KASIM REED C I T Y O F A T L A N T A TIM KEANE MAYOR DEPARTMENT OF CITY PLANNING COMMISSIONER 55 TRINITY AVENUE, S.W. SUITE 3350 – ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30303 404-330-6145 – FAX: 404-658-7491 OFFICE OF DESIGN http://www.atlantaga.gov/Government/Planning.aspx Atlanta Urban Design Commission Nomination Resolution: Briarcliff Plaza Landmark District Application Number: N-17-240 / D-17-240 Proposed Designation: Landmark District Zoning Categories at time of Designation: C 1 District: 14 Land Lot(s): 16 Fulton County, City of Atlanta Whereas, the Executive Director of the Atlanta Urban Design Commission initiated the nomination process by mailing the appropriate Notice of Intent to Nominate to the property owners of the Briarcliff Plaza Landmark District and publishing a notice pursuant to Subsection (b) of the City of Atlanta Code of Ordinances, Section 16-20.005; and Whereas, the Executive Director caused to be conducted research regarding this proposed nomination and has compiled a written designation report stating the findings and recommendations regarding the historic, architectural and cultural significance of said nomination pursuant to Subsection (d) of said code section, which report, Attachment “A", is attached to this resolution and is hereby incorporated by this reference; and Whereas, a public hearing was held on June 14, 2017 by this Commission to consider said nomination after appropriate public notice was provided as required by Subsection (e) of said code section; and Whereas, this Commission has reviewed and considered said designation report as well as all other testimony, documentation and other evidence presented to it, including the testimony of all interested members of the public and the property owner pursuant to Subsection (e) of said code section. 6/14/2017 Briarcliff Plaza Landmark District (N-17-240 / D-17-240) – Nomination Resolution Page 1 of 2 Now therefore be it resolved by the Urban Design Commission of the City of Atlanta as follows: Section 1. That the designation report caused to be prepared by the Executive Director of the Commission, as well as all submitted written materials, and all of the testimony heard at the June 14, 2017 public hearing, is hereby adopted by this Commission and shall constitute the Findings of Fact upon which this nomination is based. Section 2. That the Commission hereby determines that the Briarcliff Plaza Landmark District, a general plat map of which delineating all its boundaries is attached hereto as Attachment “B” and hereby incorporated by this reference, and the delineation of contributing and non-contributing properties is included in Attachment “A” and hereby incorporated by this reference, is architecturally, historically, and culturally significant. Section 3. That the Commission further determines the Briarcliff Plaza Landmark District to be eligible for designation to the category of Landmark District (LD), as meeting, at a minimum, the eligibility criteria set forth in Section 16-20.004(b)(1), specifically including subsections a., b., and c. of this code section. Section 4. The Briarcliff Plaza Landmark District (LD) is generally located in Land Lot 16 of the 14th District of Fulton County, Atlanta, Georgia. Section 5. That the Commission hereby further determines that said Briarcliff Plaza Landmark District (LD) meets the criteria set forth in Section 16-20.004(b)(2)(c), specifically including those criteria in the following groups: Group I (2); Group II (1), (2), (3), (4), (7), (8), (9), (11), (12), (13), and (14); and Group III (1), (2), and (3). Section 6. That the Commission, having determined that the Briarcliff Plaza Landmark District (LD) meets or exceeds the criteria as set forth herein, hereby nominates the Briarcliff Plaza Landmark District (LD) to the category of Landmark District (LD) pursuant to Section 16-20.005(e)(3). Section 7. That the Commission hereby directs the Executive Director to transmit this resolution including all supporting documentation to the Chair of the Zoning Committee of the Atlanta City Council, to the Commissioner of the Department of Planning and Community Development (Department of City Planning), and to notify by first class mail all the owners of property within the Briarcliff Plaza Landmark District (LD). Approved and nominated by the Atlanta Urban Design Commission on June 14, 2017. ____________________________________ _______________________ Garfield Peart, Chair Date Atlanta Urban Design Commission _____________________________________ _______________________ Douglas H. R. Young, Secretary and Director Date Atlanta Urban Design Commission 6/14/2017 Briarcliff Plaza Landmark District (N-17-240 / D-17-240) – Nomination Resolution Page 2 of 2 ATTACHMENT “A” TO NOMINATION RESOLUTION C I T Y O F A T L A N T A KASIM REED