DAYTONA TAKES STOCK OF ITS PAST CITY MAY CREATE DISTRICT TO PRESERVE ITS HISTORY
Robin Benedick of The Sentinel StaffTHE ORLANDO SENTINEL
Long forgotten by most residents are hundreds of treasures the city wants to protect.
They aren't precious jewels or ancient Indian artifacts ready to be plucked from the soil. Rather, they are buildings -- homes, churches and hotels each more than 50 years old and many in need of repair. They are clustered in an eight-block area surrounding downtown.
A consultant has identified 2,228 buildings in Daytona Beach with distinguishing historical and architectural characteristics. But only about 173 may qualify as part of a proposed local historic district or a district on the National Register of Historic Places.
Daytona Beach already has a few buildings on the national register.
Bill Adams, of Historic Property Associates, St. Augustine, surveyed buildings in an area bounded by the Halifax River on the east, Orange Avenue on the north, Ridgewood Avenue on the west and South Street on the south.
Adams said he has begun looking at structures north of Orange Avenue and from Beach Street to Volusia Avenue and would like to survey buildings east of the Halifax to the Atlantic Ocean.
"I think there may be a lot of historical buildings on the beachside," he said.
The area being considered for a historic district forms an irregular panhandle, stretching from parts of Orange and Volusia avenues south to South Street, between Ridgewood Avenue and Beach Street.
Buildings in an area must be 50 years or older for that area to be considered as a local or national historic district. Based on the survey, a majority of buildings on South Beach Street might qualify the area, Adams said.
An ordinance adopted by the city commission last year makes it difficult for anyone to demolish or change any historically, architecturally or archaeologically significant site.
Placement on the national list doesn't assure protection of sites but makes it easier for a person or government to renovate or preserve them, said Janet Hamer, principal planner with the city's Community Development Department.
Establishing a local district would bring the federal benefits closer to home by enabling property owners to apply for income tax credits for renovation.
"The kind of district we're talking about is going to be a redevelopment tool," Hamer said. "We won't have a lot of individual buildings qualify for a district, but most of the sites in an area could be included within districts, especially from South Beach Street to Volusia," she said.
The city's Historic Board of Preservation, established under the ordinance, has asked Hamer to put together a list of sites that could qualify as a local district, based on Adams' findings. The board will consider the list in December.
Larry Paarlberg, a historic preservation planner with the Florida Bureau of Historic Preservation in Tallahassee, said the city must apply to the National Park Service for certification as a local district. Other cities, such as Jacksonville, Miami Beach and Key West, have been leaders in establishing such districts, he said.
Paarlberg said he was not surprised by the large number of buildings in Daytona Beach that are more than 50 years old. Many of them, he said, have been altered so as to destroy any historical significance.
The consultant also has recommended that residents form neighborhood committees to promote preservation efforts.