Fayetteville City Council agreed to update central Fayetteville Historical District Standards to comply with state legislation during this week’s work session and requested that staff provide comparisons of current and proposed standards for further review.

When the city’s officials work to ensure that regulations support the growth of the center, they also aim to preserve the historical district and balance business issues over restrictive standards with the broader debate on its long -term future.

2021 made North Carolina audits of State legislation The designation of historical districts to clarify the process of appointing historical districts, describing local authority and legislative standards for preservation. The audits are intended to ensure consistency in approval procedures and historical designation criteria.

It is unclear which standards are changed because the city did not respond to requests for more information per time limit. A presentation that was given during the work session was also unclear.

Fayetteville Downtown Historic District, which was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1999, includes 113 buildings and various locations, structures and items built from the 1780s to 1949 in the city’s central business district.

Mayor Mitch Colvin said February 5 that the standards for the past cannot support the future.

“We want to make sure that things are not outdated, that growth is moving in the direction we want it to go,” he said.

Colvin said that the Center is lagging after other municipalities in terms of growth and development of companies.

“If you go to the center anywhere, for any major city or a decent city, you will see apartments on several levels and a lot of housing development that have not taken place in the center,” he said.

Council member Dino Hondros said in an e -mail message on February 5 that he wants the updated standards to be less burdensome for companies and property owners.

Hondros said that the Council will “decide whether our current standards are best as it is, or if we can look at audits that can have a positive impact for business owners in efficiency and efficiency.”

Corporate owners react

By responding to the potential change of standards, Josh Choi, owner of Winter flower At Hay Street, said in a phone call to maintain historical elements while trying to modernize as a company has been a problem.

Choi said to receive approvals on projects on historical properties still present challenges.

“I think there is a link between the realization that one day, one month, a week for a small entrepreneur is harmful,” Choi said.

Michael Pennink, a real estate agent who handles property in the historic district, said that preserves historic buildings is a sensitive balance measure.

“There is often a contradiction between historical guidelines for conservation and current state building/fire code … It may be a challenge to satisfy both at the same time,” Pennink IE said IE mail.

He said it is not the standards that prohibit entrepreneurs from moving in, but rather the cost of meeting them.

“Citizens are often obliged to obtain approval from the Historic Resources Commission or from the City of Fayetteville staff for relatively minor improvements. This burden is often enough to deter citizens from investing time and money to go through the process, ”Pennink said.

Choi said that his biggest question is clarity when it comes to what companies can and cannot do.

“What will help us come to a” yes “by opening instead of telling us,” No, you can’t do it, “because it doesn’t help us at all,” Choi said. “We should consider all small businesses that come either in the center or throughout society.”

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Should there be a historical district at all?

Council member Mario Benavente said February 5 that he is aware of frustration from entrepreneurs, but not to the extent that his colleagues presented in the work session.

“There are many reasons to be at the center, and may not be able to equip the front facade of your building how you want, whenever you want, is not one of them,” he said.

Benavente said that the bigger question is whether there should be a historical district at all.

“Let’s not, kind of, chop words about this or kind of complain about it … just say what you are upset about,” he said. “Let’s have the real conversation. It’s not really about riveting on the details. “

Benavente referred to a previous edition mayor Colvin had in its personal capacity in the historic district of 2019 When he and a group of named investors renovated Lumbee Guaranty Bank Building on Hay Street.

However, Colvin said that his previous questions have no connection to his concern to the historic district now.

While Colvin sees the usefulness of the historic district, he said he is open to establishing one in another area to allow more city growth in the center.

“We (could) shrink it and put it in an area that is a little less concentrated with some of the economic development that we are trying to encourage to come here,” Colvin said on Thursday.

Pennink said that the most important issue in the historical conservation debate is how to define the story.

“What history of history are we trying to preserve? In the early 1900s? Late 1800s? The time of the original European settlement in the area? The time for native people’s occupation of the area before European residence? “He said.” Who should also determine the answer to this question? “

He said that whether the benefits of historical conservation are considering the challenges – for example, restrictions on the property owner’s rights, is limited flexibility in property maintenance and uncertainties in form and enforcement – open to debate.

“The Irony is that these are some of the oldest buildings in town and therefore in great need for maintenance and improvement,” he said.

Government Watchdog reporter Claire C. Carter can be reached at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Fayetteville Observer: Fayetteville City Council agrees to update historic district standards