This old house
Now it’s history
THE GOOD news is that the commissioners of Fayetteville’s long established historic district have asked staff members to work up the formal draft of an ordinance that would (maybe) preserve many of the historic sites within that old city’s boundaries. Good for the commissioners. Lovely old houses and other structures scattered throughout Arkansas needn’t be replaced by jazzy new tear-downs that are inferior not only in style but historical interest.
Nothing is newer these days than the old, as director of the city’s Development Services Garner Stoll seems to realize. For he’d been mining the ordinances of other cities where he’s worked and come to the conclusion that conversation and negotiation work a lot better than legal force when it comes to historic preservation. Come, let us reason together rather than sue each other. Just think of all the political friction, not to mention legal fees, that could be saved by that quieter, more constructive approach.
Here’s to a newer and better deal: Anybody who’d like to tear down or re-do a house or business in one of the city’s historic districts would need to get a permit from the municipality. City staff members would review the plan, and only if they turned it down would the clock start running on a 90-day period during which both the property owner and public at large could take part—freely and openly.
To quote Director Stoll on the strategy he’s used before in other places: “You persuade them that the value of their house is better preserved using acceptable materials and acceptable roof lines or whatever the standards are that fit the neighborhood.” But once the 90 days are past, the city would allow the property owner to pursue his original intention. Unless he’s seen the light during this cooling-off period. Fair, or more than fair enough.
To quote Winston Churchill: “Jawjaw is better than war-war.”
What to do now? First calm the waters. Clear them of troublemakers like lawyers who think of their and their clients’ most short-term interest instead of considering the bigger picture. From then on, steady as she goes. For there is much to be said for doing nothing and doing it particularly well, which was a specialty of an American leader named Dwight Eisenhower. No segment of American society could go far wrong in matters great or small by following his distinguished lead. Peace, it’s wonderful. Let’s seek it.