Owners

of historic properties in Fayetteville will have

to get "certificates of

appropriateness" for any changes to the

sites under a proposed historic preservation

ordinance.

new historic preservation commission will

shepherd Fayetteville's heritage and rule on the

appropriateness of any changes to historic

properties if the City Council approves the new

law.

And

don't even think about tearing down any historic

buildings until the new law is in place. Council

Monday enacted a moratorium on demolition in the

historic Main Street District to hold the line

for now.

"There's

a concern that we might lose a valuable resource

if we are considering this ordinance over a

period of time," said Councilman Al

Hovey-King, chairman of Fayetteville's Main

Street Board, which is recommending the new

ordinance. "The board felt very strongly

that [a demolition moratorium] needed to

accompany this," he said.

Council

conducted a formal first reading of the new law

during its first meeting of 2000 Monday night,

and could act on the proposal at its next

scheduled meeting, Jan. 17.

As

proposed, the new law would create the historic

preservation commission, appointed by the mayor

and council, which would recommend to the council

"specific sites, buildings, structures or

objects to be designated as historic properties

or historic districts."

If

your property is designated as historic by the

commission, you would have to get a

"certificate of appropriateness" from

the commission before undertaking any changes.

And new construction in areas designated as

historic also would come under commission

scrutiny.

Currently,

site plans for changes to any existing structures

in the city must be approved by the Planning

Commission before any work is done, and that

wont' change under the new law. The difference

will be that the new historic commission will

rule on aspects of the plans that affect the

historic nature of the structure, while the

Planning Commission will consider the overall

site plans, using the city's development

regulations as its guide.

The

group also would be involved in restoration of

any historic properties obtained by the city,

would seek out state and federal grants for such

projects and would receive grants and donations

on behalf of the city. It also would conduct

educational programs on the city's historic

sites.

Commission

members would be city residents "who have

demonstrated special interest, experience or

education in history, architecture or the

preservation of historic resources,"

according to the proposed ordinance.

"It's

much easier to get properties on the National

Register [of Historic Places] with a commission

of this type," said Maurice Ungaro, the

city's planning director. Listing on the National

Register makes properties more easily eligible

for grants, he added.

And

as a Main Street City under the state of

Georgia's Main Street program, Fayetteville

should have a historic preservation law in place,

said Hovey-King. "It's almost a

requirement," he said.

"And

with the pressures of development in the downtown

area, we felt that it was about time we looked at

a preservation ordinance," he added.

Main Street Fayetteville subcommittee has been

working on the proposal for three months,

Hovey-King said, and now it's ready for council

scrutiny.

Council

will discuss the matter again at its Jan. 17

meeting, 7 p.m. at City Hall.

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