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Heritage and Historic Preservation Plan
Plan Document
The citywide Heritage and Historic Preservation Plan was adopted by the Fayetteville City Council in their July 6, 2023 meeting. Both the Historic District Commission and Black Heritage Preservation Commission will be working on the plan action items in the coming months.
Background
In March 2022 the City of Fayetteville was awarded a $50,000 grant from the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program (AHPP) to undertake a citywide Heritage and Historic Preservation Master Plan. This grant is being matched with $20,000 of the City’s funds to complete the project. In August 2022, the City Council approved a contract with Stantec Consulting Services to work with the community and city staff to develop the plan.
The City Council resolution and consultant contract and scope of work are available to view online. The work to implement the plan will continue for the next few years, and we want to build successful partnerships as we plan and perform that work.
Planning Process
In order to develop a community-driven plan, we needed information and feedback from the community. The questions we asked in this planning process included:
- Should regulations and design review requirements be implemented for private properties?
- Are there any neighborhoods that could benefit from or want historic zoning protections?
- Are there historic sites that we do not know about or need to know more about?
- Do we need to offer more education or resources on how to maintain and repair historic properties?
- Are additional online resources warranted?
- How much do we know about our history?
- Do we need a city historic marker program?
- Have we identified our historic neighborhoods or is more survey work needed?
- What kind of grant funding and grant projects are we eligible for or do we want to be eligible for?
- How does the statewide historic preservation plan aid in guiding the work that we will undertake or the grant funding we will be seeking for the next five years?
Plan Adoption
- The first meeting was Wednesday, September 28, 2022, from 4 to 7 p.m. in the Fayetteville Public Library's Ziegler Reception Room. Watch the full recording of Public Meeting #1 on the City of Fayetteville YouTube channel.
- The second meeting was held in person on Wednesday, April 26 at 4 p.m. in the Fayetteville Public Library's Ziegler Reception Room (located in the new wing). At this meeting, Stantec presented the draft plan document and city staff was available to discuss the plan.
- The Fayetteville Historic District Commission considered the plan in their June 8, 2023 meeting at 5:30 p.m. in City Hall Room 111. The Commission recommended the plan to the City Council with a 4-0-0 vote.
- The Fayetteville Black Heritage Preservation Commission considered the plan in their June 15, 2023 meeting at 6:30 p.m. in City Hall Room 111. The Commission recommended the plan to the City Council with a 4-0-0 vote.
- The Fayetteville City Council considered the plan in their July 6, 2023 meeting at 5:30 p.m. in City Hall Room 219. The Council adopted the plan with a 6-0-0 vote.
Interactive Historic Sites Map
Click on one of the Historic Sites from the list below (scroll for the full list), then use map controls or list of sub-sites below the map to view location and details of individual historic sites.
Contact Information
Britin Bostick
Long Range Planning and Special Projects Manager
479-575-8262
Email
- What is historic preservation and why is it needed?
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Historic preservation is a “conversation with our past about our future,” says the National Parks Service. It provides us opportunities to ask, "What is important in our history?" and "What parts of our past can we preserve for the future?" Historic preservation is an important way for us to share our understanding of the past to future generations.
Our city’s history has many stories, and historic preservation helps tell these stories. Sometimes historic preservation involves celebrating events, people, places and ideas that we are proud of; other times it involves recognizing moments in our history that can be painful or uncomfortable to remember.
- What does NOT go into a historic preservation plan?
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- Regulations, including paint color – those must be approved by City Council as an ordinance.
- Budget amendment – this plan does not make budget changes or fund projects, which are made by City Council, but it does identify funding and timing priorities for historic preservation work.
- An inventory or survey of historic properties in Fayetteville (although that is a project that can come out of the plan).
- What is a Heritage and Historic Preservation Plan?
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Fayetteville’s Heritage and Historic Preservation Plan is a guidance document for: 1) what the community’s priorities are, 2) what our historic preservation programs and projects look like and 3) what kind of funding and partnerships are available to us to do the work. The planning process begins by asking a lot of questions, such as:
- Should regulations and design-review requirements be implemented for private properties?
- Are there any neighborhoods that could benefit from or want historic zoning protections?
- Are there historic sites that we are unaware of or need to know more about?
- Do we need to offer more education or resources on how to maintain and repair historic properties?
After we receive community input on those questions, we can look at what the plan will recommend and the types of activities we’ll work on once the plan is adopted. Some examples include:
- Improving our online resources for historic preservation.
- Conducting more research into our history or working with community partners to learn more.
- Creating a program and dedicating funding for a historic marker program.
- Deciding if we need surveys of historic properties or historic neighborhoods to document those properties so they aren’t forgotten.
- Identifying and applying for grants to support our historic preservation projects.
View the Community Survey Report (PDF), which contains responses to a community survey conducted in fall 2022 as part of the development of the Fayetteville Heritage and Historic Preservation Master Plan.
May 2023 Survey Results
View the results of the public input surveys conducted in May 2023, which were collected from in person engagement sessions at the Fayetteville Farmer's Market and an online survey on Speak Up Fayetteville.