To the editor: On April 8, Gov. Youngkin signed into law historic-preservation legislation patroned by Del. Patrick Hope, based on a proposal made in 2021 by local historic-preservation advocates Tom Dickinson and John Reeder.
As enacted, the bill will prevent the kind of disaster that occurred in Arlington in 2021, when county authorities approved a demolition permit for the destruction of the historic 9.5-acre Febrey-Lothrop-Rouse estate on Wilson Boulevard while an application for historic-district designation for the site and structures was still in the review process by the county government.
While the bill has made it into law, opposition forces (seemingly led by some in the county government) succeeded in gutting an essential component of Del. Hope’s initial proposal – expanding who has legal “standing” in the courts to file an appeal in the event of an adverse decision by the locality related to historic-district designation.
The weakened bill was stripped of provisions stating the rights of historic-preservation supporters to have access to the courts for review of a locality’s denial of historic-district designation. (Under current law, only the property owner has rights to the courts for any kind of review.)
Del. Hope deserves great credit for persuading his colleagues in the legislature to approve the bill, as it is a significant achievement for supporters of historic preservation in Arlington, where developers and money have always held sway. And despite the measure representing “half a loaf,” it could prove to be the first course in a meal that eventually serves the needs of the people of Arlington.
John P. Richardson, Arlington
