Friends of Shoal Creek supports permanent conservation protections for Haddock Woods, an old growth mixed hardwood forest located in the heart of Southeast Decatur between the Oakhurst and Winnona Park neighborhoods.
Sign our letter to the City of Decatur to encourage the City to preserve this critical natural area. Much of this wooded area is already under public ownership, but conservation protections are needed.
Haddock Woods is an important natural and community resource for the City of Decatur. This green space creates a serene, natural area within the surrounding residential neighborhoods, while providing habitat for many species of birds and owls in the mature tree canopy. The west branch of Shoal Creek runs through Haddock Woods, from South McDonough Street to South Candler Street. Permanent conservation protections are necessary to protect the ecological and recreational resources that this forested area provides.
Development pressures in Decatur continue to increase. Building proposals have already sought to remove substantial numbers of trees from Haddock Woods and develop sensitive areas close to the branch of Shoal Creek that runs through this area. On October 17, 2019, the owners of 629 S. Candler filed a minor subdivision application that the City approved on October 29, 2019 involving the creation of an additional lot. The additional lot would be 625 S. Candler. The northern boundary of this new lot is a Shoal Creek waterway (as shown on OneMap) that is being disregarded for purposes of this subdivision application. Reportedly, the City considers this waterway a drainage basin given the results of a soil study the owners provided to the City. As such, stream buffer setbacks are not required to be maintained, under this interpretation. This sort of development would erode the integrity of Haddock Woods and undermine the value of this contiguous green space. Larger development proposals could eliminate significant portions of tree cover entirely.
Official recognition — and permanent conservation protections — are necessary for Haddock Woods.
Fortunately, portions of Haddock Woods are already under public control, so the City of Decatur only needs to formalize conservation protections on its own land in order to to preserve the woods for the future. A half-acre corridor of City-owned land extends from the end of E. Benson Street northward up to the Green Street Path. In addition, a two-acre parcel of land currently owned by the City of Decatur is located off of East Hill Street between S. McDonough and S. Candler Streets. (See map.) FoSC intends to advocate to the City of Decatur that Haddock Woods be included in the City’s pending Master Plan for parks, green space and facilities reportedly set for late 2021.
Currently, these City-owned areas do not benefit from any conservation protections. The status and function of these lands as green space has not been been formally recognized through appropriate legal protections or land use controls.
The City of Decatur has designated this corridor for future use as a greenway, proposing a trail called the “East Decatur Connector” that would provide recreational access to these woods. This type of path could allow for additional safe routes to school for City Schools of Decatur students. The City’s plans would ultimately connect the Green Street Path to Dearborn Park via a greenway trail as follows:
Source: Decatur PATH Foundation Connectivity and Implementation Plan, and Decatur Preservation Corridor Master Plan
However, the vision of the East Decatur Connector may not be possible if private development threatens existing public green spaces. Without protections from the encroachments of development, a future greenway may not be feasible.
The community has a ideal opportunity to place conservation protections on those portions of Haddock Woods that are already under public ownership.
As an initial step, we are requesting the City of Decatur place permanent protections on the corridor of public green space at the end of E. Benson Street (extending northward to the Green Street Path) and the corridors of public property extending eastward as well as southward, to City-owned forested land off of E. Hill Street.
The area proposed for permanent conservation is highlighted in light green on the below map. Designating this area as public green space in perpetuity would create a valuable link between existing green spaces to the north (the Green Street Path and Wylde Center), and to the south (the existing public 2-acre forested parcel off of E. Hill Street).
We urge the community and City to take this opportunity to preserve and connect these critical green spaces in the heart of Decatur.
Sign on to show your support to Preserve Haddock Woods
For more information, please contact us at friendsofshoalcreek@gmail.com.
On April 19, 2021, Decatur’s City Commission voted to purchase an approximate 1.2 acre heavily wooded parcel and green space located at 216 Green Street owned by Agnes Scott College. This parcel is essentially part of the greater contiguous heavily wooded area and green space adjacent to the PATH trail that lies along West Shoal Creek and also includes Haddock Woods. A small portion of West Shoal Creek lies at the southwestern corner of the approximate 1.2 acre property and there is stream buffer along most of its western boundary. It is Friends of Shoal Creek’s understanding the City intends to preserve and maintain this property as green space.