James Hundsrucker James Hundsrucker

June 12, 2023

Dear Supporters,

Welcome to our newsletter, in which we will keep you up to date on our activities and other preservation news.

Dear Supporters,

Welcome to the second edition of our newsletter, in which we keep you up to date on our activities and other preservation news.

Our Mission: 

The Oglethorpe Plan Coalition, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) organization. We are dedicated to preserving the Savannah Downtown National Historic Landmark District and its unique Oglethorpe Plan. 


Update on the Civic Center:

The city has cancelled all public meetings on the Civic Center, including those scheduled for May. No new date has been announced. 

It appears the most recent design has been developed by the City without any public input.

The Oglethorpe Plan coalition remains committed to a restoration of the Oglethorpe Plan as mandated by Section 7.8.10(a)(i) of the City of Savannah Code of Ordinances. 

We will update you when public meetings are scheduled.

The Downtown Neighborhood Association recently delivered a letter to the City decrying the lack of public input and the abandonment of the proposals for full restoration of the Oglethorpe Plan. See the DNA’s letter here. Join the DNA to get their newsletter.

Correction: In the last newsletter we referred to the design as dating from April 2023; however, it dates from April 2022. No subsequent version is known.


City Moves to Dismiss Appeal of 336 Barnard Street Certificate of Appropriateness: 

The grueling work of preparing the certiorari petition (the appeal) for the controversial building proposed at 336 Barnard Street is complete. Documents have been served, and the petition sanctioned by Superior Court. 

The City’s response is to file a motion to dismiss the case, which we are responding to.

This appeal will set the parameters for public input on projects affecting our historic district going forward, not just this one building.

We cannot emphasize enough how critical the rules and processes set forth in existing ordinances will be in upcoming projects, particularly the wide-ranging Civic Center redevelopment.

If we allow errors of law and process to stand, they will be used as precedent for future projects.

Matching Gift Challenge:

An Anonymous $5000, matching gift is now on the table. Help us meet and even exceed this generous offer to help pay for attorneys fees. Use this QR or click this link to give.

If you want to donate directly, please send a check to the Oglethorpe Plan Coalition, Inc., c/o Andrew Jones, 324 East Broughton St., Savannah, GA 31401.


Monitoring Projects in the District:

The OPC testifies on select projects appearing before the Savannah Downtown Historic District Board of Review. In these meetings we emphasize the importance of adhering to the Ordinance that protects our historic district.  We also coordinate with the Downtown Neighborhood Association and others to ensure consistency of messaging.

For example, in May, the OPC testified before the Savannah Downtown Historic District Board of Review regarding renovations of an 1855 Greek revival structure at 17 East Perry Street.

The staff of the Metropolitan Planning Commission had recommended approval of the destruction of an original window and its decorative 1850s cast iron grille to help the developer make the building more useful for commercial profit. The OPC presented to the HDBR as the only witness with actual pictures of the historic conditions that were going to be destroyed. The images showed that the window appeared to be original to the building and that the cast iron window grille matched the pattern of the balcony above. Therefore, under the Ordinance, these features required protection. The Downtown Neighborhood Association and Historic Savannah Foundation concurred with our recommendation. Subsequently, the Board voted unanimously against the destruction of the window and grille.

While this example may appear to be small, each change matters. A historic district rarely dies as a result of a single calamity, rather, without proper stewardship, it deteriorates over time as the result of multiple incremental changes.

It is sad to note, however, that without our input, there would have been no visual evidence at the hearing of the historic nature of the details of the building at issue.


Purpose of the Oglethorpe Plan Coalition:

Over the last decades, the organizations tasked with moderating the pace and nature of change in downtown Savannah have evolved into organizations more interested in development than in preservation. There is no longer any group dedicated solely to preserving the Downtown Historic District. The OPC proposes to fill this void.

We hope to inform interested Savannahians as to the dire current state of affairs in our city and why it matters to protect the principles embodied by the Oglethorpe Plan. Please see our recent presentation to the Downtown Neighborhood Association here. (Starts at minute 43:27.) 


What We Do:

Advocacy: Protecting the district and oppose inappropriate development, including supporting residents with appeals and litigation. 

Outreach: Working with community groups and city officials to solve important preservation issues.

Education: Increasing public awareness of the importance of the district and the challenges it faces.

Assistance: Providing the public with assistance to understand the Certificate of Appropriateness application and appeal processes, and the requirements under the Ordinance.


 
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James Hundsrucker James Hundsrucker

May 11, 2023

Dear Supporters,

Welcome to our newsletter, in which we will keep you up to date on our activities and other preservation news.

Columbia Square

Dear Supporters,

Welcome to our newsletter, in which we will keep you up to date on our activities and other preservation news.

Our Mission: 

The Oglethorpe Plan Coalition, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) organization. We are dedicated to preserving the Savannah Downtown National Historic Landmark District and its unique Oglethorpe Plan. 

Why is this new entity needed?

One of the great legacies of the early preservation efforts here in Savannah was the enactment of ordinances (laws) that serve to protect the essential character of Savannah and its Oglethorpe Plan. Savannah is fortunate to have appropriate laws in place. These laws support our National Historic Landmark status, such a source of pride to residents not only of the downtown, but the entire city, state, and country.

