Chapter 50 Historic Preservation – No It Is Still Not Over
Chapter 50 of NSB City ordinances is the ordinance that covers City efforts of Historic Preservation. The ordinance establishes a Historic Preservation Board, which was formerly called a Commission, but retitled here as a Board to fall in line with other City boards (HPB). It provides for the authority to act regarding historic structures within the City, as well as providing for City compliance with requirements for continued designation as a Certified Local Government (CLG), which pertains to historic preservation.
While the concept and intent of the Chapter is to encourage preservation of historic structures within the City, previous versions have, caused confusion between the terms National Historic District (NHD) and Local Historic District (LHD). New Smyrna Beach has two National Historic Districts registered with the Department of the Interior. One is in the area surrounding Flagler Avenue, known as the Coronado Historic District (CLICK HERE) for a map and list of residences. Additionally, one encompasses the area around Canal Street, and is known as the New Smyrna Beach Historic District (CLICK HERE) for a map and list of residences. The critical and important difference between the two is that being registered as a National Historic District does NOT come with any regulatory controls, while a Local Historic District does. There is a push for having this control.
Chapter 50, as currently in force, does contain regulatory procedures covering construction, remodeling, and demolition, mostly executed by the Historic Preservation Board, over any Local Historic Districts. New Smyrna Beach has no Local Historic Districts and efforts by certain resident’s groups within the City have repeatedly failed to gain required support by wide deficits for the creation of such districts. The confusion on what Chapter 50’s regulatory controls apply to has led to concerns over the authority of the HPB Board to apply its regulatory efforts over structures within the National Historic District. Thus, a significant portion of the revisions to the current ordinance are directed at clarifying the confusion so as to make it clear most if not all of that oversight only applies to a Local Historic District. Other issues of concern within the original revision, were proposed increases for penalties, and possible significant delays to commence requested actions, such as demolitions or re-construction.
A lot of work, especially by the City Attorney, has gone into reducing the confusion. NSB Alliance will be watching closely to several parts of these activities by these groups. We want to ensure that compliance with the CLG requirements will not infringe on our individual rights, as well as protecting our citizen’s property rights. If you have not downloaded a copy of the most current revision to Chapter 50, you can CLICK HERE for one. For a copy of the State guidance on CLG compliance, CLICK HERE.