DATE: Wednesday, March 5, 1997              TAG: 9703050422

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MEREDITH COHN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                        LENGTH:   56 lines

CHESAPEAKE AT LAST FINDS MEMBERS FOR PRESERVATION PANEL THE VOLUNTEERS WILL ADVISE THE CITY ON HISTORIC GRANTS AND RESTORATION WORK.

After nearly eight months of recruiting, enough citizens have been rounded up to serve on the Historic Preservation Commission - an advisory board charged with finding money and appropriate sites to protect from the city's growth.

The City Council had put off appointing citizens to the seats until qualified applicants could be found. Education or work experience in architecture and historic preservation were required for most of the seven seats on the board, which will be responsible for such things as recommending local buildings for the National Registry of Historic Sites and identifying federal and state grants for studies and surveys of the city. Currently, there are four city buildings on the national registry, which brings owners tax breaks for preservation and restoration.

``Some people think every old building is worthy of saving, but they're not, and some people think no old building is worthy of saving, but some are,'' said Peter Aranyi, a Great Bridge resident and licensed professional architect named to the panel. Aranyi works for the Clark Nexsen architectural and engineering firm based in Norfolk, which is not a historical preservation firm but has worked on projects in the city, including design of the new park in Deep Creek.

``The city does have a history,'' said Aranyi, a South Hampton Roads native. ``I know there are historic sites in all these cities, and in Chesapeake there has been an under-appreciation of some of the sites. One thing that got me more interested was the fervor raised by the Rite Aid in the green space in Great Bridge. It made me more aware of the city's past that we're losing to development.''

The Great Bridge site was the former location of an 18th century church that quartered soldiers during the Revolutionary War.

Aranyi said he applied for the nonpaying position after reading about the opening in the newspaper. ``I just couldn't believe no one had volunteered. I felt it was an important position.''

The city received 23 applications for the seven citizen seats on the panel, and the City Council appointed the residents about a week ago. Six city workers also were appointed.

City Planner Mark Shea, a member of the panel and staff manager for the city's 2-year-old historic preservation plan, said applications for state grants should become available this month, and advising staff on which to apply for may be one of the historic commission's first duties. Finding funding to update the preservation plan will be on the list.

No meeting date has been set, but Shea described the group as ``qualified. Five of the seven have degrees in history, and there is also an architect.''

Stuart Smith, president of the Historical Society of Chesapeake, said he was glad to see the panel put in place. ``Anything we can do to preserve local history, that's what we're about.''

The new citizen members of the commission are: Aranyi, Robert Abernethy, James Butler, Katherine Renfrew, George Wallace, Anna Jones and Gerald Porterfield.

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