Columbus County Community Chat

By JEFFERSON WEAVER
Staff Writer

Whiteville officials are trying to revive plans to establish at least one National Registry historic district in the city.

“It’s been proven that historic districts are beneficial to revitalizing downtowns,” said City Manager Josh Ray. He and planner Lainie Johnston have been reviewing the 1997 and 2003 historic district plans for ideas.

Johnston said one of the key steps will be recognizing which areas would be best for the designation.

“Whiteville has an uptown and a downtown,” she said, “plus the Madison Street corridor.

All these areas have different strengths, and their own particular character.”

To gain historic district status, a municipality must submit plans to the National Parks Service highlighting the historic nature of homes and businesses in the target areas.

If the district is approved, the municipality and a local historic district commission writes guidelines designed to maintain the appearance of the area, and to provide an additional tool for managed growth.

Property owners who choose to purchase or restore properties in the districts can be eligible for significant tax breaks, Johnston said.

“When people hear that they can save big money by following historic district guidelines,” Ray said, “they tend to listen a lot more closely.”

Historic districts have come under fire in some cities because of the restrictive nature of local rules. Ray and Johnston emphasized there is no desire to do that here.

“It’s all about promoting the city,” Ray said. “We want to do what we can to improve and revitalize the area. When you get people interested in coming downtown, merchants will provide places for them to go. Right now there’s virtually no place to walk to downtown after dark. There’s no reason, aside from the health benefits, to walk around downtown at night. We’d like to change that.

“If we give people a reason to go downtown after 5 p.m.,” Ray said, “then we’ll see more development.”

Johnston said she is exploring which areas to include in the proposed districts, as well as how far they should extend out from the Madison Street corridor.

“We have a lot of things to examine from the start,” she said. “How far out will it reach? Should we concentrate on one of the three centers first? Do we emphasize business or residential property? There’s a lot to consider before the work can begin.”

Ray also pointed out that some simple beautification tasks will go far toward helping preserve and improve the uptown and downtown areas.

“Something so simple as planting a few trees can make all the difference in the world between a bare parking lot and an attractive place,” Ray said.

Ray and Johnston said the onus of the project rests on the community.

“This isn’t something we’re pushing,” he said. “Right now, there is no historic district commission, and we don’t have a part of town government dedicated to establishing an historic district. It has to be something the people want to do. If the people want it, we’re here to help.”

Johnston pointed to her own hometown of Tarboro as an example.

“For a number of years,” she said, “you couldn’t sell a house downtown. Then the revitalization effort got underway (after the town was flooded by hurricanes).

Now you can’t sell a house in the suburbs. People are reaching out for that neighborhood feeling again, and they like having things within walking distance.

“I grew up being able to walk to the store, and walk to church,” Johnston said. “People are wanting a return to that, and an historic district can help.”

“I think it would be a big boost for the City of Whiteville,” Ray said, “but only if the people want it. The property owners have to be willing to take the steps to make it happen.”