Has anyone ever said to you that if you want to put something in your CROW you should run it by SPAR before you go to HPC for a COA?

CROW stands for “Common Right of Way”, the area between the sidewalk and the street.  Usually grass.  Owned by the city but don’t expect them to maintain it.  That’s the owner’s responsibility.  But if you want to put something like landscaping or pavers in it, know that the city has the right to remove it in order to work on water or sewer or whatever that lies beneath the dirt.

SPAR is Springfield Preservation and Revitalization, or a non-profit organization that is based in Springfield and oversees a lot of Springfield activities and improvements.  They interact with the city to coordinate many of the improvements that the city makes, from potholes to bus stops.  They secure grants and produce the largest event in Historic Springfield, Jax Porchfest, an event which brings upwards of 25,000 people on a day in the fall to enjoy music from some of the best porches in Jacksonville.

HPC is the Historic Preservation Commission, a division of the city’s Planning Department, that oversees the local and national historic districts and landmarks in Jacksonville.  The Jacksonville Historic Preservation Commission (JHPC) is responsible for review of certain applications for Certificates of Appropriateness (COA) and for recommending the designation of local landmarks and districts to the City Council.  The Commission is comprised of seven (7) individuals appointed by the Mayor.  The membership includes both historic district residents, architects, lawyers, preservationists, and members of the construction trade.

A COA, as stated above, is a Certificate of Appropriateness, necessary in a local historic district before certain changes can be made to a property or get a permit for those changes.  Most anything except paint color on the exterior needs a COA.  Adding or changing a fence, adding a garage or shed, replacing a window or door (those are biggies), etc.  Fortunately, SPAR has a Design Review Committee that will help you in the early stages before you even go to the HPC.

SIAA stands for the Springfield Improvement Association and Archives, which recently changed its name to HSS, or Historic Springfield Society.  This non-profit organization is the oldest one in Springfield by any of its names.  Among other things it acts as a repository of online archives for the original surveys of the area that created both our national and local historic districts and has a searchable database for each house.