Selma appearance commission reviews North Carolina Historic Preservation Office comments on West Selma map amendment

At its Oct. 20 meeting, the Town of Selma Appearance Commission reviewed comments from the North Carolina Historic Preservation Office on a proposed map amendment to the West Selma Historic District and directed staff to refine the staff report before it goes to Town Council.

Staff member Tim presented the N.C. Historic Preservation Office comments and said the report "needs a clear discussion of why these houses weren't included from the original district boundary and what has changed or new information has been learned about them, and that would justify adding them." Tim said he and a colleague, Dalton, reviewed the minutes from the meeting that originally created the historic district and included those minutes in the staff report to show an earlier intent to expand the district.

Commissioners and staff discussed the criteria used for inclusion, citing building age and "certain architectural features that we like to maintain and that we consider significant." A commissioner suggested that staff circulate an email posing the specific questions Tim raised so commissioners could provide written feedback for the report rather than answer on the spot. A staff member confirmed the N.C. Historic Preservation Office comments are nonbinding and that the decision to amend the district boundary rests with Town Council.

There was no formal vote on the amendment at the meeting. The Appearance Commission asked staff to revise the staff report to address the N.C. Historic Preservation Office comments, incorporate the cited meeting minutes, and gather commissioner feedback by email for inclusion in the final package to Council. The timeline for submission to Council was not specified during the discussion.

The discussion arose during the regular agenda item on the West Selma historic district map amendment; it did not take place in public comment.