Fairfax Historic Boundaries Review Project Seeks Public Input

FAIRFAX CITY, VA — City of Fairfax residents will have an opportunity Thursday to participate in a virtual public outreach meeting to provide input on the city's Historic District Boundaries Review project.

The city kicked off a process last November to update the inventory of historic properties in the downtown area. At 7 p.m., on Thursday, EHT Traceries, the city's consultant, will present a report on the City's National Register boundaries. Members of the public can use this GoToWebinar link to join the meeting and provide feedback.

Meeting participants will review updates to Fairfax's National Register Historic District, which will be presented later this year to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. If VDHR approves the updates, they'll be submitted to the U.S. National Park Service to be added to the National Register of Historic Places.

A lot has changed in the City of Fairfax since 1987, when the Downtown Historic District boundaries were last updated, according to Lindsey Clouatre, Planner II in Community Development and Planning for the city.

"The primary purpose of [Thursday's meeting] is to look and see what has changed as far as the boundaries go, and what properties within the existing National Register boundaries may have changed from non-contributing structures to contributing structures," she said.

City staff will also present a list of other properties and neighborhoods outside of the Downtown Historic District that may qualify to be added to the National Register.

"It's probably not every particular property or neighborhood on this list that will warrant a discussion or additional research about this historic status," Clouatre said. "This is a very preliminary list."

City residents or property owners will have a chance to submit their own properties to be added to the city's National Register consideration list.

"If someone wants to provide any resources or areas that we didn't specifically identify, we're more than happy to take any suggestions that folks have at that time," Clouatre said.

People who want to submit a property can also email Clouatre directly or use the chat function on the meeting's GoToWebinar link to share their input during the meeting.

When the historic status for the downtown area was established in 1987, the period of significance at that time was from 1799, when the Historic Fairfax Courthouse was built, to 1930.

"What we're looking at with this is to update the period of relevancy," Clouatre said. "Any structure has to be at least 50-years old to be contributing resource. Since it hasn't been updated in 34 years, there are a lot of post-war properties especially that could be potentially pulled into the National Register District."

A National Register District designation on a property does not change what its owners can do with their property, added Clouatre.

"The real benefit of having the National Register District is that it allows for property owners to apply for tax credits for work on their property that preserves its historic character," she said. "That is specific to the properties in there that are listed as contributing properties. Those that might be in the district but are non-contributing properties, they are not able to apply for those tax credits."

Beyond the tax credit for the property owners, having a historic downtown makes the city more attractive to visitors interested in the region's history.

"Old Town Alexandria, for example, draws a lot of folks, Old Town Manassas too," Clouatre said. "We're hoping the same with Old Town Fairfax that people are able to come and take a look at all of these historic resources that we're trying to preserve and keep around."