CHAPTER 15 of MONGOMERY CITY CODE RELATED TO HISTORIC PRESERVATION

Current as of August 23, 2023

https://library.municode.com/al/montgomery/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COOR_CH15HIPR

Warren Adams, the City of Montgomery Land Use Administrator.

On Thursday, September 14, 2023, 11:47 AM, Adams, Warren

<wadams@montgomeryal.gov> wrote:

Good morning,

Please submit a letter to us from the SHDA stating that a vote to designate the neighborhood was taken and the result of the vote. It would also help if you can include in the letter the authority the SHDA has.

The letter should also include the proposed boundaries of the district and why you believe it is eligible for historic designation.

Per the Code, the district must meet at least one of the following:

The commission shall not recommend designation of a historic district unless it finds that the district:

(1) Is identified with or represents a significant aspect of the

cultural, political, economic, military or social history of the city, region, state or nation;

(2) Has had a significant relationship with the life of a historic person or event, representing a major aspect of the history of the city, region, state or nation;

(3) Is a part of the historic, architectural, archaeological or aesthetic heritage of the city, region, state, or nation; or

(4) That the area contains vernacular structures which contribute to an overall character and sense of place which is representative of the city.

It would also be helpful to confirm in the letter that the property owners are willing to assist with any survey work or research and will provide any useful information they have on the proposed district.

Regards,

Warren

STEPS IN THE DESIGNATION PROCESS

Step 1: Residents attending SHDA meetings in September and November vote to request that South Hull be designated a historic district. The meetings were open to all South Hull residents. The issue of Historic Designation has been a topic in the neighborhood for at least twelve years.

Step 2:

Per the vote, the Historic Designation Committee submits a request for South Hull to be designated a Historical District per Warren Adams instructions (above) and on the authority of the vote taken at the November meeting of SHDA which was open to all residents.

Step 3

The City accepts the request on December 6. Please see the letter above to the right

Step 4

Warren Adams and Shaun Rose begin a fact-finding investigation of South Hull’s merits as a potential historic district in January, to be completed sometime in 2024. They then prepare a report and recommendation for the Montgomery City Council.

Step 5

The Montgomery City Council considers the final assessment and recommendations and makes the final decision on Historic Designation for SHDA.

Where can you send comments to be included in the record? Write or email Shaun Rose

Shaun Rose, M.A.

Land Use Historic Preservation Coordinator

City of Montgomery – Planning Department

25 Washington Avenue, 4th Floor, Montgomery, AL 36104

Email: sslrose@monstgomeryal.gov

Proud to be a

South Hullian!

Overview of Historic Designation Activity

At SHDA meetings attended by residents in September and in November 2023 (with Warren Adam and Shuan Rose from the City in attendance at the latter) those assembled agreed in the majority to ask the City of Montgomery to investigate historical designation for the entire South Hull District. Subsequently a letter was submitted by the Historical Designation Committee to Warren Adams, Montgomery Land Use Administrator, and Shaun Rose, Montgomery Historical Preservation Coordinator, asking for this consideration. The application was accepted by the City and the investigation research began in early 2024 to see if South Hull met the qualifications of a historic district. That process is ongoing. When the report is complete, the City Council will make the final decision. The application was submitted under new administrative rules governing the historic designation process.

Where to Find More Information on Historic Designation

Hint: Click after the word ‘email’ above to link directly to Shaun’s email. srose@montgomeryal.gov

Current Status of the Assessment Process (as of May 16, 2024)

As of this writing, the assessment process is ongoing but in the early stages, although two public hearings have been conducted at City Hall and Warren and Shaun have conducted three walking tours of different streets of the neighborhood. Another is scheduled May 22. Meet at 10 a.m. at Court St. and Arlington if you’d like to follow along and observe. 

Warren Adams outlined the process and the standards for being considered for historical designation in an email to the Historical Designation Committee (copied below) written on Sept. 14. 2023-before the November meeting when he and Shaun Rose answered questions on the process and what a designation would mean for homeowners at an SHDA monthly meeting. A vote was taken at that meeting to send the letter described below. (see the City’s response to the request to the right)

 


Land Use Division Warren Adams


Mayor

Steven L. Reed

 December 6, 2023

City Council Members

Cornelius “CC” Calhoun – President                   Oronde K. Mitchell Glen O. Pruitt Jr. – Pres. Pro Tem                 Ed Grimes

Julie Beard                                                            Charles W. Jinright

Marche Johnson                                                    Andrew Szymanski Franetta Riley


South Hull District Association (SHDA) C/o Vidyani Chandrasoma

124 Arlington Road

Montgomery, AL 36105

 RE: SHDA Letter Requesting Historic Designation,

 Dear Historical Designation Committee of the SHDA,

 Thank you for sending the letter of November 3, 2023, requesting historic designation for the South Hull neighborhood. Our office affirms receipt of this letter and appreciates you all sending the SHDA’s Articles of Incorporation as this describes the authority that allows your organization to speak for the neighborhood. We’ve begun initial research and gathering of documentation that will support our eventual designation report upon completion of a neighborhood survey—which we tentatively plan to conduct in the early part of 2024. Currently, no further action is needed from your organization. We will reach out to you all soon when we think it would be appropriate for us to attend additional neighborhood meetings to supplement the one that our staff attended on November 2, 2023.

 We very much look forward to working with the SHDA and all interested neighbors to move ahead with the historic designation process. As noted at the November 2, 2023, neighborhood meeting: if successful, South Hull will become the first new historic district (expansions of already-established Garden District and Old Alabama Town notwithstanding) designated in the City of Montgomery since approximately 2006.

 If you have any questions, you may contact Shaun Rose, Historic Preservation Coordinator, at

(334) 625-2041.

 

Sincerely, Warren Adams

Land Use Control Administrator

 

 CC:      Regular mail File

 /pbw

 

 P.O. Box 1111 ▪ Montgomery, Alabama 36101-1111 ▪ Phone (334) 625-2722 ▪ Fax (334) 625-2017

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