Oakhurst Wins National Award!

The Oakhurst Neighborhood Association won 1st place in the Multi-Neighborhood Project Partnerships Category of the National Neighborhood Awards competition sponsored by Neighborhoods USA (NUSA). The award was presented at the National Neighborhoods Conference held at the River Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana at a luncheon attended by approximately 750 attendees.

Libby Willis, ONA President, and Dwight Mason, Citizens on Patrol Captain, represented ONA. A panel of judges selected 4 finalists to compete in the multi-neighborhood projects partnerships category. Finalists, besides Oakhurst, included the Bluff Heights Neighborhood Association of Long Beach California; the Lake Worth Alliance of Fort Worth; and the Island Village Corporation of Detroit, Michigan.

Finalists were invited to make presentations and judging was based on the extent of innovation, grassroots participation and capacity building exhibited by the nominated organization. Oakhurst’s project, the 19th Annual Code Blue Police and Firefighters Dinner held in October 2006, was judged the best multi-neighborhood project partnership for this year. Congratulations, Oakhurst Code Blue, ONA and all Oakhurst residents!

ONA Votes to Nominate Oakhurst to the National Register of Historic Places

At the May 10, 2007 ONA General Membership Meeting, the membership voted to adopt the recommendation of the Historic Resources Committee that the neighborhood be nominated to the National Register of Historic Places. Below is Committee Chairman John Suggs' report, as well as information about the National Register from the Texas Historical Commission.

Historic Resources Committee Report - John Suggs, Chairman

At the April 26 general membership meeting, the Historic Resources Committee and I made a recommendation based on our review of various programs available to preserve and protect historic neighborhoods like Oakhurst.

Over the last year, we have studied 5 options for Oakhurst: 1) listing on the National Register of Historic Places, which provides recognition without restricting in any way a private owner’s ability to alter, manager, or dispose of a property; 2) a local (City of Fort Worth) historic district designation with minimal guidelines that would be easy to follow; 3) a conservation district; 4) an Oakhurst conservation strategy that would be a planning tool; and 5) using our committee to develop resources so that individuals or groups of individual property owners could designate their properties as historic.

After much discussion and thought, our committee voted to recommend to the ONA general membership that we apply to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. There are at least 11 National Register Historic Districts in Tarrant County, including 5 residential districts in Fort Worth (Grand Avenue; Leuda-May; Fairmount; Elizabeth Boulevard; and Near Southeast). The National Register includes individual properties and districts which are of local importance, not just great national landmarks. Additionally, listing in the National Register would ensure consideration of Oakhurst in the planning process for federal or federally-assisted projects (such as the I-35 expansion project). Listing in the National Register could help Oakhurst property owners get the best mitigation measures possible for additional noise and light brought by the freeway expansion.
 
Learn more about the National Register of Historic Places at www.cr.nps.gov/nr/results.htm. You may also download the complete Oakhurst Historic District application to the NRHP.