Historic designation has been contentious in many Atlanta neighborhoods over the last decade. Historic designation requires you to attain an additional permit from the UDC to make design changes to your home. The commission may reject your proposal if it does not fit their qualifications, many of which are subjective. At the end of the day, historic homeowners will now have to look to the city bureaucracy as the authority for their home design rather than making their decisions themselves.

Home aesthetics are by nature subjective, meaning what some homeowners think looks good, others will not like. Historic designation standardizes aesthetic design based on what the UDC thinks is worth preserving. Legislating aesthetics opens a new avenue that imposes additional arbitrary constraints on homeowners. If your property is found to be in violation, the city can force you to undo expensive changes to your home, regardless of the cost.