Sigma Chi House Plans Determined Incomplete for an Athens, Ga., Neighborhood

The Athens Clarke County Historic Preservation Commission voted Wednesday night to table a Certificate of Appropriateness application submitted by Milledge Avenue Development Group, LLC. The group wants to a new Sigma Chi fraternity house at 340 North Milledge Avenue, on the long-vacant site of the former St. Mary’s Hospital, between Meigs and Hancock.

The tabling, which was recommended in the ACC staff report on the matter, will give the Milledge Avenue Development Group a chance to make design changes before again appearing in front of the Historic Preservation Commission.

Neighborhood residents are upset over the prospect of a new fraternity house at this location, within the boundaries of the locally-designated Cobbham Historic District and less than a block from the Reese Street Historic District. More than 50 people from nearby neighborhoods attended Wednesday’s meeting, with fourteen speaking against the fraternity house application.

Speakers opposed to the application contend that it makes little sense for the HPC to discuss matters of design appropriateness at this stage. The property is zoned commercial-office and this classification does not permit fraternities and sororities.

As summarized Wednesday night, the HPC staff report identifies inconsistencies in the applicant’s plans and refers to local historic district design guidelines. It says that the proposed new structure partially meets certain of the review criteria for new construction but fails to do so in several key areas such as height.

The report states that “the [building’s] footprint is not in keeping with others in the area as it far exceeds the area precedent.” Also, “the height of the proposed structure is more than 9 feet taller than the adjacent historic structure.” The report indicates that the application fails to note any materials to be used in the building, only mentioning that asphalt and concrete will be used for the parking lot, patio and walkways.

In its summary, the staff report finds that the scale and massing of the proposed structure “simply cannot fit the precedent set by historic structures in the area” and recommends a “significant reduction in the size of the new building or a design that breaks up the massing into areas that can be read as separate buildings.”

In voting to table the application, the HPC specifically noted that the application was incomplete because it lacked sufficient information about materials.

Robert Zoekler, an attorney representing Cobbham neighborhood residents, spoke to three primary issues, stating that:

(1) the property’s zoning does not allow the proposed use and. because the HPC is prohibited from violating the zoning ordinance, approving this plan for an unauthorized use would exceed HPC’s authority;

(2) a traffic engineer’s report on off-street parking requirements for the proposed fraternity concludes that parking planned for this project is “substantially deficient”; and

(3) the building does not meet design guidelines for scale and massing.