Subject:
Title
Recommend approval to add 131 Courthouse Road, SW to the Town of Vienna Historic Property Register.
Body
EXPLANATION AND SUMMARY:
Attached is an application from Nancy and Simeon Moats, property owners of 131 Courthouse Road, SW, for designation of the property as a Town of Vienna Historic Site. The application was reviewed and approved unanimously at the Jan. 8, 2020 Historic Vienna, Inc. board meeting. Fairfax County records state that a building was standing on the 131 Courthouse Road property in 1883.
Historic Vienna, Inc. recommends that Council approve this application.
Strategic Plan Initiative: Vienna as a complete community.
Board or Commission of Interest:
Departmental Recommendation: The Parks and Recreation director recommends approving the addition of 131 Courthouse Road, SW to the Vienna Historic Property Register, #28.
Finance Recommendation:
Purchasing Recommendation:
Town Attorney Recommendation: Under Town Code provisions listed below, Town Council may approve the proposed application for designation of a property as a Town of Vienna Historic Site in its discretion.
Sec. 25-7. - Same-Town Council.
The Town Council shall act on each such application within 60 days after receiving the same from the Town Manager. The Town Council may, as it deems appropriate, approve, disapprove, or approve with conditions and qualifications, each application. Any structure, site or place so approved by the Town Council shall thereupon be added to the register and be entitled to display the marker provided for in section 25-4 <https://library.municode.com/va/vienna/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICOOR_CH25HISTSIPL_S25-4HIMA>.
Sec. 25-8. - Presumptive qualification for registration.
In considering applications for inclusion on the register, the Town Manager, the board of Historic Vienna, Inc., and the Town Council shall consider the following structures, sites and places as presumptively entitled to inclusion on the register:
(a) Buildings and other structures erected at their present location prior to 1900 and which retain all or a substantial portion of their original dimension and appearance.
(b) Businesses continuously conducted in the Town since prior to 1900 under the same name or in the same location.
(c) Sites and places in the Town that have been used continuously since prior to 1900 for the same purposes, or have remained essentially unchanged since the abandonment or discontinuation of such use.
Sec. 25-9. - Non-presumptive qualification for registration.
In developing recommendations and taking action on applications for inclusion on the register of structures, sites and places other than those described in section 25-8 <https://library.municode.com/va/vienna/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICOOR_CH25HISTSIPL_S25-8PRQURE>, the Town Manager, the board of Historic Vienna, Inc., and the Town Council shall consider:
(a) Structures, sites and places that are more than 50 years old, and possess significance related to the founding or development of the Town or to persons who have achieved local, regional or national prominence;
(b) Structures, sites or places which are over 50 years old and considered to be symbolic of the Town's history by reason of their architecture or in the way they have been used;
(c) Structures, sites or places less than 50 years old which are considered so unusually or uniquely connected with the Town's historical development as to qualify for inclusion on the register notwithstanding their being less than 50 years old.
Town Manager's Recommendation: The Town Manager recommends Town Council approve the addition of 131 Courthouse Road, SW to the Vienna Historic Property Register.
Cost and Financing: N/A
Account Number: N/A
Decision Needed by This date: Jan. 3, 2022
PROPOSED/SUGGESTED MOTION
Recommended Action
"I move that the property located at 131 Courthouse Road, SW be placed on the Register of Vienna Historic Structures, Sites and Places."
Or
Other action deemed necessary by Council.