originally published February 27, 2008

This week, I’ll look mainly at two developments in Athens-Clarke’s Agricultural-Residential (AR) zone. One is developed exactly to the standards of the zone, while the other is a bit less conventional. AR zoning, of course, is the tool used to establish the county’s greenbelt. Within it houses are limited to one per 10 acres. The stated purpose of the district is to “maintain an area of rural use and character… to preserve a working agricultural landscape… to conserve environmentally sensitive resources…” and to establish a district where single-family life is encouraged and suitable. Conservation subdivisions and clustered housing are encouraged, although they aren’t mandated. With these principles in mind, it’s interesting to see how developments measure up to the stated goals.

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One Out East: Morton Farms, on Morton Road on the east side, is a proposal first submitted in mid-2007. It features 16 houses on about 170 acres, with roughly 10-acre lots. There are no conservation easements, even along the wetland areas. A single loop road services the houses. The problem here is that even though the density is low, there probably isn’t going to be much rural life. Will each of these 10-acre parcels become a sort of gentleman’s farm? Most likely not; the reality is that they’ll just be very large suburban lots. If we’re lucky, they’ll at least be wooded. Even though sidewalks are included, they most likely won’t be used, with a low population and houses spaced so far apart. There are no walking trails in the woods, and thus no connection to nature or conservation. All that the community gets out of it is a fairly barren road. How does such a low density encourage and protect the single-family way of life? Will there be much informal playing between the neighborhood children with so few families on so much land? What will the scenic experience be in such a subdivision? Most likely an empty road with second-growth trees concealing houses back in the woods, all that can be seen from the road being the driveway and the mailbox.

Is this the desired result of greenbelt zoning? How do developments like these serve the greater community, other than keeping density low there? One would assume that if that rural character is so important to Athens, we in the denser part of town must also have some interest in experiencing it as well.

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One on the West Side: At the opposite end of the spectrum, a proposal I mentioned briefly last month is the Middle Oconee River conservation community, as it’s currently known, on Cleveland Road. This is on roughly 300 acres, with over a hundred homes. Its developed portion would be quite a bit denser than Morton Farms, but it’s on a site that already has several subdivisions surrounding it. To be precise, the density is about three times higher here than at Morton Farms, but the tradeoff is the public greenspace (much of which falls in the river’s floodplain). Over 150 acres are proposed to be set aside as a conservation easement, with trails plus two miles on the Middle Oconee for a greenway. Also, part of the project is an organic farm. Houses in this development front the public greenspace. They are closer together, but that common open space seems like a much more suitable place for single-family-based community to take shape. With a village wrapped in farms and forest, the scenic character certainly seems in place, and the agricultural goal is definitely met. Much of the greenspace is also reserved for pasture, served by an existing barn. Links to an existing neighborhood will be via bike and pedestrian paths, inviting others to walk into the community. If the goal of a greenbelt is to get people connected to open space, this seems much more inviting.

Overall, the spirit of the greenbelt is embodied much more in developments like the Middle Oconee village. They may be denser, but this density also benefits the community at large. It’s a wonder that the current zoning seems to favor, whether intentionally or not, developments like Morton Farms, rather than those like the Middle Oconee village. Rather than simply encouraging clustering in passing, that design tool might be something worth requiring. Conservation subdivisions might be a worthwhile mandate in this area; to date none have actually built which meet the official standards for that designation.

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News Brief: Athens Regional Medical Center has proposed two additions; one is to add two more floors onto its South Tower, for a total height of six stories. The other is a new four-story building at the corner of Talmadge Drive and Pine Needle Road. With the two of these, the hospital will add another 200,000 square feet to its complex. One thing that’s confusing about these two additions is how they relate to the new underground parking deck near Prince Avenue. The purpose of going underground was to limit heights near neighborhoods. Why, then, is the hospital going underground on Prince Avenue, leaving a surface parking lot where storefronts ought to be, while going well above 50 feet on land so close to one-story bungalows?

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More News: Also in Normaltown, the first piece of Fred’s Uptown has been proposed, for a few acres at Sunset Drive and Myrtle Court. When Dr. Fred Moorman first described this project late last year, rumors of light rail and underground parking decks were flying around, but this proposal is much more scaled-back. It’s a cluster of houses with no parking or driveways, and a single commercial building with a large parking lot serving the houses. It will be interesting to see how this turns out, if simply to gauge the response to a development in Athens where cars are taken completely out of the residential area.

Kevan Williams