Future of Augusta Historic Preservation Commission still on hold

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - The future of the Augusta Historic Preservation Commission remains uncertain after months of back-and-forth between city leaders.

Commissioners met on Wednesday to discuss possible changes to the ordinance.

This comes after the came under fire from city leaders over the decaying Old First Baptist Church.

Some leaders want to do away with the ordinance, while others are fighting for it to stay.

We caught up with Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson and Augusta Commission member Catherine Smith-Rice after the meeting.

“Decisions made, especially as it relates to homeowners, that it be brought before the commission before going to arbitration,” said Johnson. “No homeowner who’s bearing the costs of renovating a property that’s potentially hundreds of years old should have to bear the costs of an attorney if they are just trying to bring their house up to standard, so I would hope that decision would be brought before the governing body.”

“Augusta is an old city, and with what we have in Summerville, we’ve got a lot of old structures, so no, I don’t believe in doing away with the historic preservation,” said Smith-Rice. “They’ve been here for a while, we continue to keep them, and we need to work together.”

Commissioners talked about the guidelines within each district, the impact of downtown blight, and tax credits.

Johnson also says leaders are working on plans to help work on vacant buildings in the city.

“We had one of the best leadership organizations visiting our city and wanted to take a picture of the beautiful James Brown statue, but unfortunately, behind the James Brown statue is an eyesore. So, we are continuing to have conversations about how we could perhaps bring these buildings that are vacant to some level of decorum.”

Commissioners are expected to make a decision at the next committee meeting.

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