Visit the project website for more information: www.inspire-engagement.com/college-park-comprehensive-planWHAT IS A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN? A comprehensive plan is a document that sets the long-term (20-year) vision for a community and identifies specific steps to implement that vision. • In Georgia, a comprehensive plan does not set or change laws or rules in the city. • The plan is a guidance document; it helps the city work more efficiently by identifying issues and opportunities for improvement and selecting programs and projects to prioritize. • Comp Plans in Georgia must analyze at least the following topics, with the option for more: • Population • Economic Development • Natural and Historic Resources • Community Facilities and Services • Housing • Land Use • Broadband • It's required by the State of Georgia to keep our city eligible for state and federal funding (officially called Qualified Local Government status). If we don’t have a “Comp Plan,” we lose the chance for financial help with issues like utility improvements and economic development. • It has data and statistics on our population, housing, land use, transportation, and other major factors. • It has goals and policies to keep us on track toward the vision. • It has a 5-year list of past achievements and a 5-year list of new or ongoing projects to accomplish. Fulton County was created out of DeKalb in 1853 from land that was gained through Creek Indian cession in 1821, an area that included the future locations of College Park, and the contiguous cities of Atlanta, East Point, and Hapeville. By the 1860s, five homes had been constructed in the College Park area, then known as Atlantic City, including the homes of the earliest recorded landowners and farmers, Alexander Ratteree and W. N. McConnell. The Slave Schedules of the 1860 US Federal Census indicates that Ratteree and McConnell owned a total of 17 enslaved persons – men, women, and children described as “Black” and “Mulatto” between the ages of 2 and 40. In 1890, 900 acres of land on the Atlanta and West Point Railroad one half mile south of East Point were purchased by a syndicate of Atlanta businessmen and in 1891 the City of Manchester was chartered and incorporated with the hope that it would become an epicenter of industry like its English namesake. However, with these dreams never realized, and the establishment of the Southern Baptist Female College (later Cox Female College) and Southern Military Academy (later Georgia Military Academy then Woodward Academy), a contest was held in 1892 to rename Manchester – a contest that was won by Mrs. Mary Malinda Gordon Roper for her submission of the name College Park, “a name that [is] suggestive to every one of colleges and culture and at the same time of green trees, flowers and fresh air.” In the early 1920s, almost 300 acres of land were leased by College Park and the Candler Field and the Atlanta Municipal Airport – now the Hartsfield Jackson International Airport – was established out of an abandoned auto racetrack. In the 1970s and 1980s, hundreds of properties in College Park were purchased using information detailed in The Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Noise Land Reuse Plan, which allowed the airport to apply for federal funding to purchase property designated as “noise land”. These properties were later disposed of and converted into warehouses, parking lots, and buildings for light industrial uses. Between the 1980s and the early 2000s, as part of continued execution of the FAA noise abatement program, the City of Atlanta and the FAA purchased roughly 320 acres of property containing residential structures, churches, and some small commercial buildings immediately adjacent to the west side of downtown College Park which sat abandoned for decades. However, continued efforts by the City of College Park and Aerotropolis Atlanta Alliance to redress harmful past planning efforts around the airport culminated in an official ground breaking of Six West in 2020 – a mixed-use regional center named to capture the legacy of former neighborhoods anchored by six college-named streets. HISTORY The Airport in the 1980s 7 | City of College Park 2021 Comprehensive Plan Update Atlanta Regional Commission Figure 10 illustrates the balance between housing and employment with College Park residents. For this purpose, employment represents the number of College Park residents that work, either within College Park or outside of the City. Number of housing units represents ‘housing.’ If employment-housing balance is too high, adequate housing may be unaffordable or unavailable to workers in that area, leading to issues such as housing unaffordability and traffic congestion from in-commuting workers. If employment-housing balance is too low, this may indicate inadequate job availability for area residents. Per Map 2, a little less than 700 people both live and work within College Park. Most residents commute outside the City for wor
Visit the project website for more information: www.inspire-engagement.com/college-park-comprehensive-planWhat would you most like to see more of in Ward 3? Place your pin on the map to show your preference. GROWTH PREFERENCES Housing Jobs & Services Civic & Community Parks & Open Space Mixed-Use
Visit the project website for more information: www.inspire-engagement.com/college-park-comprehensive-planWHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT COLLEGE PARK? WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE ABOUT COLLEGE PARK?
