Augusta preservation board presses owner over deteriorating First Baptist Church at 802 Green Street

The Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) and Augusta‑Richmond County commissioners spent more than 30 minutes on Feb. 3 discussing the deteriorating former First Baptist Church at 802 Green Street and how the HPC enforces the city’s preservation ordinance.

HPC vice chair David Barbee told commissioners the HPC voted unanimously to hold a public hearing on the property's condition and presented evidence from code enforcement and local institutions that the building is deteriorating. “We’re in the business of saving historic structures, not demolition by neglect,” Barbee said.

The commission’s discussion focused on whether the HPC followed its ordinance and on the tone of HPC hearings. The property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, on a local registry and on the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation’s places in peril list, Barbee said. He said the HPC acted under the Augusta historic preservation ordinance, section 4‑4‑452, which…