Critical Point 4:
Historic Zoning Ordinance (1973):
In early 1900s, the political and social atmosphere broke as a nightmare on Savannah’s architectural tradition as it took steps towards “modernistic” approach of city design. Attempts were taken to reform the city’s urban fabric and make room for motor vehicles which were then have been a fashion of progressive and forward looking lifestyle. Savannah’s signature city plan of squares and colonial structures were at stake as they were continuously demolished “In the Name of Progress”. Its historic and famous parks and squares were destroyed to layout highways, parking garages and gas stations. And building materials of these historic structures were sold as revenues to accommodate the cost of this new era. Despite the efforts taken by Historic Savannah Foundation, nothing legally were established as law that would have thwarted this murder of cultural ethics until with a combined effort of Historic Savannah Foundation and the city of Savannah, the State Legislator enabled the legislation for historic zoning in Savannah in 1973 to save the city from this brutality. The law implied regulations on alteration and new construction in the Savannah Historic District keeping compliance with the architecture and planned squares or parks of the region. It also designated other neighborhoods as local historic districts and regulated the construction in those regions as well by making review and approval as complying with Visual Compatibility Guidelines and Standards at the Metropolitan Planning Commission. Ordinance guided the restoration of many of the city’s lost squares and old buildings through 1980s and 1990s, making it one of the finest examples of Historic Preservation in the twenty-first century.