On Wednesday, members of the City of Oxford Board of Zoning Appeals (“BZA”) voted unanimously to uphold a previous decision of the Oxford Historic and Architectural Preservation Commission to deny the request of a property owner to demolish a site related to President Benjamin Harrison’s days at Miami University.

Oxford’s unique historic preservation ordinance affords the BZA the power to overturn Commission decisions only if the Commission is found to have acted in an “unreasonable, arbitrary or capricious” manner in a hearing where no public comment is allowed. (Oxford Codified Ordinances Section 1331.061).

In their decision, the BZA cited the Commission’s attention to detail in formulating their recent decision to deny demolition.  The Commission had examined plans of the current owner which called for demolition of the 1846 structure and replacement with a mixed-use development containing over 63,000 square feet of space in two four-story buildings, and felt that the price of restoration would place the house well within the current local re-sale market for similar properties.

One of only six houses remaining in Oxford that date from before the Civil War, a young Benjamin Harrison boarded at 101 West Church Street for a time during his years at Miami.  The property was later used as funeral home.

Photo Credit: President Benjamin Harrison, taken 1888/Public Domain