There were about 33 people in attendance at the presentation of the first draft of the proposed Clayton Historic District last night, most of whom were property owners (commercial and residential) within the proposed district. Consultant Nancy Van Dolsen, who is preparing the nomination for the National Register of Historic Places, discussed the process and presented a short slide show that outlined Clayton's history. Jeff Adolphsen, a Restoration Specialist with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO)provided an brief overview about the Rehabilitation Tax Credits available to eligible property owners within the historic district. Income-producing buildings can receive a 20% tax credit from the feds and 20% from NC. Non-income producing buildings can receive a 30% tax credit from NC.
A few points that Nancy made:
1) This is a changing document and she welcomes changes, corrections, and additions to the information in the first draft
2) The boundaries are not likely to get any smaller, but only larger
3) "Contributing" buildings reflect the period of significance (1885 - 1960) Changes to the original structure should have been made prior to 1960
4) A historic district needs to have a large concentration of buildings that "contribute" to the district
5) She is asking SHPO (which is reviewing the draft over the next 6 months)if an area east of the boundary in the Second Street area can be included if the gap isn't too significant.
6) A National Register District does not preclude anything from being done to the building. It does however, trigger a Section 106 Review (National Historic Preservation Act of 1966)if a governmental agency applies for a permit to make a change within a historic district (ie DOT)
Ms Van Dolsen said the final nomination package would likely be presented to the National Register Advisory Committee by next October. They only meet 3 times a year (February, June and October). With the draft being reviewed starting this month, and approximately 6 mo process, then making corrections and changes as recommended by the SHPO, it pushes the presentation to October 2008.
A reference copy of the first draft is available at the Hocutt-Ellington Memorial Library and Town Clerk's office.
Nancy Van Dolsen's number is (252)243-7861 and email is woodhamfarm@embarqmail.com
Jeff Adolphsen's phone number is (919) 807-6572 and his email is jeff.adolphsen@ncmail.net
More information about Historic Tax Credits and Historic Districts may be found at the State Historic Preservation Office website.
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