THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 16, 1995 TAG: 9507180442
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: COVER STORY
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH THIEL, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 194 lines
GEORGE O. SPEERS and his mother, Ethel, fought hard for nearly 14 years.
In the end, though, they were beaten. Beaten by the incredible expense and energy required to rehabilitate the historic Western Branch home that had been in their family for more than three centuries.
The Speerses sold the house and land earlier this year. The new owners had promised to try to restore the home, but later bulldozed it.
``That's 305 years of history gone,'' said George Speers, a descendant of the Bruce family, which obtained the original land grant from King Charles I in the late 1600s.
The Speerses' predicament is a growing phenomenon in Chesapeake.
Evidence abounds of the city's rich heritage, dating back centuries when the area was still Norfolk County. At last count in 1987, the city had about 1,500 properties that could be considered significant based on their age, architecture or connection to some important past event.
But gradually, owners struggling to maintain their historic properties - restoring aging buildings and paying taxes on the land - are failing. And there's no mechanism in place now for the city to do anything about it.
Concern among the city's history buffs was heightened recently when the owners of the Old property, on the corner of Battlefield Boulevard and Cedar Road, decided to sell the land and 1850s-era home there to make way for a bank and a drugstore. The site is said to have held a pre-Revolutionary War Episcopal church called the Southern Branch Chapel.
``There's so much history here, and it's all going down the drain,'' said Anna L. Jones, a member of board of directors of the Norfolk County Historical Society of Chesapeake. The society has made some attempts to highlight the city's heritage, by establishing a history room at the Central Library, for example, but does not have the capacity to buy and preserve buildings and land.
Chesapeake has no ordinances that cover historic properties, said City Attorney Ronald S. Hallman. The closest thing is a set of design guidelines for South Norfolk.
The 1987 survey, commissioned by the city, contained some recommendations, such as a citywide zoning ordinance covering historic properties and a full-time staff member to handle preservation issues. Neither recommendation was acted upon.
Councilman Alan P. Krasnoff said there was some talk on the Planning Commission back in the late 1980s about establishing an architectural review committee to scrutinize plans for construction or renovation in historic areas, but nothing ever came of it.
``I don't think the citizens wanted it,'' Krasnoff said. ``Every time we've talked about architectural review. . . there's been resistance to it. It's difficult.''
The trick is to balance the needs of citizens who yearn to hold onto their heritage and property owners whose worst nightmare would be restrictions on how they could dispose of their land or buildings.
``Would you like the government to tell you exactly what color your house should be?'' said William J. Hearring, who this year bought the Bruce-Speers property and made the decision to bulldoze the old home there when an engineer told him it was not structurally sound enough to justify the expense of rehabilitating it. ``You wouldn't like that, I'm sure.''
A balance is what city officials are trying to strike now.
The Planning Department, along with citizen volunteers and a consultant from an architectural firm in Norfolk, are in the process of drafting a historic preservation plan. Two public meetings have been held so far; a third is scheduled for this week.
A draft is expected by fall.
``It's something that's long overdue,'' said historical society president Stuart B. Smith. ``We've done what we could with our resources, but a lot needs to be done that's beyond our reach.''
The plan will spell out exactly what citizens hope to accomplish in the area of historic preservation, and how they plan to accomplish it.
``The only way the plan's going to become a reality is if we have a very realistic implementation plan, on who's going to do what, what it's going to cost and when it's going to happen,'' said Gregory L. Rutledge, the city's consultant on the project.
Rutledge, along with the 30 or so participants in the two public meetings, has come up with five ambitious goals for historic preservation in Chesapeake:
Educating and informing citizens about their heritage. This would include educating residents about the importance of knowledge about the past, teaching schoolchildren a local history course and gathering oral histories from older residents, an effort already under way by the historical society. Property owners also need help researching their land and buildings, and figuring out the best ways to preserve them.
Preserving and protecting the integrity of Chesapeake's neighborhoods. Restoring South Norfolk, an area that is considered historic, was mentioned frequently by the strong contingent of the neighborhood's residents who attended the public meetings.
