3. Character Areas

CCommunityommunity AAgendagenda - 33.. CCharacterharacter AAreasreas Character Areas - Neighborhood Center D R L L E W S O R N O R T H P S D I ID R E E PW E D D E M R R T O N H N E C T D A E R R P D A W N R B D N I D ERGH DRL E D I S H T R D O R N N T O T S L O D B L T E O S N V E A E T W R N P T O V N H M A D O C L E S A I L I P K E H P C 14TH ST A P T J M S S E E E H W M A M J A E N LD E HO T H LE DO L A S T L N A OW S M E R DE ON AV N EL KHEAD AVE S CE LE N E PO N I L P B A G KWY S NORTH AV L P I T T N O N O N U R J E T S H O L M E M S A RT ING J D K R R IN R DR L E U T H T S S R MEMORIAL DR SE E T P E RA LP H DA VID ABERNATHY BL T S U E N V E IV A L E TY T R SI S N W M O S M GA Y W MC V D K O A P N O L U N L G A E H T T I W B L SA L O JO P N O E S R B T O CA E MPBELL R T M O ON R R D D S E 4 Map produced through the City of Atlanta, Department of Planning and Community Development, Office of Planning GIS, Shawn G. Brown City of Atlanta 0 1 2 Miles Character Areas Neighborhood Center Map 3-8: Neighborhood Center 472 CCommunityommunity AAgendagenda - 33.. CCharacterharacter AAreasreas GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS Neighborhood centers are focal point of a neighborhood or group of neighborhoods. They have a concentra on of ac vi es including neighborhood orientated commercial business almost always including retail, personal services and restaurants and don’t have big box retail. Many of these shops are locally owned. Other uses o en include medium density housing, o ces, schools and other ins tu ons. The centers o en are not more than a few square blocks near the intersec on of well traveled local streets with a rela vely low travel speed. Also, they typically have historic or tradi onal building stock at a pedestrian scale of not more than three to four stories in height. The neighborhood centers are characteris cally highly walkable with abundant sidewalks, street trees, street furniture, on-street parking, and nearby accessible public or green spaces such as plaza and parks. Over me, Neighborhood Centers have developed their own individual character and iden ty. Neigh- borhood fes vals and markets are o en held in Neighborhood Centers. LOCATIONS There are many neighborhood centers around the City. Moving clockwise star ng in Midtown, these include areas at the intersec on of 10th St. and Piedmont Ave., Monroe Dr. and 10th St., Morningside, Virginia-Highland, At- kins Park, Li le Five Points neighborhood, Inman Park Village, Kirkwood, East Atlanta Village, Georgia Avenue, Lakewood and Jonesboro Road, Dill Avenue, Cascade Heights, Westview, Capitol View and the Historic Westside Village (see Map 3-8). PREFERRED DEVELOPMENT PATTERN Transporta on The neighborhood centers o en are located at or near the intersec on of well traveled de ned local or collector streets. These streets are usually only two or three lanes wide with two-way ow and a rela vely low travel speed, on street parking and typically removed from major highways. With the ex- cep on of the Historic Westside village, these areas are not directly served by MARTA rail and instead are only served via local bus lines. Almost all of the neighborhood centers are sized that they can be traversed en rely within a pleasant walking distance in comfort with abundant sidewalks and shade trees. Nevertheless, many of these exis ng sidewalks are in need of at least minor repair. Neighborhood Centers should have streetscapes with wide sidewalks, street trees and street furniture. Good pedestrian connec vity be- tween the neighborhood centers and surrounding residen al areas is impor- tant to improve their walkability and patronage by nearby residents. Parking should be shared to the extent possible and should be located predominately to the side and rear of buildings. Land Use Neighborhood centers are a hub of ac vity and give a neighborhood a de n- ing character. There is a concentra on of uses including neighborhood orientated commercial business almost always including retail, personal services and restaurants. Other uses o en include medium density housing, o ces, 473 CCommunityommunity AAgendagenda - 33.. CCharacterharacter AAreasreas schools and other ins tu onal uses. The loca ons of the school and ins tu- onal uses o en are home for community gathering spots. Also, the neighborhood centers typically have historic or tradi onal building stock at a pedestrian scale of not more than three to four stories in