City to Tackle Historic Decay

City leaders will convene a "high-level working group" to brainstorm historic preservation strategies in downtown Fredericksburg. The push for new historic preservation strategies is motivated by the

The measure to create the working group was brought by Ward 2 Councilor George Solley was unanimously approved by the City Council on Tuesday night. Solley's measure was motivated in part by the recent, sudden demolition of a historic Caroline Street property. That incident caused outrage among downtown historic preservationists and spurred the chair of the city's Architectural Review Board to resign. 

Solley argued that historic structures could be saved through early intervention programs. 

"Fredreicksburg continues to see the demolition of historically significant structures within the city," said Solley. "Most often, this is the culmination of a long process of neglect, resulting in an official determination that a structure is unsafe…the process leading to demolition starts much earlier, when a structure first begins to deteriorate."

Solley said that there are ample opportunities to identify, rehabilitate and preserve historic structures. 

His measure directs the City Manager to establish a working group made up of city staff and representatives of Fredericksburgs preservation community to "develop and assess strategies to avoid demolition of historic structures within the city."

The measure calls for a report from the working group to be presented to the City Council no later than Oct. 11.