Visit the project website for more information: www.inspire-engagement.com/college-park-comprehensive-planSTRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES, OPPORTUNITIES, & THREATS Grab a post-it note and tell us your thoughts. STRENGTHS • What features of College Park already make it attractive to residents, businesses, and investors? • How do existing conditions support walkability and redevelopment? • What transportation assets (transit, location, connections) give this area an advantage? • How does proximity to major employers (such as the airport) strengthen the district? • Are there existing cultural, historic, or architectural assets that should be highlighted? WEAKNESSES • What infrastructure gaps (parking, utilities, sidewalks) limit growth? • What affordability challenges exist in the Ward? • How well does the Ward currently support pedestrians, cyclists, and transit? • Are there community concerns about building height, density, or traffic? • What infrastructure gaps, if any, exist that may negatively impact the community? (Parking, Utilities, sidewalks?)
Visit the project website for more information: www.inspire-engagement.com/college-park-comprehensive-planOPPORTUNITIES • What redevelopment opportunities exist on underutilized parcels? • Where might workforce housing incentives (height/density bonuses) be implemented? • How might transportation and multimodal enhancements better serve the community? • How can the area attract new industries and businesses? • Are there modes of transportation that are missing within the Ward? • What areas need additional commercial activation? THREATS • What economic or market trends could negatively impact the City’s growth? • What community assets need to be better protected? STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES, OPPORTUNITIES, & THREATS Grab a post-it note and tell us your thoughts.
Visit the project website for more information: www.inspire-engagement.com/college-park-comprehensive-planWhat would you most like to see in College Park? Place a GREENGREEN dot (like) or a REDRED dot (dislike) to show your preference. DESIGN PREFERENCES OUTDOOR RECREATION AND NATURE AREAS CAFES, RESTAURANTS, & BREWERIES ENTERTAINMENT AREAS PARKING GARAGES OUTDOOR DINING Bioswales Glamping Nature play areas Bar Seating Indoor-Outdoor Connection Standard or Communal Tables Traditional Indoor Modern Artistic Permanent Temporary Rooftop Plazas Food Halls Lounge Seating
Visit the project website for more information: www.inspire-engagement.com/college-park-comprehensive-planWhat would you most like to see in ENTERTAINMENT AREAS in College Park? Place a GREENGREEN dot (like) or a REDRED dot (dislike) to show your preference. ENTERTAINMENT AREAS Food halls Nightlife corridor Experiential mixed use Pedestrianized streets Food truck courts Creative adaptive reuse Plazas and courtyards Playgrounds Sports Facilities Lawns or flexible greens Festival streets Flexible civic green with programming Family-oriented district Games or interactive play Sidewalk cafe seating Space for live music or performances
Visit the project website for more information: www.inspire-engagement.com/college-park-comprehensive-planWhat would you most like to see in AIRPORT SUPPORT & HOSPITALITY locations in College Park? Place a GREENGREEN dot (like) or a REDRED dot (dislike) to show your preference. AIRPORT SUPPORT & HOSPITALITY OFFICE- COMMERCIAL INDUSTRIAL MIXED USE HOTEL AREAS STANDALONE HOTELS LARGE WAREHOUSE INDUSTRIAL
Visit the project website for more information: www.inspire-engagement.com/college-park-comprehensive-planWhat would you most like to see in OUTDOOR AND NATURE areas in College Park? Place a GREENGREEN dot (like) or a REDRED dot (dislike) to show your preference. OUTDOORS AND NATURE Nature play areas Paved trails Separated trail lanes Bioswales and native landscaping Natural surface trails Benches and places to rest Exercise stations Outdoor dining Clear signage and wayfinding Bike parking and repair stations Event or gathering spaces Signalized trail crossings Trail lighting Educational and cultural signage Dog-friendly features
Visit the project website for more information: www.inspire-engagement.com/college-park-comprehensive-plan HOUSING PREFERENCES Grab a post-it note and tell us your thoughts. TYPICAL HOUSING IN WARD 3 WHAT OTHER HOUSING TYPES WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IN WARD 3? Duplex / multiplex housing (1-3 stories) Garden-style apartments and condosSingle-family detached homes Townhomes and attached single-family homes Mid-rise housing (4-6 stories)
Visit the project website for more information: www.inspire-engagement.com/college-park-comprehensive-planSTREETSCAPE DESIGN PREFERENCES What design elements would you like to see along roadway corridors? Place a GREEN dot (like) or a RED dot (dislike) to show your preference. Outdoor Dining Street Furnishings Shared Use Path Active Building Frontage On Street ParkingWide WalkwaysRaingarden Stormwater Retention AreaLandscape Along Streets