The Alpharetta City Council on April 28 unanimously approved a request to designate the John C. Weatherford House at 193 Canton Street as a designated historic structure, moving it from the contributing inventory to the designated historic buildings list.

Planning staff said the house, constructed between about 1910 and 1920 and roughly 2,800 square feet, meets the code’s criteria for designation as an outstanding example of its era and for its architectural and cultural significance. The property was part of a 2021 zoning approval that required the house be saved, restored, and designated historic as part of a 17‑lot subdivision on 2.4 acres. The Historic Preservation Commission reviewed the application on April 17 and recommended unanimous approval; the downtown consultant has already provided comments on a forthcoming certificate of appropriateness for the restoration work.

Council members asked how the city enforces preservation after designation; staff described the certificate‑of‑appropriateness process. “If the commission does approve their proposal to restore or rehab the structure, the staff, city staff will then review a building permit and confirm that what’s on the building permit is what the Historic Preservation Commission approved,” staff said. The city has building and site inspectors who monitor compliance during construction.

Developer and applicant representatives said they are working with the downtown consultant and intend to retain as much original material as practical. “We are gonna do everything within our power to keep anything and everything we can from the original structure,” said one applicant representative.

The council approved designation on first reading and then passed the ordinance on the second reading at the April 28 meeting without public opposition.

Why this matters

The designation protects a local historic resource and makes the property subject to the Historic Preservation Commission’s review for exterior changes. Staff process and enforcement through certificates of appropriateness and building‑permit inspections are the city’s primary tools to ensure restoration work maintains historic character.

Speakers quoted or cited in this article are those who spoke on the historic designation item at the April 28 meeting and are listed in the article’s speakers field below.