Historic Athens is seeking support for its efforts to get a county-wide preservation master plan for Athens-Clarke County. The move stems from the destruction of the Pottery Town neighborhood. Tommy Valentine is the Executive Director of the organization.
"This time, what we saw was that there's been a lot of outcry, concern, and sadness over the destruction of a neighborhood called Potterytown. Potterytown is at the intersection of Wilkerson and East Broad over by Weaver D's. It's a series of historic vernacular cottages, and that neighborhood has been there for decades. It's more than 50 years old, and we saw those houses start coming to the ground."
Valentine says the houses were torn down due to a zoning change 20 years ago, which labeled the street commercial downtown.
He says community and grassroots support are instrumental in the progress made by Historic Athens.
"Any time we've preserved or saved something, whether we're talking about the Lyndon House or historic districts throughout our community, it's been critical that the community has stood up with us."
Has had success with a similar measure earlier this year, a petition to create the new west town historic district.
"We had over 1000 people sign the petition which contributed to its formation."
The nonprofit was founded 53 years ago.