Salisbury's Historic Grant Program Suspended This Year!

For close to ten years, the City of Salisbury has been able to offer matching grants to help historic district property owners with basic exterior maintenance and repairs.  In addition to Historic Preservation Incentive grants for residential areas, two additional grant programs have been available for commercial properties.  This year, faced with budget constraints that meant the possibility of cuts to vital services, The city Council was not able to fund these important programs.  However, we are hopeful that funding can be reinstated in the next city budget. 

The Historic Preservation Incentive Grants were offered to those historic districts within Salisbury city limits that fall under a local historic designation.  There are five local historic districts in Salisbury:

• Brooklyn South Square
• Ellis Street Graded School 
• North Main Historic District
• West Square
• Downtown Salisbury

Not all of the North Main neighborhood (NOMA) is in the North Main Historic District.  The neighborhood is bounded by the Norfolk Southern Railway at its east and south boundaries, N. Jackson Street to the west, and the Spencer Town Line at the north border.  The North Main Historic District lies along both sides of N. Main Street from the 600 block to the 1700 block, and one block to the east.  The North Main Neighborhood Association supports ALL of the interests of the neighborhood, historic or otherwise.

Watch city updates for whether the Historic Preservation Grant Incentives will be reinstated in 2013.  You can also contact:

Janet Gapen 704.638.5230
jgape@salisburync.gov

Community Appearance Representative to Meet with NOMA Representatives!

At the City's September Community Appearance Commission meeting, held the first Wednesday of each month at 4PM in City Council Chambers, letters from two Salisbury citizens were read to commissioners that offered complaints about how the North Main section of the city, the main residential corridor and entry to Salisbury,  has been ignored by the City and is in need of attention.  We tend to agree!  We were pleased and proud to benefit from new sidewalks on W. Miller and N. Jackson Streets as a part of the Fit Community Grant, and we were especially grateful when the City used use that same block to plant flowering crab apple trees as part of the Arbor Day celebration two years ago....but since then the interest seems to have fallen by the wayside.

Due to this communication the City recently received about our neighborhood, Barbara Perry, Chairperson of the Community Appearance Commission, will soon be interested in talking to a small group of representatives from NOMA for our input.  Ms. Perry was unaware but reminded that an entire North Main Small Area Improvement Plan had been approved by City Council in July of 2007 that indeed was a product of the voice of the community.  Many of you may have participated in that plan through a series of meetings that were held at the City Park Recreation Center through 2006 and 2007.  The North Main Plan, that included pocket parks, crosswalks, landscaping, and street parking, has never been implemented, even incrementally, due to reported lack of funds.

If you are interested in being a representative of NOMA when Ms Perry approaches us, please contact NOMA at themainneighborhood@gmail.com, or call Sue McHugh at 704.577.9965. If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the North Main Small Area Improvement Plan, please contact Diana Moghrabi at dmogh@salisburync.gov.

Salisbury's New “One-Stop Shop” for Development Services

The Development Services division of the City of Salisbury's Community Planning Services (the “Planning Department”) has successfully completed its move to the first floor of the City Office Building at 132 N. Main Street! 

This new “One-Stop Shop” for development services combines several functions of the development process into one location, including planning, zoning, business licensing, FOG coordination/compliance/inspections, Fire Marshal coordination/compliance/inspections, as well as a satellite office for Rowan County Building Code Enforcement.

With this recent move and consolidation of services, the following individuals can now be found at this location:

·        Rick Barkley, Fire Marshal
·        Teresa Barringer, F.O.G. Coordinator
·        Trey Cleaton, Senior Planner
·        Dale Drye, Rowan County Building Code Enforcement
·        Judy Jordan, Sr. Administrative Assistant
·        Preston Mitchell, Planning & Development Services Manager
·        David Phillips, Zoning Administrator
·        Patty Shuping, Business Licensing Officer

Please feel free to check out the newly remodeled space. The new “One-Stop Shop” is a consolidated office for development services and the processes involved in development permitting and inspections - only the staff/services mentioned above operate within this new location.

NOMA Not Selected for BlockWork 2012

We were deeply disappointed not to have the North Main Neigbhorhood (NOMA) selected for this year's BlockWork program offered by the City of Salisbury and United Way.

NOMA submitted the 1200 block of N. Church Street and the 900 block of N. Jackson Street.  Knowing that both blocks meet the requirements of a mix of owner occupied and rental homes, in an area that was safe for a number of crews to work in the area, we thought these blocks represented the type of work that was done on Make a Difference Day in the 200-300 blocks of S. Shaver Street in 2011. Neither block was located in the North Main Historic District, and therefore would not be limited by Historic Preservation guidelines.

The BlockWork Committee received 12 applications for the BlockWork program, and chose the 1000 Block of South Fulton Street, saying it was a feasible mix of rental and owner-occupied homes, has a good deal of commercial presence, and has a strong support system from the neighborhood. We believe this is the main reason this block was selected...that and it's visibility along the Fulton Street corridor, which is in a National Historic District but not in the local Fulton Heights historic district.  The committee will come up with a unifying theme, and will do a walk of the S. Fulton block to see what the project might include and what materials might need to be required.

BlockWork is scheduled for Saturday October 27th, which coincides with United Way's Make a Difference Day. The City of Salisbury was awarded a national honor for the BlockWork program in 2011.

We hope to see many volunteers out on Fulton Street on BlockWork Saturday.  We'll submit again next year and keep our fingers crossed that it will be NOMA's turn!!

Neighborhood Leaders Alliance meeting ~ Thursday, Sept 27th ~ 4PM

The City of Salisbury's Community Appearance Commission invites NOMA residents to the next Neighborhood Leaders Alliance meeting on Thursday, September 27th, at 4PM in City Hall Council Chambers at 217 South Main Street.

Among other items, the Neighborhood Leaders Alliance will discuss the upcoming BlockWork project, the work plan for the new Housing Advocacy Commission, and the proposed task force to address nuisance animals.  If you are interested in serving on the task force, you mail fill out an online application byt going to the Boards and Commissions tab at www.salisburync.gov.

We hope to see a big turn-out of NOMA neighbors at this meeting!

See you then!