New Members will help ensure compliance of urban design regulations on the Atlanta BeltLine
ATLANTA – The City of Atlanta has confirmed the four new members of the Design Review Committee (DRC) which will advise the City of Atlanta’s Office of Planning and Community Development to ensure compliance of urban design regulations within the Atlanta BeltLine Overlay Subarea Master Plans. The committee, which will be managed by Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. (ABI), will consist of three ABI Directors, the City of Atlanta’s Director of Planning and Community Engagement, two independent licensed architects, and two independent city planners.
The four new members are as follows:
Architects:
David M. Hamilton, AIA – David is a Principal Architect at Praxis 3 Architecture. He’s devoted over 30 years of architecture and design to improving the design quality of buildings and public spaces in Atlanta. He is currently involved in the Architecture and Design Center (ADC) and the Freedom Park Conservancy, where he has worked to bring attention to the critical architectural and urban issues in the city and region. He has extensive experience designing urban mixed-use developments and other types of buildings. He has worked on a number of projects in Atlanta and is very acquainted with the zoning regulations, BeltLine Overlay, and the BeltLine Mission. He resides in the Inman Park neighborhood.
Jeffery Robinson, AIA – Jeffery is a Principal Architect at J.W. Robinson & Associates Inc. He possesses over 25 years of experience in a wide range of building types including: public facilities, offices, and mixed use developments. He’s the Past President of the Atlanta Chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) and has extensive involvement in other architecture organizations. He’s recently participated in the creation of the design guidelines for the Historic Collier Heights Community, which is on the National Register for Historic Places. He resides in the Collier Heights community in Southwest Atlanta.
Planners:
Julie McQueen Price, AICP – Julie is currently a Senior Planner at ARCADIS. Recommended by the Atlanta BeltLine’s Tax Allocation District Advisory Committee (TADAC), Julie brings the unique skillset of having worked as a planner for local (City of Marietta) and state government (Georgia Regional Transportation Authority) as well as the private sector. While these sectors may be very different, she brings a comprehensive understanding of project review and is versed in project negotiations with developers and community stakeholders in order to get the desired outcome. She resides in the Midtown Community.
Johanna McCrehan – Johanna McCrehan is the Atlanta BeltLine Tax Allocation District Advisory Committee (TADAC) appointee. Johanna is employed as an urban designer for the Georgia Conservancy. Johanna works in their smart growth program, designing and developing material for the Conservancy’s Good Urbanism courses and Blueprints projects. Johanna is a graduate of the City and Regional Master’s program at Georgia Tech and specialized in Urban Design and Land and Community Development. During her studies, she participated in the studio led by Professor Ellen Dunham-Jones performing work with the City of Lithonia and the Georgia Conservancy Blueprints team.
ABI members reviewed all submissions and applicants were chosen based on the following criteria:
- Residency in the City of Atlanta, preferred
- Active architecture, urban planning or urban design in a faculty or professional capacity
- A minimum of ten years professional experience
- Certification as a Registered Architect, or American Institute of Certified Planners
- Commitment to at least one monthly evening meeting, and special call meetings as deemed necessary
- Ability to devote 2‐4 hours per month to review all Special Administrative Permit Applications in advance of the DRC meetings
- Ability to serve one two‐year term, with ability to be reappointed by Atlanta City Council
- Recent involvement with and understanding of the City of Atlanta’s design and development history
- Understanding of the Atlanta BeltLine mission, programmatic commitments, Transit‐Oriented Development objectives, Subarea Master Plans, and BeltLine Overlay District
The Design Review Committee, adopted by the city on March 2, 2015, is responsible for reviewing proposed special administrative permit applications while providing recommendations for those applications within the Atlanta BeltLine planning area defined in the BeltLine Overlay District regulations. The Atlanta BeltLine is transforming the city in order to provide a network of public parks, multi-use trails and transit, and the Atlanta BeltLine Board of Directors and ABI developed Subarea Master Plans to propose recommendations for the land use of the program. As the master plans continue to receive review through community feedback, the DRC will work to provide guidelines to help improve economic and community development for those master plans.
The DRC is set to have their first meeting on August 19, 2015. For more information on the DRC and development around the Atlanta BeltLine, visit https://beltline.org/progress/planning/drc/.
