DRAFT - September 8, 2008 Neighborhood Master Plan Sponsored by: Kwanza Hall, Atlanta City Council District 2 Poncey-Highland Neighborhood Association Prepared by: Tunnell-Spangler-Walsh & Associates April 29, 2010 City of Atlanta The Honorable Mayor Kasim Reed Atlanta City Council Ceasar Mitchell, President Carla Smith, District 1 Kwanza Hall, District 2 Ivory Lee Young Jr., District 3 Cleta Winslow, District 4 Natalyn Mosby Archibong, District 5 Alex Wan, District 6 Howard Shook, District 7 Yolanda Adrian, District 8 Felicia A. Moore, District 9 C.T. Martin, District 10 Keisha Bottoms, District 11 Joyce Sheperd, District 12 Michael Julian Bond, Post 1 At-Large Aaron Watson, Post 2 At-Large H. Lamar Willis, Post 3 At-Large Department of Planning and Community Development James Shelby, Commissioner Bureau of Planning Charletta Wilson Jacks, Acting Director Garnett Brown, Assistant Director 55 Trinity Avenue, Suite 3350 • Atlanta, Georgia 30303 • 404-330-6145 http://www.atlantaga.gov/government/planning/burofplanning.aspx ii Acknowledgements Department of Public Works Tunnell-Spangler-Walsh & Associates Michael J. Cheyne, Interim Commissioner Caleb Racicot, Senior Principal Adam Williamson, Principal Department of Parks Jia Li, Planner/Designer Paul Taylor, Interim Commissioner Woody Giles, Planner Atlanta Police Department, Zone 5 Service Donations The following organizations provided donations of time and Major Khirus Williams, Commander services to the master planning process: Atlanta Public Schools American Institute of Architects, Atlanta Chapter Tunnell-Spangler-Walsh & Associates Beverly Hall, Superintendent Facility Donations Poncey-Highland Neighborhood The following organizations made their facilities available for Association community and advisory committee meetings: Lenore Caroll, President The Carter Center Jim McMahel, Chair, Master Plan Steering Druid Hills Baptist Church Committee Chris Jenko, Chair, Land Use Committee Patricia Bauer Steve Black Richard Bunn Anna Foote Edward Holifield Kathy Hutcherson Ryan James Tim Nichols Steven Snow Gregory Steigerwalt Mimi Walker iii This page is intentionally left blank. iv Table of Contents Part 1: Executive Summary . 1 Part 2: Context and History . .11 Part 3: Existing Conditions. 17 3.1 Demographics & Socioeconomics . .18 3.2 Land use . .20 3.3 Housing. 24 3.4 Transportation . .25 3.5: Environment. 32 3.6: Infrastructure & Facilities. .33 3.7 Urban Design & Historic Resources. .35 Part 4: Recommendations . 41 4.1 Demographics & Socioeconomics. 44 4.2 Land Use. .45 4.3 Housing. 53 4.5 Environment. .65 4.6 Infrastructure & Facilities. .67 4.7 Urban Design & Historic Resources. .68 Part 5: Public Involvement. 71 Part 6: Implementation. .75 6.1: Action Program. 76 6.2: Land Use & Zoning Changes. .82 Poncey-Highland Neighborhood Master Plan v This page is intentionally left blank. vi Poncey-Highland Neighborhood Master Plan Part 1: Executive Summary Sponsored by: Kwanza Hall, Atlanta City Council District 2 Poncey-Highland Neighborhood Association Prepared by: Tunnell-Spangler-Walsh & Associates Poncey-Highland Neighborhood Master Plan 1 Executive Summary Introduction It is bounded on the north by Ponce de Leon Avenue, on the east by Moreland Avenue, on the In many ways Poncey-Highland is one of Atlanta’s south by Freedom Parkway, and on the west by model neighborhoods. With its fine grained mix the BeltLine. This area is approximately 241 acres of housing types and businesses, its walkable, or 0.37 square miles in area. human-scaled streets, and a desire to thoughtfully accommodate growth, Poncey-Highland offers Master Plan Goals both a glimpse of Atlanta’s historic urbanism and a way of neighborhood building that is increasingly The goals of this master plan are to: key to addressing today’s urban challenges. • Define what Poncey-Highland should be in 25, or even 50, years. This master plan is a community-based vision for • Encourage a diverse and sustainable mix of guiding growth and change in the neighborhood. housing, employment, shopping, and open It calls for doing so in a way that preserves and space. builds on neighborhood strengths, addresses challenges and weaknesses, and takes full • Accommodate and encourage smart growth advantage of Poncey-Highland’s potential. and redevelopment while protecting the neighborhood character, businesses, and The study area includes all of Poncey-Highland. residents. Figure 1.1: Poncey-Highland Neighborhood Boundaries 2 Poncey-Highland Neighborhood Master Plan Executive Summary • Improve the neighborhood’s aesthetics. • Leverage BeltLine-related growth to foster improvements throughout the neighborhood. • Create a stronger identity and character for Poncey-Highland. It is was with these community-based goals in mind