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Historic Preservation Environmental Regulations
A continuing education course offered by
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Preservation Foundation

Introduction

The historic preservation movement had its origins in the United States in the mid-1800's. Largely an outgrowth of patriotism and funded almost exclusively by private organizations, the movement focused its energies during these early years upon saving the notable buildings associated with famous leaders of the American Revolution and its immediate aftermath. The most famous example of this type of preservation was the saving of Mount Vernon, George Washington's plantation house on the Potomac River near Washington, D. C.

After 1876, when the Centennial Celebration in Philadelphia, Pa., heightened public awareness and appreciation of the architecture of the Revolutionary era, the movement broadened its horizons to include the preservation of buildings simply because they were fine examples of architecture. For the most part, however, preservationists persisted in laboring to save individual buildings by buying them and turning them into museums and historic sites. The involvement of government at any level remained minimal. Funds continued to be overwhelmingly private.

A major transformation of the historic preservation movement began in the 1920's. A seminal event in this development was the preservation of Williamsburg, Va. Although privately funded by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and inspired by idealized notions of the eighteenth century, this monumental preservation accomplishment of 1926 captured the imagination of the public. It also encouraged preservationists to think in terms of saving entire communities, not just individual buildings.

Concerned citizens in Charleston, S. C. visited Colonial Williamsburg in hopes of discovering how they might preserve the historic architecture of their famous South Carolina port city. Unfortunately, they could not find another John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Undaunted, the Charleston preservationists decided to use the zoning powers of local government to save Charleston's architectural heritage. Thus was born the first historic district in the United States. A Board of Architectural Review, created in 1931, exercised design review over exterior changes to buildings in the Charleston Historic District. The establishment of the Charleston Historic District constituted in many ways the birth of the modern historic preservation movement in the United States.

By 1950, historic towns throughout the United States, including New Orleans, La., Annapolis Md., and Winston-Salem, N.C., had adopted local historic district zoning. Still, the historic preservation movement, except for a few historic towns and cities, remained a predominantly private effort to save architecturally refined buildings and turn them into museums. Such local efforts as the saving of the former U. S. Mint, and rebuilding it in Eastover as an art museum and preserving the Hezekiah Alexander House on Shamrock Drive as a house museum were typical efforts of this type. It is true that the National Trust For Historic Preservation, the first nation-wide historic preservation agency in the country, was chartered by Congress as a private, non-profit corporation in 1949. However, at least in its early years, the National Trust devoted most of its energies to acquiring elegant buildings and operating them as museums. For example, Drayton Hall near Charleston, S.C. is a National Trust property.

It was in the 1960's and early 1970's that the complete transformation of the historic preservation movement was finally realized. The impetus for this fundamental change was provided by the Federal Government during President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society program. The single most important piece of legislation, The National Historic Preservation Act, was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Johnson in 1966. Now for the first time the Federal Government became a major force in identifying and protecting historic buildings, sites and areas in communities throughout the United States. This legislation created the National Register of Historic Places, a comprehensive list of properties of local, regional and national significance, and established a mechanism by which any Federal licensed, permitted or assisted program had to take into account the impact of such programs upon properties listed in or declared eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. Just as significantly, the Historic Preservation Act provided funds to assist each State and territory in conducting comprehensive inventories of historic buildings, sites and areas within its boundaries. Happily, a comprehensive inventory of Mecklenburg County has been performed.

In 1971, the North Carolina General Assembly, inspired by the example set by the Federal Government, passed local enabling legislation to permit cities and towns throughout the State to establish local historic preservation commissions, including historic landmarks commissions and historic district commissions. The former were intended to identify and protect properties of individual historic significance, while the latter were intended to identify and protect areas or neighborhoods of collective historic significance. In 1973, the Charlotte City Council and the Board of Commissioners of Mecklenburg County, encouraged by the Mecklenburg Historical Association, jointly created the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission. In 1975, the Charlotte City Council established the Charlotte Historic District Commission. In 1992, the Historic Landmarks Commission created a non-profit affiliate, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Preservation Fund, Inc., which changed its name to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Preservation Foundation in 1996. The Town of Davidson has established a Historic Preservation Commission, which functions as both the historic landmarks commission and the historic district commission for that community. The Town of Cornelius is considering establishing a Historic District Commission.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission and the Charlotte Historic District Commission have actively pursued the goal of protecting the local historic man-made or built environment. There are more designated historic landmarks (211) in Mecklenburg County than in any other county in North Carolina. Moreover, the Historic Landmarks Commission secured voter approval in November 1991 for the establishment of a $1 million historic preservation revolving fund, which the Commission uses to acquire the fee simple or any lesser included interest in endangered historic landmarks. The Commission's non-profit affiliate, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Preservation Foundation, has been responsible for finding and restoring Charlotte Streetcar No. 85, acquiring and achieving the preservation of four buildings in the North Charlotte National Register Historic District, and is negotiating to acquire an option on a major tract of land in the UNCC area. The Charlotte Historic District Commission has conducted studies and has secured the designation of the following areas as historic districts Fourth Ward, Dilworth, Elizabeth, Wesley Heights, and Plaza-Midwood. There are several National Register Historic Districts in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. They include Dilworth, Myers Park, Elizabeth, North Charlotte, Wesley Heights, the Croft Community near Huntersville, and large portions of Davidson. Parts of Cornelius and Matthews will soon become National Register Historic Districts. More than 50 individual properties in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Clearly, the historic preservation movement has made major strides in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County in recent years.

To fulfill their legal responsibilities as informed professionals, realtors must be aware of and understand the legal consequences of all of the public historic preservation programs described above. It is the essential purpose of this course to provide realtors with the information about historic preservation environmental regulations that will enable them to serve the public good and meet their responsibilities under the Law of Agency.