Virginia-Highland Master Plan Takes Shape
By: Jess Windham
As the process to create a Master Plan for Virginia-Highland enters its sixth month, we want to say just one thing – Thank You! Participation in January’s public meeting was collaborative, engaged, and produced a wealth of feedback for our planners at Market+Main.
Concepts presented and discussed at January’s public meeting are currently available on the Master Plan website (link below). If you were unable to attend the meeting, you can find a video of Aaron Fortner’s presentation on the website which explains the concepts, their context, and origins. Please review the concepts available on the website and be sure to submit your feedback: http://www.vahimasterplan.org/.
The first draft of the Master Plan will be posted on the Master Plan website on March 10th. As with every step in the process, the public is highly encouraged to comment on this first draft. Submitting your feedback to the draft online is going to be the most effective way for the planning team to hear from you. As comments are submitted on the websiteand subsequent edits are made, the document will continue to evolve to best fit the neighborhood. We anticipate a revised draft to be posted on or around April 4th. The Virginia-Highland Civic Association board will vote on the Master Plan document in April or May; ultimately the document will go to Atlanta City Council for adoption.
The process began with public input and continues to rely on peoples’ first hand experiences to pinpoint issues and opportunities in Virginia-Highland. As the document takes shape, please continue this wonderful trend and, again, thank you all for your participation, excitement, and support!
Please visit http://www.vahimasterplan.org/ to submit your comments.
Continue reading for additional background on the Master Plan process.
What is the Master Plan?
Planning consultants Market+Main lead the Master Plan process alongside a volunteer steering committee of residents from a variety of backgrounds. The process has three broad and overlapping parts: discovery, design, and documentation. We are now in the documentation phase, with an end result of a final Master Plan document voted on by Atlanta City Council to guide future project and funding decisions.
The Master Plan will be a key document in securing funding from the City of Atlanta for neighborhood improvements and projects. As part of the City of Atlanta, Virginia-Highland’s transportation infrastructure, economic development, zoning laws, urban design, education options and environmental regulations are shaped by that municipality, as well as by Fulton County and the state. New construction also shapes our neighborhood and its character. Having a Virginia-Highland Master Plan provides a formal avenue for citizen and neighborhood goals to be identified and clearly expressed.
Additionally, the Master Plan will knit together elements from existing and sometimes overlapping plans and policies that already address parts of Virginia-Highland. Currently, parts of the Connect Atlanta Plan, the Atlanta BeltLine Overlay District regulations, Cycle Atlanta: Phase 1.0, and the Ponce de Leon Corridor Plan all contain plans for parts of Virginia-Highland. Understanding these plans is a considerable task and becomes an even greater challenge when considering the likely impacts of future development that existing zoning already assumes. The neighborhood can engage in those initiatives to shape them to our mutual benefit, or alternatively wait for changes and new projects to move forward without Virginia-Highland input.
Creating this Master Plan provides an opportunity to be involved in initiatives that the City has already begun – some of them well underway. It also gives the neighborhood a platform on which to prepare for future projects, including those that may be contemplated in next year’s anticipated bond referendum. Changes are inevitable; this is a grand chance to inform and shape these changes.