that the master planning effort has been guided. Existing Conditions The planning process included a detailed review of existing conditions. Transportation, land use, urban design, historic resources, demographics, parks, and other existing conditions were carefully reviewed during the planning process to identify A historically compatible mix of commercial and residential areas characterizes the neighborhood opportunities and issues. Among the key findings are that: • Neighborhood residents are diverse in terms of age, race, income, and educational level. • The neighborhood has a wealth of historic resources. • Historically the neighborhood was character- ized by a human-scaled, architecturally rich, urban fabric. Major damage was done to this fabric in the twentieth century, particularly by the planned Stone Mountain Expressway and auto-oriented commercial growth. • The neighborhood’s mix of land uses is domi- nated by single-family houses, duplexes, mul- Many of Poncey-Highland’s historic houses have been tifamily blocks, and commercial uses. restored and contribute to the neighborhood’s character • Existing C1 and C2 zoning along major corridors threatens their historic, walkable urbanism. • Development pressure is changing the face of many parts of the neighborhood, particularly adjacent to the BeltLine. • The neighborhood is well served by schools, churches, and public facilities. • The neighborhood benefits from Freedom Park, but several park improvements are needed. • Bus and rail service exist in and near the neigh- borhood, and new facilities are proposed, but much remains to be done to maximize use. • Vehicular traffic is well-served by an existing grid of streets, but opportunities exist to create Freedom Park is a major neighborhood amenity new streets and improve roadway operations. Poncey-Highland Neighborhood Master Plan 3 Executive Summary • High speed cut-through traffic is a problem along North Avenue and several other streets. • Walking is supported by compact land use pat- terns, but poor sidewalk conditions and pedes- trian-unfriendly development, particularly along Ponce de Leon Avenue, discourages walking. • A range of bicycle facilities exist, including off- street trails and on-street bike routes, but oppor- tunities exist to improve biking conditions. Land Use Recommendations The recommended land use plan permits growth, but directs it into appropriate locations, as shown in the Framework Plan on the following page. Revitalized and new park space will benefit Poncey-Highland and the entire city • Strive to achieve the land use vision of the Framework Plan. • Freedom Park neighborhood arts committee. • Encourage a mix of land uses. • Freedom Park public art. • Preserve the historic residential core of the • Community garden enclosure. neighborhood. • Community garden expansion. • Provide height transitions from new develop- • Dog park location study. ment to historic residential core areas. • Neighborhood dog park. • Utilize quality of life zoning districts. • Dog waste bag dispensers. • Limit buildings to three stories at the back of • Freedom Park trash cans. the sidewalk along North Highland Avenue. • Freedom Park lighting. • Encourage redevelopment of the following five catalytic development sites: • Freedom Park water fountain. ◦ BeltLine Area • Freedom Park walkway. ◦ Ponce de Leon Avenue • Freedom Parkway tree planting. ◦ North Avenue East Area • Neighborhood walking route markers. ◦ Druid Hills Baptist Church • Carter Center shared parking. ◦ Manuel’s parking lot • Improvements to Freedom Park’s Ralph McGill Boulevard entrance. Park & Open Space Recommendations • Annual park clean-up day. Park and open space recommendation focus on Housing Recommendations improving the use of Freedom Park, rather than creating new park space. • Strive to preserve the diverse mix of housing • Encourage an appropriate relationship between types in the neighborhood. parks and adjacent development. • Promote a range of housing prices in new • Support efforts to provide public art in Freedom development. Park. • Promote home ownership. • Support efforts to establish a farmers markets • Encourage multifamily housing to provide a near Poncey-Highland. range of unit sizes. • Integrate Freedom Park into future events • Historic apartment renovation. 4 Poncey-Highland Neighborhood Master Plan Executive Summary Figure 1.2: Framework Plan About This Map Height Transition (Typical) North Highland AvenBuRIeARHCeLiIFgFhPtL This map is an illustrative, long-term aspiration for land uses and building heights. It should be a guideline for developers andGREENWOOD AV neighborhood review of rezoning requests, T S not an absolute standard. The neighborhood A C may support variations for certain projects I R E based