Meet Our Treasurer
My name is Paul Harlan, 851 Nottingham Drive. By day I work for Robins Financial Credit Union as a loan processor, by night I'm a husband, father, and novice handyman. My family moved into North Highlands May of 2020. My family consists of me, my wife Sophia, my daughter Karis, and my mother Laura. For me personally, this will make my 20th something move in my 34 years of life. I have hopes though that this move will stand out among the rest. Not because it's the first house I've purchased or where I've started raising my kids, but because I'm hoping this becomes a place of deep community. I've lived on several streets, a couple of apartment complexes, duplexes, I've even lived overseas, but I don't think I've lived in a neighborhood, the kind you watch in movies and tv shows.
My wife and I moved to Macon in the Fall of 2014. We lived in an apartment complex in North Macon and later rented a small house on North Pierce Ave. Each move though severely lacked the type of community we hoped for. When we moved to Nottingham Dr. we could tell something was different. Even in the height of COVID people would wave, from distance of course, introduce themselves and promised to stop by when things got better.
I've had plenty of time to think about being a neighbor and what makes a good neighborhood. If you'll indulge me a brief second I'd like to share a text from the Bible. In Luke 10 Jesus answers a person's question with this statement "27 ...“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” This person responds to Jesus with "Who is my neighbor?". Jesus tells a parable about a man who was beat up. Several people passed him on the road but one stopped to help him and bandage his wounds. Jesus asked his listeners who was being a neighbor to this man and they answered "the one who had mercy".
Why do I bring this up? Being a neighbor is more than just a position or location. Its about caring, investing, taking time, it’s about action. So a neighborhood is a group of people actively being neighbors (loving, caring, investing and working together). This is why I joined the North Highlands Neighborhood Association and also why I volunteered to become the Treasurer. This is why we recently opened our home to meet our neighbors. We want to work hard to be good neighbors.
So if you are traveling down Nottingham Dr and see me cutting grass, my wife watering her plants or my daughter playing, stop by and say hello, sit down and have a drink and maybe even a snack. Let’s make this a great neighborhood. I hope to meet all of you soon!
Meeting with Historic Macon
One of the many beautiful historic homes in the North Highlands neighborhood
by Marsha Bailey
On June 7th at 6:30 at Highland Hills Baptist Church approximately 27 members of the North Highlands community attended a presentation by Historic Macon to discuss North Highlands becoming a Design Review District. The presentation was given and discussion was held by Ethiel Garlington, Executive Director and Matt Chalfa, Director of Presentation Services.
Being a Design Review District allows communities to have a tool that ensures that redevelopment and growth are suitable for the community’s historic character. A community’s Design Review District Guidelines come into play only when a property owner is performing an activity that requires a Certificate of Appropriateness permit be obtained from Macon-Bibb County. These activities are limited only to those exterior changes that can be seen from the public right-of-way. Macon-Bibb Design Review Board reviews the COA based on the specific neighborhood Design Review Guidelines and makes a recommendation to accept or reject the COA. Although input and guidance are given by Historic Macon, the Design Review Guidelines are written by each community and tailored to its specific concerns.
If the North Highlands community becomes a Design Review District, it will be able to:
Establish minimum standards for property aesthetics and appearance
Create consistency in construction and alterations to buildings
Prevent new construction that is not in accordance with the NH Design Review Guidelines
Provide the NH neighborhood with a public forum to voice support or disapprovals of building alterations
Encourage thoughtful and sensitive development in alignment with the NH neighborhood
Provide for cohesive landscaping, parking and accessory building designs
The community will NOT be able to:
Designate structures as blighted
Demolish any structure designated as blighted
Require property repair or landscape maintenance
Require a COA for minor repairs and ordinary maintenance
Regulate property uses
Dictate the color someone may paint a home or other structure
Provide an exemption from any existing building and zoning codes
Enforce the Guidelines. (This will be the responsibility of Macon-Bibb Planning and Zoning).
