By the Historic Designation Committee
As you may have heard in January’s CPNO meeting, the vote for the Historic Designation Committee’s motion to move forward to the next level of neighborhood engagement, known as Phase 2, will now take place at the March CPNO meeting on March 20th.
What will happen in Phase 2?
- Community Engagement Workshops, both in person and online, will be held over several months in which
- Neighbors will engage in the discussion to define a potential historic district.
- Feedback will be gathered, recorded, and synthesized into an outline of potential historic district and regulations.
- Workshops and writing will be led by Aaron Fortner of Canvas Planning (who did Candler Park’s master plan in 2013).
- This work is estimated to take a total of 10 months.
- Additional meetings to continue the education process and answer questions will be held with representatives from the City of Atlanta and the Historic Designation Committee.
- Vote. At the end Phase 2, Candler Park will vote on whether or not to submit the proposed district to the City of Atlanta
IF Candler Park votes yes to submit a Candler Park Historic District nomination, a 6-month process will begin in which the neighborhood will engage with the City of Atlanta staff to further revise and finalize regulations.
We look forward to seeing you at the March CPNO Meeting and, as always, if you have any questions or concerns reach out to a committee member or email us at historiccandlerpark@gmail.com.
QUICK FACTS
Historic District Regulations:
- Are uniquely crafted by each neighborhood. This allows for flexibility regarding home additions and renovations using new materials.
- Have been utilized in Atlanta for 33 years and have been successfully adopted by 22 different neighborhoods.
- Prohibit the complete demolition of a contributing structure except in extenuating circumstances. This is the only “core” regulation.
- Apply to both contributing and noncontributing structures, however those for non-contributing structures can be very minimal.
- Can allow solar panels, green building materials, handicap access, accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and other sustainable and aging-in-place features.
- Allow side and rear yard setbacks to conform to existing conditions, thus eliminating the need for this common variance.
- Do not require a review for painting, roofing and other work specified in the regulations although a building permit may be required.
- Can be changed later by the neighborhood in the event of unforeseen future needs.
- Are an overlay which allows for changes to density as needed through rezoning.
Frequently Asked Questions
In the intervening weeks, your neighbors volunteering on the committee will continue to educate and answer questions. Below are some pressing concerns and questions that have been coming up lately in our discussions:
Does a historic district help or hurt efforts to achieve housing affordability within a community?
Historic districts can have an indirect impact on preserving and increasing housing affordability when they are written to allow for a diversity of housing types. For example, a historic district can allow for a single house or structure that has the appearance of a single-family home but that allows a greater number of dwelling units inside the home or at the rear of the property, resulting in an increase in more affordable housing opportunities for the community. A historic district can also help preserve the affordability that already exists in Candler Park.
What impact does a historic district have on the allowable density within the district?
There is not a one-size-fits-all approach to allowable density within a historic district. Historic districts within established single-family neighborhoods such as Candler Park can be tailored to achieve the specific goals of the neighborhood. Historic District regulations can either overlay the existing zoning OR replace the existing zoning. An overlay district seems to be the best fit for Candler Park as it allows the underlying zoning to dictate many regulatory aspects of a property such as use and allowable density which are not touched by historic district regulations.
These aspects can also change if the property is rezoned but the overlying historic district will continue to protect the existing buildings and features which define Candler Park. For example, within a historic district, rezoning an R-4 (single-family) property to allow multiple residential units per property would enable an existing home to be divided into apartments or allow for additional detached or attached accessory dwellings (ADUs) to be added to a property.
Historic district designation is a planning tool the neighborhood can use to ensure that as Atlanta grows, the character of our neighborhood, the things that brought most of us here in the first place, will not be lost. As pointed out in an article in the January Messenger, Candler Park is identified in “Plan A: Atlanta’s 2021 Comprehensive Development Plan” (CDP) as a “conservation area” or a place that should be encouraged to “grow in ways that retain and improve their charm and their leafy tree canopy.”
Other areas such as the core of the city and major corridors like DeKalb Ave are considered growth areas in Atlanta’s 2021 CDP. Our 2013 Master Plan has some recommendations on how to rezone DeKalb properties to accommodate increased residential density.
What effect would a historic district have on homeowners who would like to add solar panels or other energy efficiency or green solutions to their homes?
There has been concern about this because past historic districts in the city have limited the placement of solar panels on roofs, however, Candler Park’s historic district does not have to restrict the placement of solar panels! Other efficiency alterations like adding storm windows or installing replacement windows with modern materials are becoming increasingly common in other historic districts as well.
Would there be any impact on homeowners who would like to add ramps or make other renovations that support aging in place or accessibility?
We certainly do not want to hinder aging in place or handicap accessibility to homes and understand that these changes may have to be made quickly.