Ansley Park residents are asking many questions about this whole process, and we want to answer some of them for you to further the conversation as a community. We not only want to discuss this issue generally but also the holistic effects this will have on you as a homeowner.
Historic Districts are groups of buildings or properties that are recognized by the city with the goal of preserving that history. Along with this recognition comes additional constraints on what can and cannot be built, changed, or modified. Currently most properties in Ansley Park are zoned R4. Some are zoned RG3. Both existing zoning classifications provide objective rules that all property owners can easily interpret and follow. The Historic District designation is a more restrictive zoning classification that would be added to the current zoning and would supersede the current zoning where they conflict. For a more comprehensive understanding, please read the Code of Ordinances here.
The Urban Design Commission (UDC) determines what is historic for your home. The committee discusses the “character-defining features” of each home reviewed and makes determinations based on what they think those features are. Features like ironwork, the style of a roof, chimneys, or porch design could all be considered original and character-defining features, even if they are inoperable, such as a faux second story.
Chapter twenty offers the following definition: A building, structure or site which reinforces the visual integrity or historic interpretability of a district, historic area or historic zone. APF has determined that any house built between 1904 and 1966 that has not been substantially changed (exact meaning unknown) would be a contributing structure.
Research on the property value changes to historic districts is mixed, but in general, articles that account for significant variables, such as the fact that historic districts generally already contain higher value properties, usually find that property values decrease compared to the trends of the neighborhood prior to the historic designation.
Here is an article that explains why that may be, and it finds values decrease an average of 11-16%. Many real estate agents agree in their experience, since potential homeowners dislike the additional restrictions. The negative impact on property values is expected to be especially impactful for homes in Ansley Park with less square footage since the ability to add additional interior space will be severely curtailed by the historic designation.
According to Alex Wan’s office, the proposal related to zoning near Marta stations has been tabled for now because the Planning Director who was pushing it, Tim Keane, is no longer with the city, and the Councilmember sponsoring the zoning change, Amir Farokhi, is no longer on the City Council Zoning Committee.
Ansley Park Forever (APF) and the APCA have promoted the Historic District as a way to protect the neighborhood from future rezoning attempts by the City; however, it may not actually do that since the Historic Designation does not prevent the city from making additional zoning modifications through future legislation. In reality, the neighborhood stopped the recent rezoning attempt through its advocacy efforts.
If one looks at the history of tear downs and new houses in Ansley, most of the new houses have been improvements over the houses that they replaced. Some of the most architecturally significant homes in the neighborhood were built recently, and certainly after 1966. Anyone is free to seek a historic designation to protect their own home. To do that they don’t have to force the classification of contributing structure on others who don’t want it.
The Historic District requires an additional step before a property owner can qualify to submit their home improvement for a building permit. The additional step involves submitting an application to the City for what is called a “Certificate of Appropriateness” (COA). The City staff reviews the application for compliance with the objective criteria of the zoning ordinance (variance requests, building setbacks, height, lot coverage, etc.) and subjective criteria (style, look, feel). The staff submits their report and recommendation to the “Urban Design Commission” (UDC). The staff report states areas of compliance or non-compliance with the ordinance, makes variance request recommendations, and makes a stylistic recommendation about whether the project looks acceptable to them. The UDC is a politically appointed body charged with approving or not approving your design. Typically, a project that goes before the UDC will require more than one meeting before they grant a COA. In addition, certain exterior modifications to your home that would otherwise not require a building permit will still be subject to a Certificate of Appropriateness. There are numerous examples in other Atlanta Historic Districts where COAs have been denied for proposed minor home modifications due to look, feel, and other subjective criteria.
Yes, Historic designation covers the entire neighborhood. Houses are separated into contributing and non-contributing status, but the homeowners themselves have no say in whether their house is contributing or not. Both kinds of homes are restricted and are subject to the Urban Design Commission requirements and approvals for certain home modifications, but contributing households are subject to additional constraints.
Your house will be under the most restrictive controls of the Historic District designation. You and any subsequent buyer would be unable to make significant modifications to your home visible from the street nor would you be able to demolish your home unless you are able to prove that the house is a threat to safety and health and/or the renovations needs are not economically feasible. This is an incredibly high bar that is expensive and time consuming to pursue and very difficult to achieve.
You cannot opt out of being classified as a contributing structure. Your only recourse would be to hire an attorney and challenge the classification in court.
Many homeowners are completely content with the design of their house, and that is fantastic. There are two main reasons you should still be concerned about historic designation:
All properties within Ansley Park would be subject to the historic designation. Like single family homes, condo and apartment buildings will be required to seek a COA from the Urban Design Commission for exterior modifications to their properties.
The property rights of condo owners are particularly at risk from historic designation due to the inherent subjectivity of the COA process. Minor modifications such as changes to walkways, windows, retaining walls, entry doors, etc could be held up or denied due to the restrictions being proposed.
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