January 2, 2025
We Savannahians are witnessing a sustained degradation of the very qualities that make our Downtown Historic District unique and a national treasure. Ever more inappropriate development is proposed every few weeks. We at the Oglethorpe Plan Coalition, Inc. are dedicated to addressing these threats and protecting the Downtown Savannah National Historic District.
In This Issue:
- Year In Review: 2024 Sees Major Accomplishments for Preservation but Witnesses a Few Setbacks
- OPC Reveals Errors in Applying Staff Reviews
Street Talk
Preservation Alert Update: Overscale Hotel at 301 Tattnall Denied, Victory!
Roof Deck on Hull Street Halted for Now
Year in Review: 2024 Sees Major Accomplishments for Preservation but Witnesses a Few Setbacks
Accomplishments:
In 2024, the Savannah Downtown Historic District Board of Review (HDBR) made great strides in enforcing the terms of the ordinance that protects the Savannah Downtown Historic District. In prior years, the Ordinance was enforced inconsistently. In 2022, the HDBR was not even familiar with the terminology applicable to the Oglethorpe Plan, such as tithing lots. Because of our insistence that the HDBR follow the Ordinance through our testimony at almost every hearing in 2023 and 2024, the HDBR has been increasingly following the law as written.
Major accomplishments in 2024 included the HDBR’s acknowledgement that the visual compatibility rules override the height allowances. For example, if a developer plans to build a six-story hotel next to a historic two-story dwelling, the hotel may be limited to three to four floors. This is because the new building must be visually compatible with its neighbor in height, even if the maximum height allowed is six stories. In the past, the HDBR allowed new buildings to dwarf their historic neighbors.
Another victory was the acknowledgement by the HDBR that the visual compatibility test requires the comparison of a new building with the contributing (historic) buildings within view exclusively. Applicants have often cited buildings many blocks away, a practice which could justify almost any proposal.
The most recent victory was the enforcement of the prohibition of roof decks facing streets. Many neighbors suffer from late-night noise from (often unpermitted) rooftop party decks. See “On the Street,” below.
Expected improvements by the City in 2025 include a more transparent approach to staff reviews. These are approvals granted by the Metropolitan Planning Commission (MPC) without a public hearing. From now on, in the Downtown Historic District such reviews will be limited to existing contributing buildings and cannot be used to approve new buildings. Additionally, the MPC has promised to post these publicly on its website. This will give adjacent property owners an opportunity to appeal any undesirable approvals to the Savannah Zoning Board of Appeals. For more details, see article on staff reviews, below.
Setbacks:
Unfortunately, one major setback this year was the City’s decision to drop its commitment to restore the entirety of the Oglethorpe Plan at the Civic Center site. In the late sixties, the City destroyed many blocks in the heart of the historic district in what was the single greatest act of destruction since the 1966 designation. Prior City Councils had agreed to a full restoration, but the present City Council does not value our history to the same extent. The OPC proposed directly to the City that the Mercer Theatre be rebuilt on City-owned property at 301 MLK Boulevard, a large parking lot next to the Visitors Center. Without explanation, the City refused to recognize this as a viable option, saying that it was not aware of any parcel that was available.
The OPC nonetheless continues to urge the City to reconsider its decision in light of the public’s support for the restoration. Our Change.orgpetition to restore the entirety of the Oglethorpe Plan has received over 500 signatures. [Link]. We believe the City has an obligation to preserve and restore the plan as previously agreed to maintain Savannah’s National Historic Landmark designation.
One other troubling pattern in HDBR hearings in 2024 was the reliance of the HDBR on empty promises by the applicants, especially when considering whether to allow the applicant to destroy protected historic features under the ruse that the change was “reversible.” One typical example was where an applicant, who intended to destroy historic fabric, promised to keep it “onsite” so that the alteration could be undone at some point in the future. Unfortunately, oral promises are typically unenforceable. When the applicant subsequently sells the property, the new purchaser is under no such obligation to retain historic materials or to return a property to its historic state. The only solution is to bind the applicant in writing with a covenant that runs with the land and is enforceable against subsequent owners.
Sadly 2025 will witness the construction of buildings that the HDBR approved in 2022 or before, i.e., that period when the HDBR was not consistently enforcing the Ordinance. One of these projects is the Amelia apartment building at the northeast corner of Lincoln Street and East Oglethorpe Avenue. This building towers over the three-story townhouse next door and the two-story dwelling to its north in defiance of visual compatibility of height and mass. Another regrettable building is the new hotel at 220 East Bryan Street, whose seven stories overwhelm the charming three-story building next door, home to Abe’s on Lincoln. These overscale buildings should not have been permitted, but now we will have to live with them without any means of redress for the damage they will inflict on the character of our neighborhood.
In 2025, the OPC will continue to fight to save the district. We appreciate your support and welcome your input.
