|
Published by former Mayor George Gardner November 14 2012
The Report is an independent publication serving our community.
Contributions are greatly appreciated, by mail or 'Donate' button below.
George Gardner 57 Fullerwood Drive St. Augustine FL 32084
|
|
Special Report
| |
Focus on preservation
A revolving preservation fund, special conservation districts, greater attention to archaeological sites...
City Commissioner Nancy Sikes-Kline hopes to bring to the fore and continue building on Recommendations for the City Of St. Augustine Regarding Historic Preservation, prepared in October, 2003, by an ad hoc committee at the request of Mayor George Gardner.
The seven-member committee merged its own expertise with papers by archaeologists and historic preservationists, and cited codes from other cities to support its findings.
A number of recommendations have already been enacted, including stronger demolition regulations and city government compliance with regulations on its historic resources.
The 6-page report includes short term, intermediate and long term recommendations ranging through historic preservation and archaeology. The complete report can be found here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
 | |
Photo: augustine.com
|
|
|
Short Term Recommendations
|
The committee focused on a stronger demolition ordinance, adding "sites" to protected historic assets, building height limits, requiring review of city government projects, prohibiting underground garages, and greater cooperation with the St. Augustine Archaeological Association and the St. Augustine Historical Society.
Demolition - "Amend the City Code in order that historic structures dating back to the Colonial period constructed between 1563 and 1821), and "Potential Landmark Buildings" be guaranteed protection from demolition."
Historic sites - "Replace the word "structure" (in codes and comprehensive plan) with the phrase 'sites and structures.' "This will allow a broader application to cultural landscapes, sites, buildings, structures and new categories of historic resources ..."
City compliance - "Establish a policy requiring that the City itself comply with the procedures established by the City to enable preservation and protection of public property owned by the City.
"In St. Augustine, the significance and integrity of historic resources cannot be separated into private and public projects."
Height limits - "Revise all Zoning Codes to state that the maximum height must be 35 feet, measured from the (preconstruction) existing grade, e.g. street level prior to any build up for a current project, in order that excessive heights are not reached in the City, particularly within the Historic Preservation Districts.
"Rescind all ordinances and corresponding Comprehensive Plan amendments that create special land use and/or zoning districts that allow 50 foot buildings."
Underground parking garages - "Create an ordinance that prohibits underground parking garages within the portions of Archeological Zones within the National Historic Landmark District (NHL) ... portions of the colonial walled city not presently included in the NHL district; and ... the Fountain of Youth Park.
Cooperation - "Create a formal relationship with the St. Augustine Archaeological Association and the St. Augustine Historical Society so that they are available for consultation to the citizen boards and the City Commission in matters concerning historical resources."
|
|
|
|
|
Intermediate Recommendations
|
A revolving fund, stronger archaeological program, and conservation districts are recommended.
Revolving fund - "Establish a City revolving fund to facilitate the purchase of threatened archaeological and architectural properties deemed significant by the City Commission in order to protect and preserve them."
Master Plan - "...a fully detailed Historic Preservation Master Plan of the City of St. Augustine, to be prepared with the National Trust for Historic Preservation document, entitled,
'Preparing a Historic Preservation Plan' ..."
The committee noted "The City, as a Certified Local Government (CLG), is eligible to receive a special 50/50 matching grant (from the Florida Division of Historical Resources) for this purpose with the staff time used as in kind matching funds.
Archaeological program - "Archaeological concerns should be considered early in project planning ... create a quality curatorial facility for archaeological and historical collections currently safeguarded by the City.
"For larger developments or impacts, establish new thresholds of impact that trigger the need for excavation prior to development that will impact larger areas. Extend the time allowable for the city archaeologist to complete the excavations of larger developments to up to one year. Remove or raise the cap on fees for larger developments or when state and federal permits are needed and the City Archaeologist is required to spend more time.
 | |
Photo: placesaroundflorida.com
|
National Register - "Begin the process of listing City owned archaeological and historic sites on the National Register of Historic Places that are potentially eligible, (such as) the seawall, the Garden Center, the City Waterworks, and the remains of the original lighthouse located on the bottom of City owned Salt Run."
Conservation districts - "Establish a new zoning category to be entitled, 'conservation district' in order to create specially protected residential districts.
