The Virginia Highland Civic Association (VHCA)
Neighborhood Preservation Steering Committee

What is the Steering Committee and what are they doing?

The VHCA Neighborhood Preservation Steering Committee was formed in March of 2007 by the VHCA to address the problem of neighborhood infill.  Infill can be loosely defined as the demolition of current, intact and original homes and replacement with much larger structures that are out of character with the rest of the neighborhood.  Infill was identified as the first priority of current residents among the majority of respondents in a 2007 community-wide survey.  Although there is currently legislation being considered by the Atlanta City Council on infill regulation, designation as a local historic district offers the another possible form of protection.  The VHCA Neighborhood Preservation Steering Committee was created to chart and explore the optimal way to utilize local historic zoning as a way to address resident concerns.

Local historic zoning is different from classification as a historical neighborhood in the National Register of Historic Places.  For detailed information on the differences between these two designations, please see the document, “The National Register of Historic Places: Recognizing and Preserving Our Historic Properties” and visit their website at http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/.  Local historic zoning is developed and enforced by local governments.  Therefore the process and the protections it affords vary from location to location.  In the City of Atlanta, the Atlanta Urban Design Commission (AUDC) is charged with local historic district management, planning and enforcement issues.  To learn more about the AUDC, please go to their website at http://www.atlantaga.gov/government/urbandesign.aspx.  Local historic designation is utilized by communities as a way to protect pre-identified attributes of existing structures through the addition of new, and changing of current, zoning regulations.  Zoning regulations dictate what can and cannot be done to structures within the applicable area.  Although local historic districts typically add zoning regulations, they can often change existing zoning regulations at the same time to make the variance process easier for some things.  In the case of Atkins Park, homeowners decided to change the standard city-wide 7-foot side yard setback to 3-feet thereby eliminating the need for a variance in applicable, construction and renovation projects.

There are three types of local historic districts that neighborhoods in the City of Atlanta can consider.  They include:

1. Conservation District: Homeowners develop non-binding zoning regulations.  Since they are non-binding, this offers the least protection
2. Historic Overlay District: Homeowners develop binding zoning regulations that essentially overlay, existing zoning regulations.  These typically apply to structural features that are visible from the street (the front of the structure only).
3. Landmark District: Homeowners develop binding zoning regulations that often apply to numerous parts of the structure and includes features on all sides (front, back, sides).

The VHCA and the Neighborhood Preservation Committee has decided that a historic overlay district is the optimal choice to pursue since it affords the optimal combination of protection with flexibility for homeowners.

What has the Steering Committee been doing to date?

The Steering Committee has met weekly since March of 2007.  During this time, the Committee has primarily gathered information from various persons and organizations.  Members of the Steering Committee have extensively talked to, and continue to talk with, representatives associated with local historic activities such as the Atlanta Urban Design Commission and the neighborhood associations of, Atkins Park, Midtown, Inman Park and Peachtree Heights.  The first and foremost issue identified among all of these discussions was the issue of communication and insuring that accurate, up-to-date and complete information is distributed and/or made easily available to residents on this issue.  One of the other most important issues identified was the importance of facilitating discussions among residents so that residents may decide for themselves what structural attributes in their neighborhood they want to protect.

Through these efforts, the Steering Committee has identified several key messages that are key “talking points”.  These talking points are designed to be:

• dynamic (as this effort progresses, they will likely change)
• simple (illustrate the key components of this effort with the understanding that we are at the very beginning of a long process)
• positive (this effort empowers the community residents themselves to decide what attributes of the buildings in their part of the neighborhood are important to protect and how they want to do it)
• The Steering Committee is also organizing a list of motivated volunteers to assist in coordinating activities in the sub-committee activities:
• Photography: A systematic photographic inventory of all structures, lots and parks within the VH neighborhood
• Information Management: Developing an electronic database to manage information collected on structures
• Communications: Serving to ensure that this process and all related activities are open, transparent as well as providing regular updates of accurate information to all residents through a variety of mechanisms including: email listservs, mailings, and the VHCA website
• Regulations and Ordinance: Developing resources, such as informational materials and subject matter experts, for neighborhood residents to draw from if desired, during this process

Where is this going?

At this point there is much work to be done.  The formal process for establishing an application packet for consideration by the AUDC and the City of Atlanta is outlined here.  Although the process is relatively straightforward once all of the components (as outlined) are complete, it typically takes months to years to finish all of the components in an open, transparent manner that affords all residents the maximum opportunity to comment and provide input.  The VH neighborhood is one of the largest communities in Atlanta to ever undertake a historical effort like this and it will take time to make sure it is done right, if indeed it is what the neighborhood wants.  We will need to inventory all of the structures within the VH neighborhood and collect limited information on all of them (for example, current owners, architect, etc.).  We will need many volunteers to help collect this information as well as organize it.  Through this process, we may identify sub-areas within the VH neighborhood where structures might share common attributes with other buildings in a given part of the neighborhood but not necessarily with all structures in the entire neighborhood.  If such naturally occurring distinctions exist, they would make logical boundaries for separate sub-areas within a larger historical overlay district.  Sub-area residents will then have the opportunity to sit down together and begin a lengthy process of reviewing these attributes, deciding which ones to protect and then drafting potential zoning regulations for their sub-area.

Where do I go for more information?

• Please go to the VHCA Historic webpage at http://www.vahi.org/planning/historic.html
• Please sign up to receive periodic email updates or ask questions by contacting the VHCA Neighborhood Preservation Steering Committee at npc@vahi.org
• Please attend one of our bimonthly volunteer meetings typically held ever other Wednesday at 7:30 PM at The Church of our Savior Episcopal Church at 1068 North Highland Avenue in Virginia Highlands, at the intersection of Los Angeles and North Highland Avenue. Please email npc@vahi.org for full details.