Batesville, Benton join preservation program

LITTLE ROCK — Batesville and Benton have joined the Certified Local Government program, which recognizes local governments' efforts to protect a city's historic resources, the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program has announced.

As members of the program, Batesville and Benton will be eligible for grants for future preservation projects, said Frances Mc-Swain, director of the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program.

In Arkansas, city or county governments are eligible for Certified Local Government status if they have a historic district commission with design review authority over a designated historic district.

The Batesville City Council passed an ordinance in November 2007 to create a historic district commission. In April 2009, the City Council passed another ordinance. That one designated the Batesville Commercial Historic District as a "locally protected historic district" and placed it under the design review authority of the Batesville Historic District Commission.

The Benton City Council passed similar ordinances. First, in July 2008, the Benton City Council passed an ordinance creating a historic district commission.

In February 2009, the City Council passed an additional ordinance that designated the Benton Commercial Historic District as a locally protected historic district.

The ordinance placed the district under the design review authority of the Benton Historic District Commission.

The Certified Local Government program is a preservation partnership of local, state and federal agencies focused on promoting historic preservation at the community level. The National Park Service and the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program administer the program. Local communities work through a certification process to become recognized by it.

Sixteen other Arkansas cities are in the program: Little Rock, North Little Rock, Fort Smith, Van Buren, Hot Springs, Eureka Springs, Texarkana, Helena-West Helena, Osceola, El Dorado, Conway, Pine Bluff, Rogers, Morrilton, Blytheville and Fayetteville.