Davidsonians often talk about the need to preserve our town’s character and history. Last year, the Town Board revised planning rules for the old part of town to ensure new construction and renovations don’t radically alter neighborhoods. Now, the town is looking at another strategy – historic preservation. This Saturday, Dec. 8, at 9 a.m., an information session is planned at Town Hall, 216 S. Main St., on proposed Historic District Design Guidelines. Read the rest of this post>>

Map of proposed extension of the town’s National Register Historic District lines.

Town planner Lauren Blackburn will lead the workshop, which is to include a description of current and proposed preservation initiatives as well as a walking tour of old neighborhoods. Officials will talk about the various options the town is considering for protecting historic neighborhoods and properties.

“One purpose of Saturday is to explain all of the different initiatives that are happening in town,” Ms. Blackburn said Tuesday.

WHAT WE HAVE NOW

Davidson currently has a small downtown historic district, encompassing older buildings along Main Street and at the edges of the college campus. The Design Review Board must review and issue “certificates of appropriateness” for projects within the district.

In addition, several older structures in town are also listed on National Register of Historic Places, managed by the National Park Service.

The Charlotte Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission and town officials also have designated several properties in town as local landmarks including, most recently, the Ada Jenkins Center.

Now, the town is considering expanding its historic district and adopting a new set of Historic District Design Guidelines, which would guide property owners as they consider renovations to older structures.

The guidelines would apply to about 500 individual properties in and beyond the traditional town center, in an area from North Main Street southward to the West Side to South and Walnut streets, and eastward along Concord and Lorimer Roads, about to St. Alban’s Church. The town has been working with a consultant to draw up boundaries.

“It’s a huge district. By state standards, it will most definitely be one of the largest districts in the state,” Ms. Blackburn said.

The town’s consultant is to submit a draft of new historic district design guidelines to the Town Board in January. A follow-up workshop would be held early in the new year to review the proposals.

SEEKING EXPANDED DISTRICT

She said the town is putting the finishing touches on an application to have the expanded area designated as a National Register Historic District. The application could be approved by the U.S. secretary of the interior by early 2009.

“The National Register is a privilege and honor. It can help protect structures that are part of federally funded and managed projects (such as road construction),” Ms. Blackburn said.

The historic district designation would create incentives to encourage renovations and construction in keeping with the historic character of the surrounding neighborhood. Under some preservation programs, property owners could be eligible for tax credits for renovations as well, she said.

“It doesn’t prohibit demolition or renovation,” Ms. Blackburn said. Projects within the district could be eligible for tax credits up to 30 percent of a project’s cost, providing that renovations meet standards published by the Department of Interior.

Even with the designation, the guidelines would remain only suggestions, unless the Town Board later decided to change the zoning and declare the area formally as a local historic district, Ms. Blackburn said. If that happens, the guidelines would become regulations.

The Design Review Board would then have to review applications for external renovation projects within the expanded district, and issue certificates of appropriateness. The review process could lead to debates over the merits of individual projects.

PRESERVE HISTORY AND VALUE

Ms. Blackburn said pursuing various historic preservation strategies is part of the town’s efforts to protect its character and preserve property values, while giving elected officials more information as they vote on new development proposals.

“It’s more to do with preserving the character and allowing property owners to protect their property values. We’re trying to protect people from poor development decisions,” Ms. Blackburn said.

For more information, contact Lauren Blackburn at lblackburn@ci.davidson.nc.us

Details and documents, including an information packet about the various preservation initiatives, are on the town website.