Zoning Review Board

Westview Neighborhood Commercial District Is Approved

The Westview Neighborhood Commercial (NC) District, a project no less than eight years in the making, has become a reality when the Atlanta City Council voted to adopt the legislation at their December 5, 2016 meeting.

Westview neighbors first put the Master Plan and Neighborhood Commercial District projects on the agenda of the August 2008 Development Committee agenda. The next year and a half was spent researching other Atlanta master plans and neighborhood commercial districts, and finding grants to fund the required resident notifications about a planning workshop. The Neighborhood Foundation made it possible to hold the commercial district workshop in May 2010, which was led by Village Habitat Design and assisted by Development Committee members.

The outcome of the workshop was the Westview Master Plan, which was adopted by Atlanta City Council in 2001. The Neighborhood Commercial District was outlined in the master plan, and therefore ultimately helped the Westview Community Organization, Westview Commercial District Association, and City of Atlanta’s Office of Planning to work together to create the necessary zoning changes.

After a series of neighborhood meetings the legislation was introduced by Councilmember Cleta Winslow, and after the due process of coming before the Zoning Review Board (photo above), the Zoning Committee, and ultimately the Atlanta City Council, the legislation was approved to become Atlanta’s NC-15 district.

View Ordinance No. 2016-45 (16-O-1280)

Neighborhood Commercial District Meeting

Neighborhood Commercial District Meeting

On February 16, 2016 the Westview Community Organization and the Westview Commercial District Association, in collaboration with the City of Atlanta’s Office of Planning, hosted the third public input meeting to rezone the Westview Village to the Neighborhood Commercial (NC) classification. Based on the feedback provided by neighbors the Office of Planning is working on drafting legislation for the NC district. The legislation will be presented at an upcoming Westview Community Organization and Neighborhood Planning Unit T (NPU-T) before being voted on by City Council.

To see photos of the meeting view the photo gallery below.

Westview Neighborhood Commercial Zoning Input Meeting

Westview Neighborhood Commercial Zoning Input MeetingJoin the Westview Community Organization, the Westview Commercial District Association, and the City of Atlanta’s Office of Planning on November 23, 2015, at 7:00pm at KIPP STRIVE Academy (1444 Lucile Avenue) for a public input meeting regarding the creation of a Neighborhood Commercial (NC) District along Ralph David Abernathy Blvd. This will be an opportunity for residents to provide input on desired uses for the district.

Neighborhood Commercial (NC) Zoning is a zoning classification used across the city to create and protect human-scale/pedestrian-friendly neighborhood commercial hubs. Existing NC districts include Little Five Points, East Atlanta Village, Virginia Highlands, Kirkwood, and Cascade Heights.

Neighborhood Commercial District Meeting

Neighborhood Commercial District Meeting

The Westview Community Organization and the Westview Commercial District Association, in collaboration with the City of Atlanta’s Office of Planning, are hosting a series of public meetings to rezone the Westview Village to the Neighborhood Commercial (NC) classification. The Westview Village is a small-scale historic commercial node surrounding the intersection of Ralph David Abernathy Blvd and Lucile Ave. The second public input meeting took place on November 23, 2015, at Area West Realty.

To see photos of the meeting view the photo gallery below.

Westview Neighborhood Commercial Zoning Input Meeting

Westview Neighborhood Commercial Zoning Input MeetingJoin the Westview Community Organization, the Westview Commercial District Association, and the City of Atlanta’s Office of Planning on November 23, 2015, at 7:00pm at Area West Realty (1534 RDA Blvd.) for a public input meeting regarding the creation of a Neighborhood Commercial (NC) District along Ralph David Abernathy Blvd. This will be an opportunity for residents to provide input on desired uses for the district.

Neighborhood Commercial (NC) Zoning is a zoning classification used across the city to create and protect human-scale/pedestrian-friendly neighborhood commercial hubs. Existing NC districts include Little Five Points, East Atlanta Village, Virginia Highlands, Kirkwood, and Cascade Heights.

