances of the City passing a density increase up in the air and residents expressing such clear values, the committee’s solution was to develop a plan to meet multiple resident values. That plan includes:
- Protecting buildings from demolition while simultaneously increasing allowable dwelling units per lot.
- The proposal enables “gentle density” increases by raising the maximum number of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) from 1 to 3 per lot across the neighborhood.
- Any new ADU construction would still have to abide by size and lot coverage limits, etc.
Increasing allowable dwelling units per lot alone can incentivize demolition and new construction, which is typically at the expense of affordability, the tree canopy, and the neighborhood’s historic fabric.
By contrast, coupling historic district regulations with neighbor-supported density increases would protect the physical characteristics that attracted many of us to Candler Park in the first place, while allowing us to welcome new neighbors and increase support for walkable amenities. In addition, by protecting historically smaller dwellings and allowing “gentle density” increases that favor smaller dwelling units, a historic district could enable the retention and creation of more affordable housing options.
Finally, this is a way to establish our own development standards and the draft regulations are our way of capturing the voices and priorities of our residents without having the city do that for us.
Emily Taff is a 10-year resident of Candler Park and chair of the Historic Designation Committee.