At last night’s city commission meeting, the commission accepted a detailed Historic Resources Survey of Decatur (page 15 of pdf), compiled by Keystone Preservation Associates and Morrison Design, LLC.

At a cost of $35,000, the months-long survey, which documented every single parcel within the city limits, was one of the outcomes of the ugly clash between residents, city boards, cats and dogs over a proposed Oakhurst Historic District in 2007.  Among the many aspects of the initiative that confused and angered all parties was a lack of information on historic inventory within the neighborhood.

So the city ponied up the dough and funded an extensive survey that documented the entire city.  According to a letter to the commission by Planning Director Amanda Thompson…

This report will help the city move forward with several long term preservation goals including awareness and appreciation of Decatur’s historic resources by making the survey results available online and determining a timeline and cost proposal for creation of National Register listings.  We will also use the report to explore the world of heritage tourism and if that is a market the city is interested in pursuing.

Missing from the city’s stated goals is any mention of the creation of any additional local historic districts, which is the only way to physically regulate design in a neighborhood. (National Register status mainly provides tax incentives to residents to rehab property and creates red-tape for federal government-funded development)

That said, a portion of the survey was included among last night’s meeting materials and identifies 13 neighborhoods inside the city limits that would be eligible for some form of historic designation.  They are… Read the rest of this entry »

According to another slide in the Rosser presentation to CDS, Winonna Park ranks as the city’s wealthiest neighborhood, with a median household income of $84,707,  It’s closely followed by Ponce de Leon Terrace/Clairemont Estates/northwest of Scott ($82,294 HH income) and Ponce de Leon Heights ($80,637 HH income).

Take a look to the west, beyond the city limits and you’ll see HH income jump well into the $100k+ as you get venture closer to Clifton Rd/Druid Hills.

The area between Ponce and W. Howard, west of McDonough, where the soon-to-be-redeveloped Allen Wilson Terrace subsided housing is located has by far the city’s lowest median income ($10,146 HH income)