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Machmerlt 1 g LOCAL LANDMARK DESIGNATION REPORT Murphey School Historic Preservation Commission October 27, 2010 (updated after December 8, 2010 HPC Meeting) Historic Preservation staff has received an application (attached) from Mr. Jesse Miller (7923 Morrow Mill Road, Chapel Hill, NC ) to consider his property, Murphey School (PIN# 9892 -59- 5445) for the Orange County Local Historic Landmark Program. The subject property, 3729 Murphy School Road, is a seven -acre tract located at the intersection of Murphy School Road and Old NC 10 in the northeast portion of Chapel Hill Township. The formal process for considering properties for the local landmark program includes several steps over the course of approximately six months. The process is described in full in An Ordinance Creating the Historic Preservation Commission of Orange County, Article 3, Procedures for Designating Historic Landmarks. The following staff report is designed to assist the Orange County Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) in its deliberations in two ways: to outline the steps in the designation process as defined in the Historic Preservation Ordinance, and to distill the information in the body of the application (which serves as the report of significance) and compare it with the specific criteria that the HPC has adopted for evaluating historic resources. The application process for local landmarks consists of two parts. During Part 1 the applicant presents the HPC with an overview of the site and photos for an initial evaluation. If the HPC determines based on the approved criteria system that the property appears to be a strong candidate for the Local Landmark Program, the HPC directs the applicant to proceed with Part 2. Part 2 of the application includes the report of significance —a detailed architectural description and research report. In May of 2009, Mr. Miller submitted Part 1 of his application to consider Murphey School for the Local Landmark Program. The HPC determined that the property appeared to be a candidate for the program; at the time, however, substantial renovations were underway. The HPC recommended that Mr. Miller wait until his renovation work was completed before pursuing Part 2. The renovation project was finished during the summer of 2010, and the Murphey School building and associated teacherage is now open for a variety of educational programs. Mr. Miller submitted Part 2 of his application in August of 2010. The application materials for Part 2 include: 1) the completed form, 2) the Statement of Significance, 3) excerpts from the Murphey School National Register Nomination to fulfill the architectural description and history portions of the application, 4) an aerial plan, site plan and floor plan, and 5) color photos linked to a site plan and floor plan key. Murphey School was identified as a property of significance during the countywide survey of historic resources in the early 1990s and was placed on the National Register Study List by the North Carolina Division of Archives and History on July 8, 1992. Murphey School was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on August 20, 2009 based under Criteria A for its association with statewide efforts to improve education, and Criteria C for its distinctive architecture. ' The following is a brief summary of the National Register Nomination.