Heritage and Historic Preservation Plan

Background

In March 2022 the City of Fayetteville was awarded a $50,000 grant from the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program (AHPP) to undertake a citywide Heritage and Historic Preservation Master Plan. This grant is being matched with $20,000 of the City’s funds to complete the project. In August 2022, the City Council approved a contract with Stantec Consulting Services to work with the community and city staff to develop the plan.

Fayetteville has a number of master plans that are updated every decade, if not sooner, depending on the plan. Some are on a longer update timeline that may be closer to 20 years. The City does not yet have a historic preservation master plan; i.e. a community-driven guidance document for how we approach historic preservation. With an incredible collection of historic sites and structures across the city, and with historic buildings and sites in the City’s ownership, we are looking to develop a framework to steward publicly owned historic sites. We look forward to understanding how the community would like to approach historic preservation. 

The City Council resolution and consultant contract and scope of work are available to view online. Although this planning process will be complete in the next year, the work to implement the plan will continue for the next few years, and we want to build successful partnerships as we plan and perform that work.

Planning Process

In order to develop a community-driven plan, we need information and feedback from the community. The questions we will be asking in this planning process include:

• Should regulations and design review requirements be implemented for private properties? 
• Are there any neighborhoods that could benefit from or want historic zoning protections? 
• Are there historic sites that we do not know about or need to know more about? 
• Do we need to offer more education or resources on how to maintain and repair historic properties? 
• Are additional online resources warranted? 
• How much do we know about our history? 
• Do we need a city historic marker program? 
• Have we identified our historic neighborhoods or is more survey work needed? 
• What kind of grant funding and grant projects are we eligible for or do we want to be eligible for? 
• How does the statewide historic preservation plan aid in guiding the work that we will undertake or the grant funding we will be seeking for the next five years? 

The process will result in a document that will address these questions and lay out a finalized plan.

Timeline

The planning process began in September 2022 and is expected to be completed by August 2023. The state grant requires that we have a final plan document and complete the project within that timeline.

Engagement Opportunities

The City's two historic commissions will both review a presentation of the final plan draft and make a recommendation to the City Council in their June meetings. The Historic District Commission will meet on Thursday, June 8 at 5:30 p.m. in City Hall Room 111 and on Zoom. The Black Heritage Preservation Commission will meet on Thursday, June 15 at 6:30 p.m. in City Hall Room 111 and on Zoom.

Additional ways to connect are:

• Project Contact List: We are compiling a project contact list for updates as we work through the project, and would be happy to add you or anyone who might be interested to the list. Sign up for the project contact list by emailing Britin Bostick or calling 479-575-8262. Alternatively, residents may visit the City’s Development Services office at 125 W. Mountain Street, Fayetteville.
• Commission Involvement: The City’s Historic District Commission and Black Heritage Preservation Commission will both be discussing the plan in their regular meetings, as well as making recommendation on the plan to the City Council.
• Direct Interaction: Long Range Planning staff will be available to meet with community members to discuss the plan, as well as any aspects that community members believe should be included.
• Public Meetings: There will be four public meetings on the plan before it is considered by the City Council. 
  • The first meeting was Wednesday, September 28, 2022, from 4 to 7 p.m. in the Fayetteville Public Library's Ziegler Reception Room. Watch the full recording of Public Meeting #1 on the City of Fayetteville YouTube channel.
  • The second meeting was held in person on Wednesday, April 26 at 4 p.m. in the Fayetteville Public Library's Ziegler Reception Room (located in the new wing). At this meeting, Stantec presented the draft plan document and city staff was available to discuss the plan.

Interactive Historic Sites Map

Click on one of the Historic Sites from the list below (scroll for the full list), then use map controls or list of sub-sites below the map to view location and details of individual historic sites.