The following Letter to the Editor appeared in the Spartanburg Herald Journal on Sunday, August 20, 2017.
Be aware that if you buy property in Beaumont Village, it is a city historic district and is subject to special historic guidelines that govern what changes you can make to the exterior of your property. Your realtor may not know this. The seller may not tell you this. This is not included in any covenants attached to the deed.
The city has not publicized this well, although all the information is on the city’s website. The historic area runs from Beaumont Avenue to Boundary and from Isom Street to the railroad tracks.
This is one issue the Beaumont Village Association is interested in addressing. We also believe it is time to review and possibly revise the historic guidelines, which have been in place since 2011, considering issues such as energy efficiency and newer building materials as well as keeping homeownership affordable in the village.
Other issues include documenting our history, involving residents in planning, and continuing to develop a safe, kid- and elder-friendly environment where people take care of their property and neighbors get along. A park would be nice. We would also like a permanent meeting place in the village, maybe evan a modest “destination” with historic displays.
Think of Beaumont as a nice place to live but also a city treasure, if maybe a diamond in the rough. We are Spartanburg’s history.
We would like to express our appreciation to the Mary Black Foundation, which just awarded our association a $5,000 grant. We plan to build our membership, organizing to meet our goals, developing social media, amd making Beaumont Village more visible in this town.
Become a “Friend of the Village.” Donations are always welcome. We are a 502(c)3 nonprofit, and the association’s mailing address is P.O. Box 771, Drayton, S.C., 29333.
Marilyn Graves Kimple, vice president, Beaumont Village Association