COLLEGE HILL CORRIDOR PROJECT
College Hill Corridor Project Overview Update of the Land Use, Zoning, and Design Guidelines for the College Hill Corridor The College Hill Corridor initiative represents a community effort to preserve, reconnect and revitalize the neighborhoods between Downtown Macon and the Mercer University campus.  With generous grants from the James S. and John L. Knight Foundation, a Master Plan for the corridor was developed, the College Hill Alliance was created, and in conjunction with the Community Foundation of Central Georgia, grants for a variety of initiatives identified in the College Hill Master Plan were made available. As a recipient of a Knight Neighborhood Challenge grant, the Macon-Bibb County Planning & Zoning Commission is undertaking a project to update the zoning codes and design guidelines as a major step toward implementing many of the concepts identified in the 2009 Master Plan. The goal of this P&Z project is to improve the zoning regulations, design guidelines and design review activities that are currently used within the corridor and to provide greater flexibility and predictability in the regulatory process. This effort will explore the opportunity for new codes and guidelines to enhance and preserve the established residential neighborhoods within the College Hill Corridor area as well as guide new development to the most suitable places. To emphasize future growth that is better connected and in a more compact form, the Commission desires to explore smart growth principals such as form based codes or hybrid ordinances and to provide for quality, innovative design for new development. Further, there is an opportunity for the new codes to be used as a template for other neighborhoods throughout the City. P&Z has engaged the services of Pond/Ecos, a land planning and landscape architecture firm, to assist with the development of this project. Working closely with the Macon-Bibb County Planning & Zoning Commission and its staff, they will review and critique the current regulations and guidelines that apply to the corridor area; analyze the existing land uses in neighborhoods within the College Hill Corridor challenge area; consult with stakeholders and the public; and develop effective, new regulations and design guidelines that can be incorporated into the existing Comprehensive Land Development Resolution  The tasks below provide a general outline of the work to be completed: Future land use plan for College Hill Corridor Perform reconnaissance, preliminary review of existing land use patterns, issues and options; Identify concerns and areas of focus - build upon the existing College Hill Corridor Master Plan, the 2035 Future Land Use Plan and P&Z's Visual Preference Survey; Develop a future land use plan with neighborhood and stake holder input.    Zoning regulations Evaluate current regulations - analyze relation to future land use plan policies and recommendations from the College Hill Corridor Master Plan and P&Z’s Visual Preference Survey; Develop alternative land use controls and zoning regulations with the goal of protecting and preserving existing neighborhoods, providing flexibility for new development, and incorporating user friendly graphic formats where appropriate; In consultation with the Commission's legal counsel, develop a final amendment document that can be incorporated into to the Comprehensive Land Development Resolution. Design guidelines and design review process for College Hill Corridor Evaluate existing architectural design guidelines currently in use for the Intown Historic District and Beall's Hill; review the current structure and process of the Design Review Board; Develop new architectural design guidelines and design review processes that protect existing neighborhoods, promote innovative design, provide user friendly graphic formats where appropriate, and improve the design review process; Provide a final working design guideline document in both electronic and hard copy format, editable and suitable for web publishing. Public involvement During the course of this project there will be robust public input. The consultant will conduct and lead a public participation style charette and an appropriate number of public informational meetings. Input from stakeholders, property owners, business owners, and other interested parties will be received and considered as each phase of this project is developed. In an effort to keep the community informed this website will be updated frequently with news, information, maps and graphic material regarding the project. Information regarding Pond/Ecos is available    A map of the project area is available here. Public Meetings: Stakeholders Meeting #1 Stakeholders Meeting #2 Community Meeting #1 Charrette