height, however, usually surrounded by well established low density residen al neighborhoods. Al- though the neighbor centers do not typically have large green spaces, there are o en urbanized public gathering places such as plazas within them and are nearby other accessible larger public parks. Economic Development Although the City’s neighborhood centers o er a concentra on of neighborhood orientated uses and services, they s ll have a large number of either underu lized or vacant sites which o er the opportunity for in ll redevelopment. Also, the charm of these neighborhood centers is at least in part due to the historic or tradi onal building stock. Therefore, it would be im- pera ve that the exis ng character and building be maintained as much as possible through renova on ec orts and adap ve re-use. Furthermore, public safety should be paramount u lizing a variety of means and technologies. The majority of these iden ed centers are zoned within the City of Atlanta’s Neighborhood Commercial (NC) District such that redevelopment and new in ll construc on would occur in a similar scale and higher design standard as any other readily iden able historic neighborhood center and be rea- sonably protected from higher density and commercial externali es such as increased parking demands. Also, in some cases, certain neighborhood centers have had an overabundance of par cular uses such as restaurants or personal services or have been burdened by prohibi ve alcohol licensing requirements which does not allow for full diversity of neighborhood-orientated commercial uses as well as quality businesses to serve the surrounding residen al neighborhoods. Locally owned businesses should be encouraged in Neighborhood Centers. Primary Land Uses Commercial O ce Residen al Ins tu onal Educa onal POLICIES Neighborhood Centers have policies intended to maintain and enhance their vitality including: Maintain and improve upon public safety. Preserve and restore exis ng, tradi onal and pedestrian scale and character of buildings in established neighborhoods. Promote a balance of retail, service, o ce, dining and residen al uses serving the adjacent neighborhoods. 474 CCommunityommunity AAgendagenda - 33.. CCharacterharacter AAreasreas Place controls on the development of larger scale strip development which are intended to serve larger areas than a single neighborhood or a small group of neighborhoods. Encourage integrated modes of transporta on including pedestrian, bicycle, auto and the use of public transporta on including MARTA by promo ng “complete streets”. Require new in ll development to be compa ble with the scale, height and character of adjoining neighborhoods and discourage auto-orientated uses. Provide a rac ve pedestrian oriented storefronts and ac vi es adjacent to sidewalks such as outdoor cafes/ markets. Facilitate safe, a rac ve and convenient pedestrian circula on with wide tree lined sidewalks that is part of an integrated transporta on network. Encourage the rehabilita on or development of neighborhood commercial areas to include propor onately signi cant residen al uses. Protect exis ng commercial areas from uses and building forms which are incompa ble with the scale, character and needs of the adjacent neighborhoods. Minimize the use of adjacent neighborhood streets for commercial area parking by establishing adequate parking requirements and encouraging shared parking arrangements. Encourage the adap ve re-use of exis ng building stock. Encourage public/ins tu onal uses such as community centers and libraries that encourage community gathering. Encourage mixed-use ver cal buildings providing residen al uses above retail uses. Prevent the expansion of non-residen al uses into residen al areas. Provide diverse and more ac ordable housing opportuni es accessible for all ages. IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES All neighborhood centers are in con nuous ec orts to maintain and enhance for their respec ve neighborhood centers. These speci c ac vi es include: Improve public safety with a variety of means and technologies. Improve vehicular and pedestrian connec vity and ADA access. Employ addi onal on-street parking and tra c calming measures. Promote locally owned businesses. Encourage more small scaled grocery stores and or fresh food op ons. Provide for a wider variety of commercial uses that meets the needs of the neighborhoods.

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