Over the last decades, the organizations tasked with guiding the pace and nature of change in downtown Savannah on behalf of the public have changed their focus. The Metropolitan Planning Commission (MPC) and the Historic District Board of Review (HDBR), too often ignore the laws they are supposed to enforce and the unique historic features they are mandated to protect. Projects brought before them are now approved based on exceptions or precedents rather than the carefully crafted ordinances developed for our unique historic city, creating a truly slippery slope.

At a recent public meeting, the Historic Savannah Foundation (HSF) explained that the Downtown Historic District is now only a small part of its extended interests. 

The lack of a group dedicated solely to preserving the Downtown Historic District, as HSF originally was, has inspired our group of residents and supporters to collaborate to form a new entity to fill this need.

The problem we face is not so much to amend existing laws but rather to have the MPC and the HDBR abide by the laws that exist.

Please see our recent presentation to the Downtown Neighborhood Association here. (Starts at minute 43:27.) 


What We Do:

Advocacy: Protecting the district and opposing inappropriate development, including supporting residents with appeals and litigation. 

Outreach: Working with community groups and city officials to solve important preservation issues.

Education: Increasing public awareness of the importance of the district and the challenges it faces.

Assistance: Providing the public with assistance to understand the Certificate of Appropriateness application and appeal processes, and the requirements under the Ordinance.


An example of what we do:

A developer proposed and successfully convinced the MPC and HDRB to approve the construction of an overscale luxury dwelling at 336 Barnard Street, on the corner of West Charlton Lane and Barnard Street. We believe this project violates multiple parts of the Ordinances and would set multiple bad precedents that developers will cite in future construction, including (1) splitting lane parcels from the front parcels, creating issues for garbage bin and services location, (2) building not a two-story carriage house type structure but an ornate structure with the appearance of having 4 stories, and (3) incorporating design features that are directly in violation of the ordinances.

A major consequence of this proposal, if implemented on a wider basis, would be to strip the lanes of their original function as the proper place for garbage cans, electric poles, meters, garages, and other support functions. These uses would by necessity move to the front of the buildings on Jones St., Charlton St. and others. The benefits to the developers are clear: land on the lanes is cheap so profits from redeveloping them into homes for seasonal residents would be large. The downside is equally clear: garbage cans and other unsightly utilitarian uses will start appearing on our beloved historic streets rather than the lanes.

The developer won approval of this project by presenting a false choice – either preserve the existing single-story cinderblock building or support their overscale luxury dwelling. We are in favor of a third option, a fully compliant new building—one that takes into account the law and the unique character of Savannah and its Oglethorpe Plan.

The genius of the Oglethorpe Plan and its supporting ordinances is its sound framework for new development. Savannah is lucky to already have the ground rules set out. Our mission is to have these ground rules respected.

In February and March 2023, Andrew Jones, as authorized agent for Anna Habersham Wright, filed two petitions to Superior Court appealing decisions of the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) regarding 336 Barnard. We will keep you apprised of developments in this case.

This appeal is not trivial. This project was called out twice by the National Park Service in a letter to the city dated September 26, 2022, in which the National Park Service stated that projects like 336 Barnard Street, collectively, can have ill effects on the integrity of the District. A copy of the letter appears on our website.

 

Your Help Matters:

As we pursue this appeal in Superior Court, we need help from you. Please help us raise money to pay for our attorneys fees. Use this QR or click this link to give.

If you want to make a donation directly, please send a check to the Oglethorpe Plan Coalition, Inc., c/o Andrew Jones, 324 East Broughton St., Savannah, GA 31401.

 

Update on the Civic Center:

In April 2022, the city's contractor and architect of 336 Barnard Street (above), Sottile & Sottile, produced a new plan for the Civic Center area. To see the full presentation click here

Several aspects of this proposal seem sound. It seems quite clear that the arena no longer has purpose and could be demolished without great loss. The restoration of lost streets and lanes, which the proposal partially addresses, is important. The Oglethorpe Plan Coalition would support an open world-wide design competition for the redevelopment of the site. We are not in favor of any backroom deal where the development is handed to a local architect and developer with political ties.   

We will update you when public meetings are scheduled.


Tru’s Corner

Our historian, Tru Helms, brings you a recollection of Savannah’s beauty captured within the Oglethorpe Plan.

“The drive through such portion of Savannah as lay between the terminus and Mr Charles Green’s house, soon satisfied my eyes that it had two peculiarities. In the first place, it had the deepest sand in the streets I have ever seen; and next, the streets were composed of the most odd, quaint, green windowed, many coloured little houses I ever beheld…. The fringe of green, and the height attained by the live oak, Pride of India, and magnolia, give a delicious freshness and novelty to the streets of Savannah, which is increased by the great number of squares and openings covered by something like sward, fenced round by white rail, and embellished with noble trees to be seen at every few hundred yards. It is difficult to believe you are in the midst of a city, and I was repeatedly reminded of the environs of a large Indian cantonment – the same kind of churches and detached houses, with their plantations and gardens not unlike. 

-Russell, W. H., Sir, My Diary North and South. (1863). Bradbury and Evans.


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