Scribe: Carole Nash Conveners: Randy Jones and Carole Nash
Clementine’s Upstairs Lounge 1:30 p.m.
Attendees: Randy Jones, Carole Nash, Travis Layman, Zora Klein, Michael Carson, Dan Downey, Mickey Arefaine, Tec Thomas, Kemper Eagle, Eugene Stoltzfus and about five others
*Historic preservation is well-suited for community sustainability efforts: it can support economic growth, it reinforces community identity, and it lessens carbon footprint when done well.
*Historic preservation does not attempt to ‘freeze’ a community at a particular point in time; it is a living effort that values the history of a community while helping property owners find ways to continue to use older structures.
*There are programs in place, some of which have been used in Downtown Harrisonburg (e.g. tax credits), that successfully assist localities in maintaining the historic fabric of buildings while allowing renovation and rehabilitation.
*Given the two Historic Districts in the City (Old Town and Downtown), property owners are poised to take advantage of the programs associated with this designation.
*New efforts in historic preservation are geared toward ‘green’ rehabilitation — energy-efficient measures that blend in with the historic character of the building.
*Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance (HDR) is a key element in the revitalization of historic structures in the City, and has helped broker some major successes in recent years — e.g., the old Walton Hotel (now Blue Nile Restaurant); the old Wetsel’s Seed Warehouse (now City Produce Exchange); Clementine’s.
*Harrisonburg has no zoning ordinance that protects historic buildings, so the work that has been brokered by HDR has been dependent on the willingness of property owners to conserve structures — unfortunately, there have been many cases in which this did not happen. The most recent is the demolition of the Victorian houses on South Main Street.
*When the Historic Districts were created, there were concerns that the establishment of an Architectural Review Board (ARB) that would have the power to review proposed changes to structures in the Historic Districts would constrain property owners so that they would not support the Districts. Harrisonburg has no ARB.
*Important to note that placing a structure on the National Register of Historic Places or designating it a contributing member to a Historic District is largely honorific — it opens the doors to tax credits and information, but the property owner can still demolish or alter the structure so that it loses its historic significance.
Action Items:
*HDR is a hub for the dissemination of information about historic preservation in Harrisonburg. It can develop materials for new property owners to encourage preservation strategies.
*Harrisonburg can apply for a cost-share survey grant from the Virginia Department of Historic Resources to develop an inventory of architectural and archaeological resources; this will assist in planning.
*The Comprehensive Plan update should have stronger statements and goals concerning historic preservation.
*Walking tours of the ‘success stories’ should be developed.
