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1 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: October 3, 2023 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 4-b <br /> SUBJECT: National Register Recommendation for Ridge Road School <br /> DEPARTMENT: Environment, Agriculture, Parks <br /> and Recreation (DEAPR) <br /> ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> 1) Ridge Road School: National Peter Sandbeck, 245-2517 <br /> Register Report <br /> 2) Elected Official Comment Letter <br /> 3) Historic Preservation Commission <br /> Comment Letter Endorsing National <br /> Register Designation <br /> PURPOSE: To consider the Historic Preservation Commission's (HPC's) recommendation that <br /> the historic property known as the Ridge Road School be recommended to the State Historic <br /> Preservation Office for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. <br /> BACKGROUND: The historic Ridge Road School is being nominated to the National Register <br /> for its significance as one of the best-preserved historic two-room Black schoolhouses in Orange <br /> County, built in the 1930s and used until the 1950s. The federal process for listing a property in <br /> the National Register of Historic Places includes a provision giving the BOCC the opportunity to <br /> offer a recommendation for or against the listing of historic properties within its jurisdiction. The <br /> HPC fully supports the nomination of the Ridge Road School to the National Register. As required, <br /> the HPC held a public hearing and received public comment regarding this proposed National <br /> Register listing at its regular meeting on September 27, 2023. The HPC subsequently <br /> recommended the proposed designation for approval (Attachment 3). <br /> DEAPR contracted with a consultant to prepare this National Register Report to promote this <br /> official recognition for properties of special historical, architectural or cultural significance to <br /> Orange County. This is an ongoing HPC program to protect and preserve historic resources. <br /> Funding was provided through the County's Lands Legacy Program, which includes as one of its <br /> priorities the protection of "lands of historic, cultural, or archaeological significance." <br /> The National Register is an honorary designation that carries no local regulatory burden, but does <br /> provide a federal and state process for protection in the case of projects receiving federal or state <br /> funding, or projects that require some form of federal or state permit or license. <br /> The attached National Register report provides a detailed architectural description, followed by a <br /> statement of the school's significance and historical context about Black schools in Orange <br /> County, along with a detailed history of the school (Attachment 1). <br />