OPC Reveals Errors in Applying Staff Reviews
For years, the MPC Staff has been providing staff reviews, which are approvals of changes that are determined by the MPC not to require the applicant to go to a hearing or post a notice. This process makes sense for minor changes, such as replacing a rotting window with an identically sized new window.
The Ordinance provides a specific set of minor changes that can receive staff reviews. However, these only apply to contributing buildings, which are buildings deemed worthy of saving. They do not apply to non-contributing buildings such as new construction, which often involves controversial applications, such as oversized hotels.
The MPC nonetheless has been applying the rules incorrectly, applying them to new construction and other noncontributing buildings. Thus, changes that should have been reviewed by the HDBR have been kept out of their hands and decided in a process that does not include a notice or a public hearing open to public testimony.
This is important because when the public weighs in on a controversial project, such as a new hotel, the public should be able to assume that the HDBR decision is final. However, if the MPC allows the applicant to subsequently tweak these designs without public input, the applicant will have managed to circumvent the public process.
On a positive note, the MPC Staff has acknowledged that their practices do not conform to the Ordinance and has indicated that its internal guidelines will be updated to properly reflect the Ordinance.
In addition, the MPC has promised to post staff reviews on their website as they become available. This will give an adjacent property owner who opposes a staff review the opportunity to file an appeal to the ZBA. The OPC applauds the correction in guidelines and the promise to increase transparency.
Street Talk:
Preservation Alert Update: Victory! On January 8, the Historic District Review Board (HDBR) denied the application for a massive hotel at 301 Tattnall Street. We extend our thanks to you supporters for sending in over 100 letters opposing this inappropriate proposal. In denying the hotel on visual compatibility grounds, the Historic District Review Board cited the large outcry from the community against this project. Congratulations to you for your activism and your success!
Our original alert from January 2, 2024 is below:
Preservation Alert: Overscale Hotel at 301 Tattnall Returns to HDBR
As we previewed in our October 8, 2024, preservation alert, an application to build a six-story hotel was presented at the HDBR on October 9, 2024. The height of the proposed building was multiples of the height of its two-and-three-story neighbors.
The OPC spoke forcefully against the hotel, as did many of the neighbors. The HDBR rejected the proposal and directed the applicant to redesign the building to be no more than three to four stories. This decision was a great win for preservation.
The applicant is appearing before the HDBR on Wednesday, January 8, at 1:00 PM at 112 East State Street with a revised design. Unfortunately, the design does not reflect the guidance of the HDBR to limit the height to only three to four stories. Below are the original (left) and the revised (right) designs. The OPC believes it is still too large in height and mass compared to the historic building seen to the left of the proposal.
Even if you have previously sent a letter on this project to the MPC, please do so again, prior to Monday January 6, 2025. Here is a sample letter:
Dear Mr. Mellon,
I hereby request that the HDBR deny the updated application for the hotel at 301 Tattnall Street because its height and mass is not visually compatible with that of the historic contributing buildings within view.
[signature]
Please send your letter to mellonj@thempc.org. In addition, please copy opc.preservation@gmail.com. Unfortunately, not all letters end up posted to the record. We would like to maintain an independent record in the event of future appeals.
Roof Deck on Hull Street Halted for Now
On December 11, 2024, the HDBR denied a special exception for a roof deck at 405 E. Hull St. This decision was largely based on letters from you and other members of the public opposing the proposed deck. Congratulations.
A rooftop deck facing a street is not permitted without a special exception. To obtain the special exception, the owner must prove that the deck would not, among other things, be detrimental to the welfare of the neighborhood. The pertinent part of the criteria provides, that the “special exception would not be detrimental to the public interest, health, safety, welfare, function, and appearance of the adjacent uses or general vicinity.”
Residents expressed concern about late-night noise from rooftop decks, especially those associated with STVRs. Residents noted that it is difficult to get Code Compliance to meaningfully address the situation.
While the current residents of 405 E. Hull may not themselves cause any problems, the deck is permanent, and one does not know who will occupy the property afterwards. It is worth noting that 405 E. Hull itself has been an owner-occupied STVR in the past.
The applicant may still pursue other remedies. The OPC will be watching closely.
The OPC welcomes any input on next steps to try to preserve this historic facade.
For more information on this proposal, see the OPC Newsletter dated September 29, 2024.
Monthly Oglethorpe Plan Coalition (OPC) Volunteers Meeting
The OPC is a volunteer group, and we want you! Please contact us at opc.preservation@gmail.com if you would like to get involved. We will have a meeting on Sunday, October 6, at 7PM. Please contact us at the above email with your contact information if you are interested in attending. Capacity is limited.
Invite Us to Your Event for a Discussion of Hot Topics in the District
The OPC would be glad to attend your event, be it a neighborhood association or other community group, to share our concerns and hear your views about the state of the historic district. Please reach out to us at opc.preservation@gmail.com.