Peachtree Circle historic district effort fails in Ansley Park

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The fight to make Peachtree Circle in Ansley Park a city historic district ended Tuesday when the Atlanta City Council voted 11-4 to shelve the proposal.  

Peachtree Circle is a wide, tree-lined, residential street with homes dating back to the turn of the 20th century. Establishing a historic district for a single street would have set a new precedent in Atlanta zoning.

For a year, the argument between historic preservationists and adversaries has played out in tense meetings, online campaigns, and in-person conflict. One resident told Rough Draft she was physically attacked by a neighbor over the issue. 

The last attempt at historic district designation in Ansley Park fell apart in 2022 after a lawsuit was filed by one of the property rights advocates. Peachtree Circle residents renewed their interest in a historic district after one of Peachtree Circle’s oldest homes was razed in January.

Since he took office in 2010, District 6 Council member Alex Wan noted that at least three attempts were made to create a historic district in Ansley Park. Those efforts would have affected the entire neighborhood, whereas a designation on Peachtree Circle would affect only one street.

“I’ve been through this before with y’all, and I knew this was where we would end up. And here we are,” Wan said at the Sept. 8 council meeting.

At the Sept. 8 council meeting, Wan asked for the proposal to be filed – meaning it would die in the legislative process – because neighbors could not reach a supermajority in support of the zoning change.  

“We’ve been threatened by litigation on both sides,” Wan said. “I’ve had to be frostily dispassionate on this because of the intensity of the positions on both sides.” 

Council member Michael Julian Bond asked Wan if he would support historic zoning that affected only the parcels in favor of it, rather than the whole street. Wan agreed, but said the process must start over.

“It would seem to me that historic preservation is always worthy of preservation,” Bond said. “There’s nothing in our code that would eliminate or restrict us from creating a district that contains one house or 1,000 houses.”

Council member Mary Norwood said her Tuxedo Park neighborhood had a similar fight over historic designation, and solved it with an overlay district. She said the overlay is not as restrictive as a historic district, but it provides “protection on the redevelopment or the characteristics of the area.”

“This has been a very difficult 15-month process. I’d like to bring this to a close and complete it,” Wan said. “We just need to finish.”

Proponents say Peachtree Circle is in danger of losing its character, charm, and history without proper zoning, while opponents fear a loss of autonomy and property rights. The entire neighborhood has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1979, but that designation doesn’t protect homes from being altered or demolished – only a city historic district designation can do that.

David Y. Mitchell, Atlanta Preservation Center executive director, has been side-by-side working with residents through the process.

“Courage is not defined by defeat, and the idea that a majority was able to suppress a phenomenal opportunity doesn’t mean it’s dead,” Mitchell said. “The proponents on Peachtree Circle are remarkable people, they’re resilient, they love their homes, and they love the street. Just because one group says no doesn’t mean they accept it.”

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