FAYETTEVILLE — The city is on track to have two more residential historic districts.
The Planning Commission voted 9-0 on Monday to support a pair of items that eventually could lead to the creation of two new historic districts. A third item, also supported 9-0, would add a single property to one of the city’s existing historic districts.
Creating the local historic districts would enact a set of preservation regulations and guidance that property owners have agreed to follow. This is in contrast to a national historic district, which provides an honorary title with no regulatory teeth.
The proposals next will go to the city’s Historic District Commission for any changes before going to the City Council for final approval. Only the Historic District Commission can make changes to the proposed districts, so if the council wants anything changed, it would have to send the proposals back to the Historic District Commission. The Planning Commission on Monday recommended the council approve the proposals, albeit with a note about one particular property.
The two new proposed historic districts would be called the Fayetteville Black Historic District and the South Fayetteville Historic District. The two proposed districts initially were studied as one, but the Historic District Commission recommended creating two distinct districts because of the historical context and variety of architecture of the areas, said Kylee Cole, one of the city’s long-range planners.
The boundary for the proposed Fayetteville Black Historic District is generally just north of the historic Saint James United Methodist Church, Willow Avenue to the east, Rock Street to the south and Washington Avenue to the west.
The proposed district includes 33 homes, two churches and the Yvonne Richardson Community Center, according to city documents. Designs of structures consist primarily of vernacular forms built mostly in the 1910s to 1960s. The area is historically significant for its association with the city’s Black community post-emancipation to present, city documents say. The proposed boundary captures the highest concentration of properties associated with historic Black ownership and some of the oldest remaining homes in the city.
Of 83 owners of record within the proposed boundary, 44 or 53% signed a petition to create a local historic district, according to figures from Cole. A nonprofit spearheaded the effort to create the district, which includes 19 properties deemed “high priority” for preservation.
The Black Historic District, as well as the South Fayetteville Historic District, would follow the secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior standards. Being in a historic district does not change the underlying zoning for a property, nor does it dictate land use. Property owners are not forced to make any changes to their properties, and rudimentary features such as paint color and ordinary upkeep are not included in the set of regulatory standards. The district essentially functions as a design overlay, bringing an additional layer of development regulations to an area, Cole said.
Any exterior changes along public right of way to properties would have to be reviewed and approved by the city’s Historic District Commission. Interior alterations are not subject to review, Cole said.
Five residents spoke to the Planning Commission in support of creating the Black Historic District.
Resident Billy Smith said his parents’ home still stands in the proposed district despite offers over the years to sell. He said he wanted generations from now to know the legacy of the area, and encouraged the commission to be among the first in the state to recommend approval of a Black historic district.
“You could set an example for those outside looking in,” Smith said.
The commission supported creation of the district with relatively little discussion. Commissioner Nick Castin said he was happy to support a meaningful proposal.
Commissioners also supported creation of the South Fayetteville Historic District, but will include a note in its letter of recommendation to the Historic District Commission to further discuss inclusion of the former Jefferson Elementary School property.
The proposed South Fayetteville district is comprised of two separate areas. The largest area has Jefferson Elementary at its southern edge, with Willow Avenue as its general eastern edge, an area north of Combs Street Church of Christ and properties facing Washington Avenue to the west. The second piece lies east of the intersection where College Avenue, Nelson Hackett Boulevard and Rock Street meet (stopping west of the Yvonne Richardson Community Center).
The boundaries include 34 homes, one church and two school buildings. Structures consist primarily of vernacular forms built primarily in the 1900s to 1930s, and the area is historically significant for its association as a working-class neighborhood, according to city documents.
Of 54 owners of record, 32 or 59% signed a petition to create a local historic district. Eight properties are identified as high priorities for preservation.
Shawn Schwartzman with Potter’s House, a nonprofit that bought the former Jefferson Elementary School three years ago, said the organization has made efforts to reconnect the building with the community and is in the middle of a first phase of renovations. Since Potter’s House purchased the property, it has served as the site of free meals, an after-school art program and as a warming center for unsheltered residents.
Schwartzman asked that the building not be included within the proposed historic district for now. He said the request was prompted by uncertainty over how the regulations of the district may impact renovations. For instance, the nonprofit plans to install an elevator that would be visible from the southwest corner. Windows in the front of the building leak when it rains, and the nonprofit would not want to be required to keep them as they are, Schwartzman said.
Two other members of the Potter’s House staff also asked for the building to be excluded, not because they were against the idea of the district, but because of the uncertainty it may cause for the renovations.
Planning commissioners agreed to ask the Historic District Commission to take Jefferson’s renovation into consideration when finalizing the district boundary.
The third item the commission supported was to add a home to the southwestern boundary of the Oak Grove Historic District. The City Council approved creation of the district in January, making Oak Grove the city’s first historic neighborhood in city code.
