Other Advocacy

RIVERSIDE, ILLINOIS

November 2006 - April 2, 2007

In November 2006 NAOP submitted a letter to the President of the Village of Riverside, IL, expressing concern about a preliminary plan to create a tax increment financing district that includes a transit-oriented development component. The letter addressed the potential impact that the anticipated "high-density" development would have on Riverside's historic center and adjacent land, threatening the unique character that gives the community national and international significance. NAOP urged the Village to adopt a comprehensive plan that guarantees future generations enjoyment of the quality of place that Olmsted envisioned for all its citizens.

In response to NAOP's offer to provide assistance at a series of upcoming public meetings, NAOP was invited to make a presentation to the Riverside community on April 2, 2007. "An Evening of Olmsted" featuring NAOP co-chairs Susan West Montgomery and David Bahlman, and Olmsted scholar Victoria Ranney, moderated by NAOP turstee Chris Robling, was held in Riverside Township Hall Auditorium. Sixty people attended. NAOP leaders spoke about the challenges of addressing contemporary needs while preservig historic landscapes and highlighted successful examples from other communities that have achieved this balance. They urged the community to build consensus around the future of their historic community, develop a set of principles to guide their planning process, and adopt a comprehensive plan that will protect and preserve the unique character that gives Riverside its national and international historical significance.

UPDATE: PIEDMONT PARK, January 2006

The Atlanta City Council approved construction of a parking deck inside Piedmont Park at its November 21, 2005 meeting by a vote of 12 – 3. Eighteen of 19 neighborhood planning units (NPUs) in the city opposed the deck. (City ordinance requires master plans/amendments for parks of more than 100 acres go to the City’s 24 neighborhood planning units for review.) The staff of the Atlanta Urban Design Commission recommended against the deck and four of the seven members of the AUDC present at the hearing for review and comment opposed the deck in their comments. A special task force appointed by the Mayor issued a report endorsing the deck. The Department of Parks, Recreation & Cultural Affairs and the Mayor supported construction of the deck.

The parking deck was part of the North Woods Expansion master plan adopted by the Piedmont Park Conservancy in November 2004 after what was called a comprehensive planning process that included a variety of stakeholders including surrounding neighborhoods and activity interest groups. The expansion plan called for a radical departure from the previously adopted 1995 master plan for Piedmont Park that has guided rehabilitation of the park. That 1995 master plan took the Olmsted Brothers 1912 improvement plan for Piedmont Park as its framework. A central goal of that plan was eventual elimination of cars in the park. In addition to changes in treatment of the North Woods, the expansion plan included development of two new tracts adjacent to the historic park.

NAOP sent a letter to the members of the Atlanta City Council in November 2005 asking that the 1995 master plan continue to guide the historic park’s rehabilitation and that a deck inside the park be reconsidered. The letter to the Council presented NAOP’s concerns as had the earlier NAOP letter to the Mayor’s task force.

The parking deck was also part of the Atlanta Botanical Garden’s master plan revision. The proposed deck is located across from the proposed new entrance to the garden, now inside the park. The garden leases 30 acres on the western side of Piedmont Park. The garden will build the deck, pay for its construction, and share revenue from the parking fees with the Piedmont Park Conservancy and a parks trust fund.

Both master plans were adopted by the City Council.

November 14, 2005

The National Association for Olmsted Parks (NAOP) strongly recommends that the City of Atlanta reconsider any plan that includes a parking deck in Piedmont Park. NAOP has sent letters to both the Mayor’s Task Force and the Atlanta Urban Design Commission expressing this opinion, which we formulated only after we convened an independent review panel to visit the site.

Our concern centers on the impact that such a large structure associated with bringing more cars into the park will have on the landscape. We believe this addition – while answering some very real parking needs – irreparably damages the design integrity and uses land intended for the public’s enjoyment of passive recreation with the result of ultimately diminishing some of the most important elements that give Piedmont Park its unique status in a busy urban setting: quiet and solitude.

Specifically, in the proposed plan the parking deck would intrude into and alter the intended picturesque scenery and character of the North Woods. Although there is an attempt to mitigate the visual impact of the parking deck by placing some levels underground and screening the upper decks with a planted berm, we feel this would ineffectively mitigate the impact and ultimately compromise any future efforts to rehabilitate the woodland. We are also concerned over a loss of vistas, which are identified as key elements of the park’s Olmsted design legacy.

We recognize the complex layering of Piedmont Park’s cultural landscape, which includes the Cotton States Exposition, the Olmsted Brothers plan of 1912, and the years of administration as a city park. We commend the 1995 Master Plan for addressing this historic character and making reference to the Olmsted principle of “suitability”: creation of designs that are in keeping with the natural scenery and topography of the site. We recommend that the 1995 Master Plan and its comprehensive Technical Document continue to guide rehabilitation of the park.

As a national organization dedicated to the preservation of the Olmsted design legacy for current and future generations, we promote these parks as part of our country’s cultural patrimony and consider major changes like introduction of a parking deck with the utmost concern.

Thank you for your consideration of this request to investigate alternative proposals.

Sincerely,

Lucy Lawliss NAOP Co-Chair	Susan West Montgomery NAOP Co-Chair