Jackson residents give differing opinions on historic-preservation proposal

Jackson residents voiced starkly differing opinions during a public hearing Monday night about a proposed historic-preservation ordinance.

The ordinance, which is still in draft form, would create a historic-preservation committee that would assess applicants and designate qualified properties as historically significant.

Such properties then would need approval before property owners could make aesthetic changes to building exteriors.

Several of the provisions from the ordinance’s draft were changed after a town-hall style meeting earlier in the month.

As a result, the ordinance no longer would create a central historic uptown district.

Steven Hoffman, historic-preservation program coordinator at Southeast Missouri State University, spoke in favor of the ordinance.

“It’s a great draft. It’s a great thing,” he said. “I think it’s a very positive step for the city of Jackson.”

He said research from across the country in cities big and small consistently has shown ordinances similar to the one Jackson has proposed stabilize property values and tend to cause historically significant properties to appreciate in value more quickly than non-designated properties.

Greg Yielding, who recently moved from Arkansas into a historically significant house in Jackson, also spoke in support of the ordinance.

“This is a really nice town,” he said, “and there’s a lot to be said for historic preservation.”

He said he served as chairman of a historic-district committee in his hometown of Little Rock, and the ordinance had a positive effect there, raising property values.

Jackson homeowner Richard Frenzel, however, said he saw the ordinance as likely to result in governmental overreach and over-regulation.

“[The proposed ordinance] takes away my own right to do what I want to my own property,” he said.

Under the ordinance, properties would be subject to regulations only if designated and only if 50 percent of the property owners petition for consideration.

Frenzel said he already is subject to plenty of building codes and ordinances.

Another Jackson resident voiced concern if a designated property’s value increased, it might lead the property owner to owe more in property taxes.

The board took the comments under consideration and is expected to continue tweaking the proposed

ordinance before proceeding.

tgraef@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3627