Temple Terrace board says National Park Service approved compromise; ordinance amendment, council readings planned

Jeanne Barlow, addressing the City of Temple Terrace Historic Preservation Board, said the National Park Service approved a compromise on language for local historic designations and that she will draft a city ordinance to reflect the change.

"I have some good news. Looks like we are almost there. We are almost there to the point where we can get, to be a certified local government," Barlow told the board. She said she had worked with the state historic preservation office and had received NPS approval for the compromise.

Why it matters: becoming a certified local government (CLG) can make the city eligible for federal- and state-linked preservation grants and formalize local designation procedures. Barlow said the next step is a city code amendment and two readings at City Council before the state and National Park Service complete the final designation.

Barlow summarized the changes she plans to include in the ordinance: she will remove the clause requiring "the consent of all proper property owners of each property proposed for designation" and will add language under the designation procedure requiring a supermajority vote for objections. "...I have added to that paragraph a decision to approve the designation of a historic district over an O'Mearner. Objection shall be by a super majority 60% vote," she said.

She also told the board that modifications to the boundaries of a proposed historic district would not necessarily reverse a council recommendation "so long as a substantial portion of the recommended area is approved." Barlow said she will prepare the ordinance amending the code and take it to City Council; she is targeting a first reading on April 15 and a second reading at the council's first meeting in May.

Board members asked procedural questions during the update. A board member confirmed the land-use hearing process will include two public hearings. Barlow emphasized the sequence: the board’s code amendment would go to council for readings, the city would send materials to the state historic preservation office, and then the state would forward them to the National Park Service for final CLG designation.

No formal council action has occurred yet on the ordinance. The board’s role at this stage is to prepare and recommend the draft amendment; the measure still requires City Council consideration and any subsequent state and federal review.

Looking ahead: if the ordinance and follow-on administrative steps proceed as described, the city would move from local rule changes toward formal CLG status, enabling grant applications and expanded survey work the board and staff have discussed.