If there is sufficient interest from the North Highland community, the next step will be for representatives form North Highland and Historic Macon to draft guidelines and to circulate them within our community for review and comment.
Voting has begun for Spring Yard of the Quarter
For this competition, we're looking for great looking yards and well landscaped yards. Only members of the neighborhood association are eligible to vote, and voting goes through May 15.
The winner will get the “Yard of the Quarter” sign in their yard and three additional prizes. Scott Mitchell will donate a $25 gift certificate from his store in downtown Macon, Travis Jean Emporium. Rich Bates will donate a membership to Historic Macon for one year. The winner will also get a $15 gift certificate from Piedmont Brewery.
We're excited about this contest and have been noticing many beautiful yards around the neighborhood. Thanks for your hard work! We look forward to announcing the winner on May 16.
896 Laurel Avenue
958 Laurel Avenue
911 Boulevard
Congratulations to the residents that have been nominated! If you’re a member, vote by e-mailing your top choice to nhnamacon@gmail.com. If you live in our neighborhood and you're not a member, it's only $20 to join for the year and support our neighborhood.
Meet our Vice President
Hello, Neighbors! My name is Marsha Bailey and as the new North Highlands Neighborhood Association Vice President, I wanted to introduce myself.
Last April when I retired from BellSouth/AT&T Intellectual Property Legal group after almost 36 years, my husband, Pete Garmon, and I decided to explore the possibility of moving closer to our family, Wendy and Rob Moreland. As if from our lips to God's ear, the house across the street from Wendy and Rob was up for sale - so we did what any responsible, level headed adult would do and bought it sight unseen.
At the end of May, before the seller could change his mind, we quickly packed and moved to our new home at 771 Boulevard. Although it’s been almost a year since our move, we continue the daunting task of organization as we marvel at the "stuff” we've accumulated over the many years. (Our kids have threatened us with an intervention if we don’t change our hoarding ways. Fortunately for us, one person’s junk is another person’s treasure, and the Goodwill drop off site is just around the corner.)
Pete and I moved here with our two fur babies: Sparks, our sweet, wide-bodied pit bull and Catherine, our precious, senior cat who loves to eat cucumbers. (By the way, you may see me walking Sparks up Boulevard. Be nice and don't quack. We both know we waddle when we walk.) Once we moved, I wanted to add a white rat to our family but the good Lord had other plans - plus, Wendy said she would never darken our door again if I had a rat in the house. In August, a neighbor found a 1-month-old kitten in her yard that required feeding every few hours, so Pete and I decided to bring Boo Radley home with us. Boo has grown from a flea infested fur ball the size of a pickle to a handsome, insane, solid white cat with beautiful amber eyes – and, should anyone know of someone who is a pet exorcist, please contact me…asking for a friend.
Needless to say, we are so happy that we’ve moved from the Atlanta area to North Highlands. Not only do we love the neighborhood and the new friends we’ve made, but also, we love being across the street from our kids - we get to see them every day! (…and, they feed us; they have a pool; they gave us their Netflix password; they put our garbage cans away…)
Please stop by and say hello next time you’re out and about – I’d love to hear your ideas for improving our neighborhood, and you’re more than welcome to take home a few empty moving boxes.
A Diamond in the Rough
by Miki Fluker
As a historic neighborhood, North Highlands is filled with many beautiful homes. Some have been meticulously maintained for generations; others have been lovingly restored. And then some are, what you might call, “diamonds in the rough.” The 1923 Craftsman Cottage at 823 Boulevard certainly fit this description when the current owner purchased it after searching for an affordable home that needed a little TLC.
The property consisted of a main house, cottage, brick utility building and a storage building. To prepare for occupancy by the owner’s mother, the first 10 months were lovingly devoted to a complete renovation of the cottage.
As the years went by, the buildings got new roofs; new HVAC systems were installed in the main house and cottage and new decks were constructed for both. And finally, a fresh coat of paint all around gave new life to this old Boulevard “diamond in the rough.” What was once considered a folly by some is now the proud owner’s dream home!
