Aiken Completes Draft of Document to Guide Historic Property Decisions

A preservation expert spoke to the city's Design Review Board on March 26. Anders Yount works for WLA studios. He shared the newest draft of the Developmental History Statement with board members. Public input matters when setting the context for decisions about buildings and features that hold historical significance.

"Community feedback is crucial. It helps make the document stronger overall. Any comments we get from y'all, the state, or other concerned members of the public, we will incorporate into forthcoming versions of the draft," Yount told the board, according to The Post and Courier.

The City Council picked WLA Studios in November. The company comes from Athens, Georgia. A $40,000 Federal Historic Preservation grant from the S.C. Department of Archives and History funds the project, with city money matching it.

The last survey happened in 2010. Not all historic properties made the list. A property must be 50 years old before it counts as historic. This survey examines structures that are 40 years or older, giving them a shelf life of 10 years as properties age into status.

Yount has been doing field work, photographing and describing properties in three existing historic districts and the Old Aiken Overlay. The survey will also identify additional properties and districts that might be significant.

Linda Johnson serves as president of the Historic Aiken Foundation. She said the document should describe the significance of the pre-Civil War grid of planned streets and the commercial district on Park Avenue S.E.

"I think we really want to make sure this document has accurate information and focuses on some things that we need in order to do good designations that we haven't really had in the past," Johnson said.