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THE NEIGHBORHOOD News • Features
Neighborhood Blueprint
New Poncey-Highland Historic District preserves character, offers flexibility
By Collin Kelley and Julie Herron Carson
B eth McDonald and Lisa Malaney
have lost count of the number
of hours they've worked over
the last three-plus years to bring
the Poncey-Highland Historic
District to fruition, but both agree the work
is not over yet.
Residents, commercial building owners,
Neighborhood Planning Unit-N, and
the City of Atlanta approved the plan in
mid-September last year, and it's likely
to become a blueprint for other Intown
neighborhoods. McDonald and Malaney
said the goal of the historic district
zoning has always been to preserve the
neighborhood's unique historic character
and buildings, while allowing property
owners the flexibility to improve their
homes and businesses and even construct
new buildings.
The 20-street Poncey-Highland
neighborhood was originally developed
between 1910 and 1940 as Atlantans took
advantage of the expanded streetcar
system to move out of the central city
and into more suburban neighborhoods.
6 January 2021 | HU
Bounded by Ponce de Leon Avenue to
the north, Moreland Avenue to the east,
Freedom Parkway to the south and the
Atlanta Beltline Eastside Trail to the west,
the neighborhood includes single-family
homes, established businesses, the Jimmy
Carter Presidential Library and Museum,
apartment and condominium buildings,
parks, churches and more.
The arrival of the BeltLine and Ponce
City Market turned the spotlight on Poncey-
Highland and developers began to circle,
McDonald said.
"In 2018, developers approached
property owners on Somerset Terrace about
selling their bungalows so they could be
torn down fortownhomes," McDonald,
who was president of the Poncey-Highland
Neighborhood Association from 2016 to
2019, recalled. "We were playing whack-
a-mole with developers, and it became
obvious that if we didn't start doing things
differently, there wouldn't be anything left
to preserve."
Malaney, the PHNA land use chair, said
uncertainty about the fate of Briarcliff Plaza
- the historic shopping strip at Ponce de
Leon and N. Highland that is home to the
Plaza Theatre and Majestic Diner - when it
was sold 2017 "lit a fire" under her to pursue
the historic district zoning.
Two of Poncey-Highland's streets
- Somerset Terrace and Bonaventure -
got historic status before the rest of the
neighborhood. Located adjacent to the
BeltLine, the bungalow-lined streets were
under threat by developers.
"After that success, folks wanted to
know when something else would be done
for the rest of neighborhood," Malaney said.
The PHNA turned to a familiar face when
it came time to guide the neighborhood
through the process. Caleb Racicot,
community planner and senior principal
of Atlanta-based TSW, drafted Poncey-
Highland's original master plan in 2009, and
was subsequently re-hired to draft the new
zoning.
"I truly believe this new type of Historic
District will serve as a model for other
neighborhoods across the country,” Racicot
said. "Many historic districts are created
to 'freeze' a neighborhood at a specific
moment in time. The Poncey-Highland
neighborhood took a much more creative
approach that preserves the neighborhood's
unique features, while allowing it to evolve
appropriately to meet the needs and desires
of future residents and businesses."
The new historic district designation
identifies and defines historic residences
as those built up to 1940 and commercial
structures built up to 1955 and still largely
intact. Staff from the Atlanta Urban Design
Commission reviewed these buildings within
Poncey-Highland and determined which
ones contribute to the neighborhood's
historic character.
In drafting the new zoning, the
neighborhood stakeholders agreed they did
not want the neighborhood to be frozen
in time. While the building facades will be
preserved, property owners are permitted
to modify and expand buildings in the rear,
including additions that increase height.
There are no restrictions governing exterior
paint colors or residential landscape design.
Racicot explained, "Working with the
Urban Design Commission and the City
of Atlanta, we created a forward-thinking
Historic District that focuses on preserving
what we called the ‘Lot Compatibility Zone.'
The
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