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Dear Ms. Frazier:

This letter is an addendum to the more comprehensive comments on the Draft Central District Plan being submitted by Lorraine Pearsall, President of Historic Takoma, Inc. I am fully in accord with those comments, and wish merely to express our further concerns about the specific treatment of the historic preservation elements in the plan.

Historic Takoma is an all-volunteer, non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization dedicated to helping preserve the heritage of Takoma Park, MD and Takoma, DC through educational activities and preservation of historical landmarks and archives. It is incorporated in the District of Columbia as well as in Maryland. I am vice president of the organization and a resident of Takoma DC. A special DC Historic Preservation Committee of HTI, which I co-chair, provides a focus for activities that affect the entire Takoma DC neighborhood, both inside and outside the historic district.

As the Draft Plan rightly notes, on page 3, "The Takoma neighborhood is one of Washington, DC's most distinctive communities established [in 1883] as a bucolic 100-acre, inter-jurisdictional suburb centered on the former Baltimore & Ohio Railroad tracks." Unlike modern suburbs, however, it retains a small town feeling. It has also had an integrated, multi-cultural history that has lasted for over a century.

Little of Takoma's rich history is reflected in the Draft Plan, nor is its capability of serving as an essential revitalization tool. We believe, however, that historic preservation should be front and center in this plan.

It is a critical aspect of any efforts to market this unique area, to revitalize the uses of the land and property, to provide quality urban design and to assure a suitable mix of transportation access within Takoma.

While we are not in disagreement with the statements in the Plan that reference historic preservation - in fact, we support the three "strategies" that appear to be recommendations - we are extremely disappointed in the cursory treatment of historic preservation in the Plan. Beyond the introduction and executive summary, only one brief page in the detailed sections of the report is provided on historic preservation (page 57), compared to numerous pages on other aspects of the plan. Only three bulleted issues and three numbered strategies are outlined. No context is provided and little is said about the values, problems and attendant preservation needs of Takoma DC.

Indeed, although one of the "strategies" references the need to "conserve existing historic resources by funding neighborhood survey to investigate the historic potential of areas and individual properties surrounding the existing historic district" and notes that a study has been funded for this purpose, no mention is made of the fact that it was HTI that initiated the study proposal, recently approved and partially funded by the historic preservation office (with considerable volunteer labor and funds to be contributed by HTI). No map is provided of the present historic district boundaries nor a map of the study area. (Copy of the latter is attached with these comments).

Nor does the Plan reflect or acknowledge the shared heritage of Takoma DC and MD in the wide range of arts and humanities, music and folklife, architecture and horticulture that also continue today and could be a vital force in the economic revitalization of the entire community.

We therefore recommend the following:

(1) More creative approaches should be proposed (in addition to the ones cited in the Draft Plan) to assist the renovation and reuse of existing historic buildings, including the Takoma Theatre, the 4th Street commercial area, the turn-of-the-century building at the northeast corner of Blair Road and Cedar Street, and the older commercial buildings on Carroll Street.

These could include:

• grants,
• tax increment financing,
• local as well as Federal tax incentives for restoring historic properties;
• low or no-interest loans, and
• use of part of the transfer taxes in the area to help fund these and other programs to rehab both commercial and residential historic properties.

(2) A study should be undertaken for the creation of a joint Takoma DC/MD Cultural Heritage Area. Such an area could serve both residents and visitors to our communities and provide a catalyst and marketing tool for compatible development. A program for designating and funding heritage areas is available in Maryland; a comparable program is needed in DC and should be proposed.

(3) Improved signage for the Takoma DC Historic District, coordinated with the adjacent historic district in Takoma Park, MD, should be implemented.

(4) A joint DC/MD walking tour should be developed and marketed with other historic preservation and cultural heritage programs (e.g., the DC Heritage Tourism Coalition). This should be aimed at encouraging people to come to the historical, cultural and commercial areas of Takoma by Metrorail, bus, or bike and then to walk around the areas on foot. It could also link other historical and cultural institutions in both DC and MD, such as the Takoma Library (Carnegie-funded, the first branch library in the District of Columbia), historic churches, the Takoma Theater, etc.

(5) A marketing plan should emphasize the historic charm, cultural heritage and history of Takoma that can enhance economic development in the area. Along with this, the "business management group or non-profit community development corporation" envisioned on page 28 should include representatives of HTI and companies who understand how to use historic preservation and cultural heritage as a market revitalization strategy.

(6) Within the Plan itself, several additions are needed.

• Maps should be included both of the current Takoma DC historic district and the study area around it (again, see rough draft of the latter, which was submitted from HTI to the DC Historic Preservation Office as part of the proposed study).

• Acknowledgement should be made that the Eastern Off-Street Alignment option for the Metropolitan Branch Trail (p.17) could negatively impact the historic Cady House (an individually listed and extremely significant National Historic Register Property) as well as land owned by the National Park Service at Eastern and Piney Branch Road, one of the gateway areas to the national capital.

• Clear statements should be included about how these recommendations and the "strategies" called for in the plan will be implemented and by whom and when. On page 57, the Draft Plan says: "initiate legislative action to provide property tax credits for renovation of owner-occupied historic residential properties." However, the housing legislation proposed by the Mayor and currently before the District Council does NOT include the Takoma Historic District. The Planning Office should urge both the Mayor and the Council to support the inclusion of Takoma in the legislation.

These are just a few ideas that warrant inclusion in the final Takoma Central District Plan relating to historic preservation. They may also serve as springboards to other, related recommendations, which we encourage you to consider.

Thank you again for the opportunity to contribute to this important planning effort.

Sincerely,

Loretta Neumann
Vice President and Co-Chair, Takoma DC Historic Preservation Committee

Home address: 7124 Piney Branch Road NW, Washington DC 20012
Home email: Lneumann2@aol.com

© 2001-2004 Mark Freedman