City ordinance blocks historic house's move

An excavator rests Friday on the property at 701 W. Central Ave. in downtown Bentonville. The house at 703 W. Central Ave. (in background) is the subject of a plan move it to a new location.
An excavator rests Friday on the property at 701 W. Central Ave. in downtown Bentonville. The house at 703 W. Central Ave. (in background) is the subject of a plan move it to a new location.

BENTONVILLE -- Owners of the home that formerly belonged to the family of Louise Thaden said an ordinance that prohibits the relocation of a house inside city limits will not kill the plan to move it from 703 W. Central Ave.

"We have been aware of the ordinance," Eric Scott said in an email. "The ordinance is one of the many things that has to be worked through as we try to preserve and relocate the home."

Certified Local Government

By joining the Certified Local Government program, an eligible city or county gains access to an enhanced partnership with Arkansas Historic Preservation Program and National Park Service, including training, technical support and grant assistance.

Certified Local Government status provides a process for identifying, evaluating and recognizing historic property. The program provides a means for planning and considering historic preservation in land use, public improvement and development decisions. The status is a tool for educating citizens, government officials and community groups about the advantages of historic preservation.

Source: Arkansas Historic Preservation Program

The ordinance was one aspect of the discussion between City Council, city officials and residents last week about what can and should be done to preserve historic structures.

Scott is the son of Lee Scott, former Wal-Mart Stores Inc. CEO. His family bought, through their company Cottage Home XNA LLC, properties at 701 and 703 W. Central and at 106 and 108 SW F St. The houses at 701 W. Central Ave. and 106 SW F St. have been demolished.

Eric Scott has said his family is looking to relocate the house at 703 W. Central Ave., which belonged to Thaden's family from 1919 to 1945. Thaden was an accomplished female aviator in the 1920s and 1930s.

A city building and construction ordinance from 1999 states "No house, dwelling or structure shall be moved from outside or within the city to a location in the city, except and excluding only new manufactured buildings and new modular type buildings. Houses, dwellings and structures may only be moved out of or through the city."

The original ordinance regarding building relocation dates back to 1969. It was amended in 1996 and rewritten in 1999. The only amendment since then was in 2001, increasing the permit fee to $1,500.

Ward 3 Alderman James Smith requested at Tuesday's City Council meeting the ordinance be revisited and potentially include an exemption for historical homes.

"Perhaps that ordinance is outdated, I don't know," he said Tuesday. "But perhaps we ought to explore an amendment or changes to that ordinance and make sure that it's still what works for Bentonville today."

Smith has acted as a liaison between residents and the city. He started an online petition the week of May 9 after talking to people protesting the demolition of the homes on West Central Avenue. He was looking for a way to measure residents' support of identifying and preserving historically relevant structures. The petition received more than 800 signatures, affirming support for an initiative is there, he said.

Smith believes the city can play a role, but, not being an expert with the issue, is unsure what that role entails.

Certified Local Government

The city's role may be to approve a Certified Local Government that neighborhoods could use to help regulate historically and culturally significant structures, said Troy Galloway, community and economic development director.

The Certified Local Government program represents a partnership between the National Park Service, the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program and local governments to preserve historic resources at the local level, according to the state historic preservation website.

A local government can participate if it has a Historic District Commission and passed a local preservation ordinance designating one or more local historic districts, according to the website.

Fayetteville and Rogers are two of the 19 Arkansas cities that participate in the Certified Local Government program.

Fayetteville's Historic Commission was created in 1979. Its general function is to "promote the educational, cultural, economic, and general welfare of the public through the preservation and the protection of buildings, sites, places, and districts of historic interest," according to the city website.

The seven-member commission meets the second Thursday of every other month. Its tasks include "suggesting specific alternative guidelines for the alteration and new construction of structures; fostering and encouraging preservation and restoration; encouraging public participation in identifying and preserving these resources and promoting the safety, education, health, and general welfare of the citizens," the website states.

A message left with Andrew Garner, Fayetteville planning director, was unreturned before deadline Friday.

Bentonville city officials and some council members have said the onus is on residents and property owners to create that Certified Local Government with the degree of regulation property owners could agree on.

"That's where the grassroots effort comes in," Galloway said.

The city would adopt it as ordinance so it could be enforced, he added.

Earlier attempt

Ed Clifford's late wife, Joan, was a leader in the attempt to create a Certified Local Government for West Central Avenue in 1998.

The avenue was one of three historic districts that already had been registered with the Arkansas Historical Preservation Program in the early 1990s. The other two were Southeast Third Street and the downtown square.

The Cliffords lived at 501 W. Central Ave. for more than a dozen years beginning in 1994. Joan Clifford was the assistant director at the Peel House Museum until 2000.

Joan Clifford wanted to establish a Certified Local Government to protect some of the integrity of the West Central Avenue Historic District, Ed Clifford said.

The district had 40 properties, 22 of which were contributing and 18 that were not, when it was created it 1992, according to its registration form for the National Register of Historic Places. A contributing property is one in which the external appearance retains authenticity to the time period in which it was built, said Mark Christ, spokesman with the Arkansas Preservation Program.

"The Bentonville West Central Avenue Historic District is the oldest intact ensemble of historic residential structures within the city limits of Bentonville (1885-1935)," the form reads.

Being listed on the National Register of Historic Places is "strictly honorary" and doesn't provide any protection against alterations or demolition, Christ said. Individual properties could be removed from the registry if their exteriors change the historical appearance. Whole districts could be delisted if the percentage of contributing homes falls below 51 percent, he said.

A Certified Local Government is the best option when it comes to historic building preservation, Christ said.

It took Joan Clifford about six to seven months to do the required work and get about 75 percent of the property owners on board with a Certified Local Government, Ed Clifford said.

"We couldn't get past that so she decided rather than to just gerrymander a district around properties, she would just drop the effort," he said.

The city's development environment was "pretty static" at the time but "the issue that prevented the CLG was no different then than it is now," Clifford said, referring to property owners' rights. "Whether they can overcome them in the current environment is yet to be seen."

Trying again

The first attempt to create a Certified Local Government should be used as a tool and learning experience for current efforts to preserve historic homes, said Lisa Clark, a 20-year resident of Southeast Third Street.

Clark and her family were new to the street in the late 1990s, but she got involved with the conversation then because it affected her neighborhood. She recalled there was a lot of interest for a Certified Local Government, but that the regulations seemed too tight and unfriendly to property owner rights.

A solution that has a balance of protecting property owners as well as protecting historically significant buildings should be possible and needs to have support from various community voices, including the city, she said.

Clark said she plans to meet with city officials, other residents and experts who have experience in preservation of historic buildings to investigate possible solutions for Bentonville.

"There's a big learning curve," she said.

Other residents and City Council members have commented on how this situation is unfamiliar to them and the next step is to learn and explore what possible solutions are.

She said she was encouraged by how many people came up to her and Cherie Clark, another resident involved in the preservation effort, after they spoke at the city's committee of the whole meeting Monday.

Lisa and Cherie are not related and recently met as residents have made their concerns known to city officials over the past two weeks.

"I think now there is enough awareness for the need for that in our community, that with enough voices, maybe we can get somewhere in the near future with some efforts that will have lasting effects in our city," Clark said.

NW News on 05/29/2016

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