Politics & Government

Architectural Review Board Wants Blue Prints for Historic Home

The Manassas City Architectural Review Board (ARB) is in support of having blue prints drawn up for the historic Prescott House should it be demolished.

Clarification: Lovejoy agrees zoning and code enforcement are key to preventing, detering violations in the future and preserving neighborhoods now, but does not think fines should be looked at as a source of revenue for the city as was originally stated in the article. 

The Manassas City Architectural Review Board (ARB) is in support of having blue prints drawn up for the historic Prescott House should it be demolished.

According to city documents, the board voted unanimously (4-0) in favor of a resolution which would support the City Council on a motion that would provide funding to complete a set of measured drawings prior to any demolition for historical and possible reconstruction purposes. 

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Manassas City Council Candidate Ian Lovejoy (R), who serves on the city's Architectural Review Board, said the board's goal is to help preserve the city’s historic districts. The Prescott House, located at 9300 Prescott Ave., is located in the historic district on a property zoned residential, and Lovejoy said the recent resolution passed by the ARB would allow interested parties to try and preserve or rebuild the house.

It's detrimental having the house there the way it is now, Lovejoy said.

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Lovejoy also said a more unified coding and zoning enforcement plan for the city could prevent similar situations in the future.

At one point, the house was pristine before its smaller problems of peeling paint turned into larger problems of all-out blight. 

This is a zoning and coding enforcement issue; had there been enforcement early on further deterioration of the house could have been prevented, he said.

Lovejoy said he is a big fan of zoning and coding as a preventative measure and  tightening up the operation would  deter violations.

The resolution by the ARB comes a week after the committee received a status report by the city's building official regarding the property, which was presented to the council at its Feb. 13 meeting.

that the porch on the house must be torn down because it has been deemed a safety hazard and that the remainder of the house would under go 'mothballing' to prevent any further deterioration at a cost of nearly $90,000 to the city.

by Council Member Mark Wolfe and seconded by Council Membe Marc Aveni that would allow the property's owner, Dorothy M. Feaganes, of Alexandria, one last chance to make repairs to the property within a specified time allotted or the city could demolish it at a much lower cost to city taxpayers.

Council was split on the what to do about the house; therefore, the decision is up to the mayor who is expected to issue a deciding vote on or before the next regularly-scheduled council meeting Feb. 27.


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