S ORD-1998-014 Designation of Orange County Historic Landmarks

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Excerpt from minutes of HPC Meeting, 2-25-98 OS11 AGENDA ITEM#5: ITEMS FOR DECISION a. Consideration of Landmark Designation Reports (1) Bingham School (2) Chatwood (3) Moorefields (4) Rigsbee's Rock House Belk stated that tonight the Commission will consider four reports that are being prepared for the purpose of review by the State Historic Preservation Office. For local designations the State requires certain standards that each report has to meet. However, if the site is already listed on the National Register the reporting requirements are minimal. The reports distributed to the Commission this evening show what Belk will be sending to the State Historic Preservation Office. There is a cover letter with a brief memorandum on each site that is being considered. Also included in this packet will be the National Register nomination and an excerpt from the tax parcel maps showing the location of the site. The State is concerned about local designations of National Register property sites where such sites have been significantly altered. There are only a handful of National Register sites in Orange County and most of those still retain their historic and architectural integrity. There are some that have been significantly altered, but none of those are under consideration this evening. Belk stated that the process that is followed is laid out in the County's ordinance to create the Historic Preservation Commission. The preparation of this report is the first step. Approval was obtained from the owners of these sites to pursue designation. Letters were then mailed to all of these property owners along with letters to every adjoining property owner and property owners within 500 feet of the site. The letter stated that the Historic Preservation Commission would be considering the designation of the site and also provided a map showing the location and information of what local designation is about. Belk received a number of phone calls from interested citizens and explained to them that this ordinance will have no affect on their property, but will affect the property of the area that is being designated. Belk explained that the owners of the designated properties will receive a tax benefit as a result of this designation, but there will also be requirements. Any changes that the owners of these properties make will have to be reviewed and approved by the Historic Preservation Commission before they can proceed. Belk explained that any adjacent property owner that wants to make changes to their property only has to meet the regulations that are currently in place with the Building Inspections Department, etc. There may be questions that come up for commercial developments that might be adjacent to these areas. Landscape buffers we already required but the Historic Preservation Commission would want to review them to ins=that these buffers take care of screening obtrusive sites or activities from the historic site. No additional burden on adjoining property owners would be required. Historic designations, on the local level, have been shown to be very positive to the neighborhood. Belk stated that the action taking place tonight will be that the Historic Preservation Commission will decide if the reports should be reviewed by the State Historic Preservation Office. The State has thirty days to comment on these proposed designations. If they do not respond within the 2