Strategic Plan To-Do List: Protect Neighborhoods, Promote Growth

Decatur Metro | February 3, 2011

Local historic districts, development in commercial districts and potential live-work housing are key components of Decatur Strategic Plan Goal #3…

Goal 3: Protect existing neighborhoods while promoting growth in desired areas and adopting standards that guide future growth

Decatur’s neighborhoods are the foundation for the high quality of life that the city enjoys today, and must be preserved and protected. However, if the city is to adequately respond to changing demographics, it must accommodate new housing and retail options. The community expressed the desire to accommodate new growth and protect existing neighborhoods by continued emphasis on appropriately scaled and designed development within existing commercial districts.

Task 3A Adopt new transitional design standards.

In recent decades, Decatur has used buffers and height limits to transition between existing neighborhoods and new development. These have focused on separating such areas, rather than unifying them. As an alternative, new design techniques should be explored to provide appropriate connection between new development and existing neighborhoods, such as improved architectural design, scale and massing, and landscaping.

Task 3B Continue to encourage private residential, retail, and commercial development in existing commercial districts.

Commercial districts are ideally suited to accommodate the housing types needed to serve Decatur’s future. Development here should provide multifamily units for sale or rent, townhouses, live-work units, senior housing, and other options.

Task 3C Encourage the creation of new local historic districts.

The creation of local historic districts is the best tool at Decatur’s disposal for ensuring the physical preservation of historic neighborhoods. The City should support efforts to establish additional historic districts.

Task 3D Strive to realize long-term build-out visions for commercial areas expressed in the Concept Plans.

Please see the Concept Plans for examples of how new development in these areas could occur.

Task 3E Reexamine historic design standards and restrictions against historic home demolition.

The preservation of neighborhood character is as much about protecting historic homes as it is ensuring compatible new construction. While new construction is now regulated by zoning, retaining the historic character of existing homes is also critical. A citywide reexamination of regulations affecting the preservation of historic homes should be undertaken, and regulatory changes made, if appropriate.

Task 3F: Study if live-work housing can be implemented in existing neighborhoods without a negative impact on nearby homes.

As technology and employment continue to evolve, more Decatur residents are running small businesses from their homes. Although current zoning regulates the types of home businesses that can occur, these may need to be reviewed or modified periodically to ensure their relevance.

Task 3G: Improve the predictability and efficiency of the process for new development approval by establishing development standards and requirements that are consistent with the goals of the strategic plan.

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5 Responses to “Strategic Plan To-Do List: Protect Neighborhoods, Promote Growth”

  1. Glockenspieler says:
    February 3, 2011 at 3:34 pm

    I think these sound great but of course, it will all be in the execution. One aspect of this that concerns me is, and I’ll put this delicately, that some of our development decisions are actually overly solicitous of homeowners in areas surrounding the proposed development. So, the ‘protecting existing neighborhoods’ is great but I would not like to see this translated into ‘allowing surrounding homeowners to veto projects’.

    I say this as a homeowner. As owners, we have a vested interest in maintaining property values and one way that homeowners do this is to restrict development and attempts at increasing density. At the same time, the city benefits from the increases in density that make amenities more likely, and service delivery more efficient.

    I would love to see a continued increase in density because I enjoy the benefits of good food and convenient shopping and I hope that the ‘protecting existing neighborhoods’ will be balanced against the desirability of greater density for the city as a whole.

  2. Keith F says:
    February 3, 2011 at 3:56 pm

    This is where it will get fun. “Protecting” a historic district, zone, or home when it’s not yours to begin with can be a good trick. If I own a home and want to tear it down to build a new one, someone telling me I can’t do it won’t fly to high with me. Especially if I’m in an area where other homes have already been “upgraded” and now I’m stuck protecting value for someone else.

  3. Julia Levy says:
    February 3, 2011 at 8:10 pm

    Ha ha! I live in an historic district, and I challenge you to find anywhere else in Decatur where more construction/renovation is going on and with greater property value stability/growth. What a crock.