Dear editor:
My husband and I have lived in Eatonton for the past 25 years. As many you know we are relocating to another country.
Before we leave, I wanted to make one last plea to city council and the residents of Eatonton to take steps to protect Eatonton’s downtown historic character. The only way to do this effectively is by making it a local historic district.
First some background: in approximately 2006, the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) defined a large area of Eatonton as a local Historic District. This included downtown, Walnut Street, Jefferson and all within these boundaries. It included approximately 350 properties. We did all the work to get state approval and presented it to City Council for their approval.
It was not approved because it was felt that business owners did not want anyone telling them what they could and could not do. Fortunately, several property owners have maintained historic character well, but over the years there have been a number of negative changes made to downtown buildings.
After this rejection in 2006, the City Council advised the HPC to define a smaller area consisting of those properties where the owners were amenable to a district. This was done over the next few years with the help of a survey and the local Plaza district was defined. City Council approved this smaller district in January 2008. The Plaza district is around 72 properties, primarily residential but with a number of institutional buildings (churches, library, plaza etc.). This district includes North Madison Ave, Lafayette, Church and Wayne Streets.
Since 2008, the HPC had conducted many design reviews (for exterior work) and has always tried to work with folks, not be overly bureaucratic and has advised on appropriate changes. I believe if you talk to people in the district they will agree it is a positive experience. The results speak for themselves.
The HPC has worked tirelessly to try and persuade City Council to include downtown in the local district (or form a new one). The reason given for not doing this is typically “we don’t want to discourage new businesses.” The good news is that some businesses actively seek out the HPC for advice as they appreciate the importance of keeping historic character. However, more recently we have had new businesses moving in that don’t understand what is appropriate and have already made inappropriate changes to store fronts.
Here is the real tragedy. If we had enforceable guidelines for the downtown buildings, some of the mistakes such as putting stacked stone over brick, oversized signs and inappropriate lighting, would not have happened. I believe that the businesses would have followed the guidelines and not been deterred from opening in Eatonton.
Without protection in place, it will get worse. We seem to have quite some interest in our little town and now that a lot of the sidewalk is finished, businesses can start to bring the town back to life. But they could make design mistakes along the way not realizing how it detracts from the overall character.
Preservation is not about quaint or pretty. But when the rules of historic integrity are applied correctly, you typically create an ambiance that that is appealing to people. It’s easy to find large and small towns that are a collection of chain stores, strip malls and little or no historic beauty. Eatonton is not like that--yet. It still has turn of the century character and charm. But without protection, it will gradually disappear into yet another charmless mishmash of shopping boxes.
It is important to remember that preservation has been proven to be an economic driver, not a deterrent. Investors like to have reassurance that everyone is being held to the same standard.
I feel pleased that I was able to make a difference in this town. It is populated by lots of wonderful people, many of whom have worked and are still working to make Eatonton a better place. Let’s not allow the downtown business district to lose more historic integrity. PLEASE persuade City Council to take steps to protect it.
Note: This is a personal letter not an official statement by the Historic Preservation Commission.
If you want to make a difference, contact your city council representative.
Shelagh Fagan
Past Chair of HPC