"Each conservation district should have its own set of parameters and requirements based upon its specific character. In conjunction with the establishment of the districts, all existing policies, such as land use, zoning and height restrictions should be reviewed and reworked for application to the district."
Institutional master plans - "In order to seek balance between institutional expansion, the preservation of neighborhoods, and preservation of the City's tax base, request that institutional master plans include an inventory of historic properties, a statement of intended use, a regular maintenance program and enforcement mechanisms.
"Examples of institutions within the city include public or government entities such as the Florida National Guard, Flagler College, the Florida State School for the Deaf and Blind, the National Park Service, the St. Johns County School Board, churches, and other nonprofit organizations."
|
|
Long Term Recommendations
|
Recommended for long term are updates to National Register information and Architectural Guidelines for Historic Preservation, the manual for Historic Architectural Review Board actions, as well as new research on colonial building scale.
National Register - "Assist the National Park Service in its efforts to revisit the National Register Landmark designation for the Colonial Town Plan and update it to reflect information brought forward since the 1970s when the district was created.
 "The nomination ... adds confusion and does not meet the stringent standards required today. For example ... no archaeological resources are included or addressed in any way, and sites such as Ft. Mose, Anastasia Island Coquina Quarries, and the Fountain of Youth are not included." Architectural Guidelines - Revise the "Architectural Guidelines for Historic Preservation" to reflect current research. As written, the guidelines are based primarily upon research by Albert Manucy, completed in 1962. "While extremely significant as the primary research on colonial structures, Manucy's work was not all encompassing. New information on issues such as open space, lot coverage, and scale in Spanish colonial cities has been compiled over the years ..." Historic scale - "It is evident that a new standard for the scale of the average colonial structure must be developed. The current model does not take into account that lot coverage in colonial times was based on a number of outbuildings as well as a house, rather than a single large house. "For example, while 50% of a colonial lot might have supported several buildings, the guidelines presently allow lots to be covered by the same percentage through the construction of a single structure. The percentage of allowable lot coverage needs to be adjusted to reflect the actual colonial pattern of lot usage, when houses were smaller than those that are allowed today."
|
|
History's Highlight
|
Preservation envisioned in 1937
2 years, 9 months, 25 days to St. Augustine's 450th anniversary
A 1937 report on the Carnegie Plan to make St. Augustine a "great laboratory of history" paints the image pursued in the efforts of the 2003 ad hoc committee on historic preservation.
The strongest impression which the visitor to St. Augustine receives from the moment he comes within sight of the ancient city gates is one of age, an impression emphasized by the sense of surprise at finding it so well preserved in a territory so new, for the most part, that it can hardly be said to have any history at all.
 | |
Photo:wyomingtalesandtrails.com
|
One is impressed in St. Augustine with the feeling which ancient European cities give the sensitive traveler, a sense of continuity, of being a part of the stream of life and of time from the beginning of things.
Its antiquity has been St. Augustine's chief lure, next to its climate, which it shares with the rest of Florida, since before there was a railroad leading to it.
Until Henry M. Flagler, the pioneer railroad builder who opened up Florida's East Coast to settlement and tourist traffic, had extended his rails southward, St. Augustine was and continued for many years to be the chief resort for winter tourists.
Mr. Flagler, with admirable discrimination, determined to maintain the Spanish character of the town, and built his great hotel, the Ponce de Leon, which still dominates St. Augustine, in a style which his architects brought directly from Spain.
Though most of the other huge caravansaries which Flagler erected farther south have been razed by wreckers or demolished by fire, this modern replica of a bit of the medieval still stands, and is scheduled to remain as the background, tying together all the elements constituting the restored and reconstructed historical monument into which archaeologists, engineers and builders began to convert St. Augustine in the Spring of 1937.
This year, give the gift of history, St. Augustine Bedtime Stories, dramatic accounts of famous people and events in St. Augustine's history. Information here.
|
|
The St. Augustine Report is published weekly, with additional Reports previewing City Commission meetings as well as Special Reports. The Report is written and distributed by George Gardner, St. Augustine Mayor (2002-2006) and Commissioner (2006-2008) and a former newspaper reporter and editor. Contact the Report at gardner@aug.com |
|
|
|
|
