Those seeking to obtain historic-district status for properties in Arlington may soon have to pay for the privilege.
County Board members on Feb. 24 advertised a March 26 public hearing on a staff proposal to impose fees of between $250 and $1,000 on submissions related to new local historic districts.
This would cover the costs of legal advertising, mailing, processing and initial reviews of historic-district requests.
If approved later this spring as part of the fiscal 2027 budget process, the fees would go into effect starting July 1.
“Detailed documentation prepared by staff must be submitted to the Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB) and/or County Board for approval as part of any newly designated local historic district,” county staff said in justifying the request to recoup some costs.
The fee would be $250 per property within a request, up to the $1,000 maximum.
Since its establishment in the 1970s, the historic-district program has designated 44 districts. Some are single properties, while others are a grouping of them. The largest district encompasses the entirety of the Maywood community.
In a typical year, county staff receive between one and three applications. For the fiscal year beginning in July, the new fee would bring in an estimated $500, staff said.
Unlike inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places, which is purely honorific in nature, inclusion in an Arlington historic district imposes preservation requirements on property owners.
Nominations do not need to be made by the property owner, but county officials last year tightened submission requirements.
The response from HALRB members to the change was largely negative, with one calling it “burdensome to an applicant in a lot of ways.”
In recent years, there have been battles fought out over historic-district requests for Dorothy Hamm Middle School, the Febrey-Lothrop estate and others.
Currently, the former Nelly Custis Elementary School in Aurora Highlands is being evaluated for historic provenance. That effort has delayed plans by Melwood to raze the building and construct apartments in its place.
While the HALRB is involved throughout every historic-designation request, the County Board has final say on historic status.
In recent years, Board members have shied away from making historic designations on properties where the owner was opposed, such as the Febrey-Lothrop estate on Wilson Blvd. All that exists of that once-prominent property are several historic markers placed after its demolition.
