The City of Tacoma’s Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) will hold a public meeting Wednesday to hear from residents, property owners, and historic preservationists on a plan to designate the Wedge neighborhood an historic district.
Last year, the Tacoma Wedge Association Historic Subcommittee submitted an application to the city’s historic preservation office seeking district designation for the area.
The Wedge neighborhood is a part of Tacoma that boasts more than 50 homes dating back 80 years or more. It’s also where Tacoma pioneer Aaron Titlow, candy company entrepreneurs Frank and Ethel Mars, and Titanic survivor Anne Kincaid resided. And its ringed by Wright Park, the North Slope Historic District, and many of the city’s oldest churches.
The LPC began to review the nomination last September. Since then, the commission has held a series of public meetings to discuss several elements of the application, such as district boundaries, buildings inventory, and the neighborhood’s historic significance. The process is expected to continue through July. The city’s planning commission will also review the request.
Earlier this year, commissioners met Wedge residents, property owners, and other interested parties for a walking tour of the neighborhood.
A public hearing notice was mailed May 27 and included a postage-paid mailer soliciting comments from interested parties. Recipients were encouraged to answer questions related to whether they own or rent property in the neighborhood, live near the proposed historic district, and support or oppose the designation. The mailer also included a map of the proposed historic district boundaries.
Five historic districts exist in Tacoma.
According to historic preservation officer Reuben McKnight, the LPC is tentatively scheduled to adopt findings and recommendations July 22 and determine whether to forward them to the Planning Commission.
The public hearing will be held Weds., June 24 at 5:00 p.m. at Tacoma Municipal Building North, Room 16, 728 St. Helens. For more information, visit http://www.tacomaculture.org/wedge.asp .
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For earlier coverage of the Wedge Historic District nomination, visit the following articles:
1. Will Tacoma’s Wedge neighborhood go historic? (09/05/08) — http://tacomadailyindex.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=88&cat=23&id=1318920&more=0
2. A Slice of History: Two meetings will explore Wedge historic district nomination (09/23/08) — http://tacomadailyindex.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=88&cat=23&id=1355266&more=0
3. MultiCare, Wedge residents discuss hospital expansion, historic district effort (10/02/08) — http://tacomadailyindex.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=88&cat=23&id=1385425&more=0
4. MultiCare weighs in on Wedge historic district nomination (02/09/09) — http://tacomadailyindex.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=88&cat=23&id=1485714&more=0
5. Big decision ahead for proposed Wedge historic district (02/11/09) — http://tacomadailyindex.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=88&cat=23&id=1487900&more=0
6. New timeline for Wedge historic district review (02/18/09) — http://tacomadailyindex.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=88&cat=23&id=1491340&more=0
7. A Hike through History (03/05/09) — http://tacomadailyindex.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=88&cat=23&id=1502432&more=0
8. Decision expected this week on preliminary Wedge Historic District boundary (03/24/09) — http://tacomadailyindex.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=88&cat=23&id=1514668&more=0
9. Tacoma’s Landmarks Preservation Commission sets ‘working boundary’ for Wedge Historic District (03/27/09) — http://tacomadailyindex.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=88&cat=23&id=1517636&more=0
10. A house in the city, a home to neighborhood history (04/16/09) — http://tacomadailyindex.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=88&cat=23&id=1529595&more=0
For coverage of the LPC’s walking tour of the neighborhood, visit http://i.feedtacoma.com/TDI-Reporters-Notebook/walking-wedge-photos-from-neighborhood/ .
