Lithonia, Stonecrest to receive support from ARC

Lithonia and Stonecrest are among 18 communities Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) selected to provide critical planning and technical support through its Community Development Assistance Program (CDAP).

ARC announced June 14 that the projects were chosen through a competitive process that solicited proposals from cities, counties and nonprofit organizations across the Atlanta region. The agency said it will provide a combination of staffing resources and grants to the selected communities to support a range of land use and development initiatives designed to improve quality of life for residents.

Sam Shenbaga, manager of Community Development at ARC, said in a statement that “we are excited to work with these communities to help address critical local issues and enhance overall quality of life for all.”

Lithonia Mayor Deborah Jackson said the city is excited about being one of the communities selected for technical assistance from ARC.

“This provides the opportunity to take advantage of our designation to the National Register of Historic Places and to really focus on the opportunities for historic preservation, which we see as a great tool for economic development,” Jackson said. “One of the components of that will be looking at how to develop a program that would result in job creation or workforce development.”

ARC and Lithonia will develop a strategy to use historic preservation as an economic development tool. This will include opportunities for a Main Street façade program, a historic preservation district and a workforce development program to fulfill recommendations outlined in the existing Livable Centers Initiative (LCI) study and the city’s comprehensive plan.

Jackson said the city completed its LCI plan in 2003, its comprehensive plan in 2010 and has talked about historic preservation as well as job creation.

“With the Community Development Assistance Program (CDAP), we saw that as a way to take those words and develop a program to actually support and implement that idea,” Jackson said.

ARC will work with the Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance to inventory historic resources within Stonecrest and establish policy recommendations to protect and preserve them. The agency also will help community leaders and residents determine the best course of action for legally designating and preserving historic districts and landmarks.

Arabia Alliance Executive Director Mera Cardenas said the CDAP will help the alliance and Stonecrest “identify any historic property within the city.

“That information will be used to create mapping and that’s where the Atlanta Regional Commission’s assistance is really key,” Cardenas said.

Cardenas said ARC will take that information and present it to the community so that residents can see the locations of historic properties.

“From there, we will have community discussions facilitated by the Atlanta Regional Commission and we’ll find out what the community wants,” Cardenas said. “Then we’ll have recommendations for how we can accomplish the community goals. There is a rich, powerful and historic legacy here and we just want to provide [Stonecrest] and the community with whatever tools they need to celebrate and possibly protect those resources.”