DEPARTMENT OF CITY PLANNING TIM KEANE MAYOR 55 TRINITY AVENUE, S.W. SUITE 3350 – ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30303-0308 Commissioner 404-330-6145 – FAX: 404-658-7491 www.atlantaga.gov OFFICE OF DESIGN Designation Report for Briarcliff Plaza Landmark District Addresses: 1027 Ponce de Leon Avenue, NE and 1061 Ponce de Leon Avenue, NE Application Number: N-17-240 (D-17-240) Proposed Cateory of Designation: Landmark District (LD) Zoning Categories at Time of Designation: C-1 District: 14 Land Lot: 16 County: Fulton Designation Report Sections: 1. Eligibility Criteria 2. Findings 3. Description of Present and Historic Appearance 4. Period of Significance 5. Narrative Statement of Significance 6. Developmental History 7. Contributing / Non-Contributing Properties / Buildings 8. Bibliography 9. Potential for Transfer of Development Rights and Economic Incentives 10. General Boundary Description 11. Boundary Justification 12. General Plat Map Designation Report for the Briarcliff Plaza Landmark District (LD) – N-17-240 / D-17-240 ATTACHMENT “A” TO NOMINATION RESOLUTION 1. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA As more fully described in this Designation Report, the Briarcliff Plaza Landmark District (LD) meets the following criteria for a Landmark District, as defined in Section 16-20.004(b)(2)(c): Group I - Historic Significance (a total of three (3) possible criteria): The Briarcliff Plaza Landmark District (LD) meets one (1) criterion: (2) The District includes structures and spaces that are closely associated with extremely important historical trends of local significance. The District reflects the changing land use patterns caused by increased automobile ownership in Atlanta during the 1920s and 1930s as the City transitioned from an older model of urban and suburban physical growth based on pedestrian, railroad, and streetcar public transit. Briarcliff Plaza (later known as the Ponce de Leon Shopping Plaza) was the first commercial shopping center in Atlanta, and among the first in the Southeast, to include off-street parking in the original site design to better accommodate middle and upper class residents in nearby neighborhoods who performed their shopping and recreational activities by car. It was a new form of auto-oriented commercial and residential development in the city that would be later followed by the car-centric residential suburbs built throughout metropolitan Atlanta and the nation after World War II. Group II- Architectural Significance (a total of fourteen (14) possible criteria): The Briarcliff Plaza Landmark District (LD) meets eleven (11) criteria: (1) The District includes structures and spaces that are exceptionally strongly related, both functionally and aesthetically. The site plan and design of the District all serves to facilitate commercial retail activity conducted via the automobile. In contrast to older commercial forms where buildings typically fronted the public street in pedestrian-oriented central business districts and along streetcar- serviced commercial corridors, the buildings in the District were placed near the center of the lots with deep setbacks from the public rights-of-way to allow for front and rear off-street parking. Motorists could conveniently access the parking from North Highland Avenue and Cleburne Terrace (via Ponce de Leon and Blue Ridge Avenues) and space was provided within the site to allow for internal flow-through vehicular circulation between buildings and lots. Finally, the design of the District’s buildings, with their bright exterior facades and decorative illuminated signage, served as “architecture for speed-reading,” providing a modern and positive advertising expression that could quickly capture the attention of motorists passing at high rates of speed (Liebs 1985, 41, 57). (2) The District includes exceptionally important elements of the streetscape which are functionally or aesthetically related. With its brightly lit and highly-visible Art Deco Style neon signage the District has become a prominent landmark feature of the Ponce de Leon Avenue streetscape and the adjacent Poncey-Highland, Atkins Park, and Virginia-Highland neighborhoods in the 87 years since its completion in 1940. Additionally, the District’s relationship with the surrounding streetscape as an auto-oriented commercial retail complex, particularly its original points of egress for both pedestrian and vehicular access, is also an important element of its historic character and design. Designation Report for the Briarcliff Plaza Landmark District (LD) – N-17-240 / D-17-240 Page 2 of 14 ATTACHMENT “A” TO NOMINATION RESOLUTION (3) The District includes structures and spaces which are the works of exceptionally important master architect. George Harwell Bond (1891-1952) maintained an active