Restrictions in Historic District Go Too Far, Owners Say

publication date: Dec 17, 2007

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author/source: Jonathan Copsey / STAFF

Mayor Jere Wood (left) discusses the redevelopment of Atlanta Street with consultant Larissa Brown. The next meeting will take place January 16.

Many Roswell residents were shocked during last week’s Atlanta Street Corridor Study meeting to learn that the city has only one set of design guidelines for the entire Historic District.

It came to light when Mary Means, a consultant hired by the city to help come up with a plan for the redevelopment of Atlanta Street and the Town Center, showed the audience of about 50 people an official form detailing the historic preservation of a house in the Historic District. There were so many improvements and alterations that very little of the original house was left.

But under the one set of design guidelines used by Roswell, the house’s use and design was limited to the same regulations that govern the city’s truly historic houses, such as Barrington Hall and Bulloch Hall.

“I have a hard time thinking buildings like this are worth planning around,” Means said.

The audience was mainly critical of the city and the regulations governing the Historic District. Many in attendance were either developers or land owners with property in the study area who have been frustrated by Roswell’s stringent regulation and what they consider to be disregard for the economy of the area.

One woman at the meeting owns a building on Atlanta Street that she was hoping to rent to a business. But parking and traffic are problems, and she had a $14,000 brick facing “de-approved” by the Historic Preservation Committee, forcing her to tear down the newly installed facing.

She was very unhappy – and her story was not unique. Meantime, her building stands empty.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen so detailed design guidelines as you have here,” said Means, who has worked in many historic cities, including Arlington, Va. She said an unintended consequence of the heavy-handed guidelines has been that businesses and developers have chosen to build elsewhere, with current landowners sitting on vacant lots and empty buildings.

The meeting was not all negative. The audience was receptive to the improvements put forward by the consultants, with several saying that such ideas are long overdue, including having several levels of design guidelines.

Roundabouts for traffic calming were a highlight.

More than 2,000 cars per hour pass through the intersection of Atlanta Street and Riverside Road, for example, and the consultants showed several tests they ran on possible improvements, including a “pseudo-roundabout,” which is a two-lane roundabout with traffic signals.

But traffic at the intersection is so bad that even a five-lane roundabout would experience backups, the consultants said.

Making the Oak Street area into an “Arts Village” also was discussed, including a basic bulldozing of all the properties there to make way for high density “cottages” and small single-family housing clustered closely together.

No ideas are set in stone, and the plan was being created for the sake of having a plan, explained Larissa Brown of Goody Clancy, head of the consultant team.

“When a community has a plan, it sends a message to the property owners and potential investors,” Brown said.    

Mayor Jere Wood was in attendance and was encouraged by the discussions.

“Whatever project is finally settled upon it is going to require community support,” he said, “and I could see this community was energized and interested in developing a vision.”

The next meeting to discuss the Atlanta Street Corridor Study will be January 16, when a final draft will be presented to the public.