After months of setbacks, Newport held a first reading on adopting the Buena Vista Local Historic District.
Though the commission won’t officially vote on the item until its second reading, the commissioners discussed why they were for or against the district and held an informal vote. Newport Mayor Tom Guidugli Jr. and commissioners Beth Fennell, Julie Smith-Morrow, and Ken Rechtin expressed support, while commissioner Mike Radwanski opposed.
Buena Vista is already a National Historic District, and it needs local designation for complete protection.
The local designation allows the city to guide homeowners in preservation efforts, prevent exterior changes outside the city’s guidelines, and halt unnecessary demolitions that may threaten the neighborhood’s structural integrity. The effort to designate the district has faced hurdles along the way, with it being sent back to the historic preservation commission in November and the Newport Commission tabling the item in March, both due to potential legal issues.
The proposed district would consist of 1,272 homes between the north end of West 8th Street, the south part of West 12th Street, the west ends of Brighton and Lowell streets, and the east side of Putnam and York streets.
“Homes are where jobs go to sleep at night,” Radwanski said. “The 60% of the residents in Northern Kentucky make less than $60,000 a year, and they will not qualify for any affordable housing period. These are first responders. These are teachers. These are small business owners. These are restaurant industry folks; these are hardworking Americans. Let’s not forget our brothers and sisters and our labor unions as well. So with that, these are good people and I think we are putting property and structures ahead of hardworking Americans.”
Another concern Radwanski had was the timeliness of the Certificate of Appropriateness process, which the historic preservation office must complete before a renovation can be done in a historic district. This is mainly due to the size of the proposed district and the fact that two people review the certificates on staff.
Local attorney Steve Megerle, representing clients who would be in the district, agreed that the size was too large.
“This was an extremely large endeavor,” Megerle said. “You’re putting basically a quadrant of the city under a historic overlay. So that’s a big apple to take a bite out of.”
Megerle suggested a smaller historic district overlay to trial before adopting the entire 1,272 homes. He said that should something like this go to circuit court for an appeal; the item could be held up for two to three years.
“You will not see us in a KRS 103.473 appeal in circuit court if this (smaller version) is adopted,” he said.
When the city took its informal vote, it was for the entire proposed overlay. There was no discussion about adopting a smaller version.
Executive Director of Cincinnati Preservation Association Beth Johnson spoke at the meeting about creating the district, as she has done at past meetings. The Cincinnati Preservation Association is a Greater Cincinnati nonprofit that focuses on educational advocacy about historical preservation.
“Newport is the only city in the region that has one and a half employees dedicated to preservation,” she said. “Cincinnati only has one. They have a lot more properties, and they’re able to do with CLAS within a week, so I have every confidence that Scott and Jennifer would be able to take on the extra load.”
Johnson said historic districts are important because they preserve history.
“It preserves an economic driver for Newport,” she said. “Newport’s largest asset is its historic buildings and its history. That’s why people move here and that’s why people want to open their businesses on Monmouth Street. It’s because of the charm. It’s because of the history.”
Newport resident of the York Street Historic District Ed Davis has also previously supported the district and spoke again in support.
“The East Row Historic District was started by a few dedicated individuals,” Davis said. “Did it have the approval of all the residents of the East Row? No. Most things that you are faced with, people do not support it 100%. If that is going to be your guideline, you’re not going to function very well.”
Davis said the district will provide economic benefits for the city.
“These homes that we’re talking about that will be protected, cannot be duplicated, and they cannot be duplicated to the price that they will sell for eventually once they’re rehabbed,” Davis said. “This is affordable housing; although it’s beyond some people’s reach, I understand that. But our area where we live right now is an area that people want to live here.”
Fennell said she has seen all of Newport’s historic districts come to fruition.
“Every district there was a little bit of heartache,” she said. “I mean, there were concerns. Every one of them has benefited the city, the residents, the housing stock. It’s almost a no-brainer in my mind. You got to, at the end of the day, make a decision that’s best for the entire community.”
Commissioners Rechtin and Julie Smith-Morrow said they’d be willing to speak with anyone between the first reading on April 29 and the second reading when the final decision will be made.
During the meeting, the commission also voted to commit to some façade grant program that would aid those in the Buena Vista Historic District with home improvements. The grant money would come from pilot payments from certain IRB projects within the city.