Neighborhood Commercial District Meeting

Neighborhood Commercial District Meeting

The Westview Community Organization and the Westview Commercial District Association, in collaboration with the City of Atlanta’s Office of Planning, are hosting a series of public meetings to rezone the Westview Village to the Neighborhood Commercial (NC) classification. The Westview Village is a small-scale historic commercial node surrounding the intersection of Ralph David Abernathy Blvd and Lucile Ave. The first public input meeting took place on October 26, 2015, at KIPP STRIVE Academy.

To see photos of the meeting view the photo gallery below.

Westview Rezoning Meeting

Date: Thursday, February 7, 2013
Time: 6:00pm
Location: Council Chambers, Second Floor, Atlanta City Hall, 55 Trinity Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30303

Details: The Zoning Review Board will vote on two re-zonings affecting the Westview neighborhood:

Z-12-16-An Ordinance by Councilmembers Cleta Winslow and C. T. Martin to rezone certain properties within the Cascade Avenue Corridor in NPU-S and NPU-T from the C-1 (Community Business), and C-1-C (Community Business-Conditional), Districts to the NC-14 (Cascade Avenue Beecher Street Neighborhood Commercial) District; and for other purposes.

Z-12-17-An Ordinance by Councilmembers Cleta Winslow and C. T. Martin to rezone certain properties within the Cascade Avenue Corridor in NPU-T from the R-4 (Single-Family Residential), C-1 (Community Business), and the C-1-C (Community Business–Conditional) Districts to the MRC-1-C (Mixed Residential Commercial-Conditional) and MRC-2-C (Mixed Residential Commercial-Conditional) Districts; and for other purposes.

Westview Zoning Ordinances

Councilmember’s Cleta Winslow and CT Martin have introduced two zoning ordinances impacting the Westview neighborhood.

Westview Zoning OrdinancesOrdinance Z-12-16 focuses on an area at the intersection of Cascade Avenue and Beecher Street in the southeastern corner of Westview, as well as adjacent neighborhoods. The ordinance reads: “An Ordinance to rezone certain properties within the Cascade Avenue corridor in NPU-S and NPU-T from C-1 (Community Business) and C-1-C (Community Business-Conditional) districts to the NC-14 Cascade Avenue-Beecher Street Neighborhood Commercial District, and for other purposes.”

In 2000 the City of Atlanta introduced the new “Neighborhood Commercial (NC)” zoning in an effort to steer zoning regulations away from automobile-focused development to a more balanced and inclusive building solution that would welcome pedestrian traffic. The goal of the NC zoning is to provide a friendly and inviting commercial atmosphere that focuses on and is supported by the surrounding residential neighborhoods.
Westview Zoning OrdinancesOrdinance Z-12-17 focuses on an area at the intersection of Cascade Avenue and Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard on the eastern edge of Westview, as well as adjacent neighborhoods. The ordinance reads: “An Ordinance to rezone certain properties within the Cascade corridor in NPU-T from the R-4 (Single-Family Residential), C-1 (Community Business), and the C-1-C (Community Business-Conditional) districts to the MRC-1-C (Mixed Residential Commercial-Conditional) and MRC-2-C (Mixed residential Commercial-Conditional) districts, and for other purposes.”

The Mixed Residential-Commercial (MRC) zoning was equally instated to steer away from automobile only driven development. MRC zoning encourages development that provides commercial use for street-level traffic in conjunction with higher density residential use such as condominiums or apartments above the commercial space. Its additional purpose is to focus buildings back towards the street for pedestrian traffic, while hiding automobile parking in the rear and eliminating giant parking lots with big building setbacks.

The introduction of the legislations to turn the Cascade-Beecher area into a neighborhood commercial district and the Cascade-Ralph David Abernathy area into a mixed residential-commercial district is intended to build a framework that will support the City of Atlanta’s new vision of all-encompassing community development.

A public information session took place on Wednesday, July 25th, 2012. The ordinances are scheduled to appear on the agenda of NPU-T for a vote at the Wednesday, August 8th, 2012 meeting. If residents deem changes necessary they are encouraged to defer the vote and supply requested changes for a vote at the September NPU-T meeting.

Download PDFs of the full ordinances: Z-12-16 & Z-12-17