Identifying and then protecting and maintaining the most historically significant sites. It might be unrealistic to expect that all or even most of the city's historic properties can be preserved in their original condition. Citizens and city officials may have to concentrate on the most important ones. Other sites could simply be marked with official signs that detail their significance.
Also, Rutledge says there should be more properties that officially are designated historic. Only four properties in the city, including the Dismal Swamp Canal and the site of the Battle of Great Bridge, now are listed on the national and state registers of historic places. Property owners need help with the process of registering.
Promoting tourism and economic development. History could be a draw for Chesapeake. The city could develop a brochure, describing its most important sites. The Portlock Museum in South Norfolk, when complete, would attract visitors. More facilities for tourists also could be erected at the Dismal Swamp Canal.
Recognizing the importance of historic preservation and ensuring that all municipal actions reflect a policy of preservation. This could be the most thorny goal of all, because it suggests the need for some kind of government intervention. Rutledge reaffirms the 1987 study's conclusion that the city needs a full-time staff member to work with historic preservation. Some other ideas discussed during one of the public meetings included tax incentives for property owners willing to do restoration, restricted zoning in historic areas, architectural reviews and including the historic preservation plan in the city's long-range plan.
All of those ideas are still up for discussion. The plan should begin to take a more solid shape after this week's public meeting.
Whether the plan will take hold, and not become just another reference manual like the 1987 study, remains to be seen.
One problem, Rutledge said, is that the residents seem to be reliant on him and city officials to make it all happen.
``I think they're expecting that the city of Chesapeake should be doing all these things,'' he said. ``But there are a lot of little historical societies in Chesapeake, and they should be taking some of the responsibility.''
No matter what becomes of the plan, it will be too late for Ethel O. Speers and her son, George.
``It's a shame,'' Ethel said.
The Speerses spent almost a quarter of a million dollars renovating the house and grounds beginning in 1981.
Family legend has it that there's an Indian burial ground on the site, and that an aunt once shot a Yankee soldier during the Civil War and buried him under the house's floorboards.
The family lost the home to taxes somewhere around 1940, but George Speers' late father bought it back.
George says he and his mother spent so much money on the place, they would have lost the house again, if they had not sold.
``It was kind of frustrating,'' he said. ``You'd have the house where you wanted it, and then you'd have the grounds to do. And then you'd have the house all over again.''
After Hearring bought the property, a barn and what was said to be slaves' quarters burned at the hands of arsonists. Hearring said he just could not see spending the money that would be needed to fix up the house. He plans to build a new home there.
``Obviously you can rejuvenate anything if you spend enough money on it, but it reaches the point where it gets ridiculous,'' he said. ``You end up spending twice what you would spend for a new house.''
Hearring and George Speers echoed each other in saying that property owners need some kind of help, if they are to be expected to rehabilitate historic sites.
``I think it would be nice for the city to provide incentives, for people to maintain and restore historic properties,'' Hearring said.
``Chesapeake needs to get on the ball and start doing something,'' Speers said. ``If they don't, it's going to be a sad case of `I could kick myself.' '' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by STEVE EARLEY
Development of historical sites, such as the Portlock House, could
mean new reveues for the city by attracting tourists.
Stewart Street in the South Norfolk is one area where residents are
interested in preserving buildings with a historical background.
A preservation policy is ``something that's long overdue,'' said
Stuart B. Smith, left, president of the Norfolk County Historical
Society of Chesapeake. ``We've done what we could with our
resources, but a lot needs to be done that's beyond our reach.''
``The only way the plan's going to become a reality is if we have a
very realistic implementation plan, on who's going to do what, what
it's going to cost and when it's going to happen,'' said consultant
Gregory L. Rutledge, left.
Graphics
DRAFTING A PLAN
The Chesapeake Planning Department and its consulting firm will
hold a public meeting on drafting a historic preservation plan
Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the South Norfolk Community Center, 1217
Goodwin Ave.
For more information, contact the Planning Department at
547-6176.
THE PUSH TO PRESERVE
[For complete graphic, please see microfilm]
by CNB