Demolition without Process
Have you missed the historic Log Cabin at the top of the hill in downtown Norcross?

Have you missed the historic 1934 Log Cabin at the top of the hill, at Lillian Webb Baseball Field, in downtown Norcross?  Many Norcross citizens, too, are wondering what happened to a favorite community icon.

The demolition order, issued by the City Manager Summer 2007, was based on decisions by the Norcross City Council at its January 2007 retreat in Greenville, South Carolina.  The order was executed without holding a public hearing, without any measures to salvage the old window glass, wood and fieldstones, nor allow public to purchase items.  Many memories lost.

Better solution - With a local preservation ordinance (using language of established Georgia State Preservation Law), a local commission conducts demolition hearings in the designated historic district, for any historic house/building, privately-owned or city-owned.  A public hearing provides notice of upcoming demolitions, affords means for salvaging the entire structure or parts, and publicly documents the new construction plans.  According to Georgia State Preservation Law, there is an adequate lead-time for notification, with property signs and mailed letters to adjacent property owners.

Norcross Political Reversals - In December 2007, the City Council bowed to special interests and failed to establish the local preservation district, despite outside consulting survey showing 250+ appropriate houses.  (Consulting survey cost $25,000).  By the next month, January 2008, the City Council rescinded the 16-month preservation ordinance, achieving statewide notoriety by becoming the only city in Georgia, perhaps in the nation, to dissolve preservation twice. The first rescinding of the Norcross historic ordinance occurred1980s at the beginning of rapid county growth.

Other historic Georgia towns that adopt a local preservation ordinance treasure their town’­s charm and history and do not reverse decisions.  Georgia has 130 cities with preservation ordinances, according to sources at UGA's College of Preservation and Environmental Design. These ordinances provide a solution for protection and process in designated local historic districts.  Many cities (70+) meet standards for a Certified Local Government (CLG), entitling them to matching grant programs, according to Jennifer Martin Lewis, Georgia Certified Local Government Coordinator.

Is Norcross’­s future the fate of the historic Log Cabin?  Within a month (Feb 2008) of Norcross City Council's recent rejection of the Preservation ordinance are two new applications to alter the historic district: proposed demolition of the 1897 Cook's Cabin at 35 Williams Street and application for a used car lot on the Lawrenceville Street gateway. Citizens have already beaten back in recent years a proposed cell tower intrusion by a private company, and a bike path proposed by the county Department of Transportation (GDOT) down North Peachtree that would have removed all trees on one side of the street.

Until December 2007, Norcross had the tools in place to say no with a defensible legal position to unwanted intrusions that threaten the historic district's character.  We have to hope that citizens can convince the City Council to reconsider its position.

A Fragile Town - Being a part of the National Historic Registry offers no protection from demolitions or inappropriate in-fill or new construction without a local legal ordinance.  Norcross’­s National Registry Listing is for the entire area, not house- by- house.  It is the fabric of the neighborhood that must be protected.

Editor’s Note: Article by Norcross resident Catherine Cash illustrates lack of process for demolitions by the City of Norcross and documents some recent threats of intrusions in the National Registry district. Ms. Cash contributed eight years on the city’s Planning Zoning Board.