Neighborhood Blueprint

New Poncey-Highland Historic District preserves character, offers flexibility

By Collin Kelley and Julie Herron Carson

Beth 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.

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 PonceyHighland 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 for townhomes,” McDonald, who was president of the Poncey-Highland Neighborhood Association from 2016 to 2019, recalled. “We were playing whacka-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 PonceyHighland’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 zone

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