City accuses landmarks commission of not following 'standard procedure'
In a statement, city staff explain why they didn't present a recommendation to preserve a historic house by the airport; commission member disputes city's claims
The following article appeared in the August 9, 2024, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with smart and original local news for Charlotte. We offer free and paid subscription plans. More info here.
Update: City staff explains why City Council didn’t see recommendation of historic landmark; accuses landmarks commission of not following ‘standard procedure’
The city and its airport began demolishing the Steele Creek Presbyterian Church Manse on Aug. 2. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission had voted to save it, but city staff never presented the recommendation to the City Council.
Staff for the city of Charlotte for the first time have provided a public explanation of why they did not forward a recommendation to declare a century-old house as historic to City Council members for a vote: because they believed the panel that made the recommendation — the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission (HLC) — did not follow its usual procedures.
Landmarks commission officials dispute the city’s assessment that they didn’t follow regular procedures.
In a statement released to The Ledger and to other media who have started following the dispute in recent days, the city didn’t directly say why it failed to include the commission’s recommendation on a City Council agenda, as is customary, following a unanimous vote by the commission that the council consider designating the Steele Creek Presbyterian Church Manse as a historic landmark. Such a designation would have postponed the demolition of the city-owned house, which was built in 1914 for pastors of one of Charlotte’s oldest churches.
The statement suggests that city staff were surprised by the possibility of a landmarks designation on land the city and its airport owned.