Once a week, on average, the Davenport House hosts a soiree.
Some days, it’s a wedding. Others, a wedding reception for a ceremony held across the street in Columbia Square. Retirement parties, reunions and other socials also dot the museum’s event calendar.
The functions provide more than valuable exposure for the house museum. The gatherings equate to tens of thousands of dollars. Events accounted for 5 percent of the Davenport Museum’s operating revenue last year, funds that go toward property maintenance, staff salaries and utility bills.
Only recently did the ownership, the Historic Savannah Foundation, learn that money technically is dirty. Renting properties for special events in certain mixed-use zones downtown, such as the one the Davenport House falls under, violates the Savannah Zoning Ordinance.
Using the Davenport Museum or other popular downtown party venues — the Owens Thomas House, Harper-Fowlkes House and Trustees’ Garden — as what the ordinance calls “assembly halls” is illegal.
“The impact of this situation,” said Historic Savannah Foundation CEO Daniel Carey, “is potentially disastrous.”
The Chatham County-Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission is working to head off calamity.
The MPC board last month considered a text amendment to the ordinance that would allow the “assembly hall” use in the zones that include the house museums and Trustees’ Garden.
The board continued the issue until this Tuesday’s meeting to allow the MPC staff to explore other options.
Several board members were reticent to make such a broad change in light of what prompted the text amendment — a rash of complaints from the neighbors of the Harper-Fowlkes House complaining about noise tied to special events hosted at the property.
Recommending approval for the text amendment as it was written could open the “flood gates” for property owners to rent houses in largely residential neighborhoods for parties, one board member said.
The ordinance change the MPC board will consider this week involves adding the assembly hall as a special use. To rent space, property owners would have to petition the Zoning Board of Appeals first.
“That would give the zoning board the ability to tailor the use to specific locations,” MPC Executive Director Tom Thomson said. “That way, if the neighbors in one place have a problem but those in another don’t, it doesn’t come down on everybody.”
Good neighbors?
The situation infuriates house museum operators.
The Historic Savannah Foundation and the Telfair Museums have rented out their facilities for special events for years without complaints. The owner of Trustees’ Garden, local businessman Charles Morris, redeveloped a building on the site specifically as a special events center in 2004. The city has received no irate telephone calls or emails regarding those gatherings.
The Harper-Fowlkes House is the exception. The property’s owner, the Society of Cincinnati, began booking the home and its courtyard for events two years ago. Initially, Harper-Fowlkes’ leadership put few restrictions on event planners, which resulted in loud, amplified music and setup and teardown rackets at odd hours.
The Society of Cincinnati put policies in place in February to curb the impact on neighbors. But, by then, nearby residents were “fed up” with the disregard for their quality of life.
They challenged an April wedding planned for the Harper-Fowlkes House, and the city cited the house for violating the zoning ordinance.
Altering the ordinance to include “assembly hall” as a special use concerns Historic Savannah’s Carey. In many instances, such as those involving alcohol, property operators have to secure permission for special uses for every event. A blanket permit is needed.
“The MPC need not administer a pound of cure to all when an ounce of prevention for the Harper-Fowlkes House is all that is needed,” Carey said. “Savannah’s house museums are good neighbors, they are good local businesses and they are centers for education and enjoyment. They should be allowed to host assemblies within the spirit of that property use.”
Money talks
The ordinance issue’s resolution could have significant financial consequences for the house museums.
Rentals account for 5 percent of the Davenport House’s revenue, and the Harper-Fowlkes House made $90,000 off special events last year. Figures for the Owens Thomas House and Trustees’ Garden were not disclosed, but another popular downtown event venue, the Georgia State Railroad Museum, netted approximately $150,000 from 40 “after-hour events” in 2012.
The museum, better known as the roundhouse, is permitted an “assembly hall” use under its zoning designation.
“The net value of the after-hours functions is almost as much as the value of daily admission income and as such is a keystone in the income picture of the site,” said Scott Smith with the Coastal Heritage Society, the roundhouse’s operator.
For the house museums, special event rental income is vital. The properties are historic and expensive to maintain.
The Society of Cincinnati opened the Harper-Fowlkes House as a public museum and began renting the space to raise funds for upkeep but faces a $70,000 operating deficit this year, according to Peter Wright, chairman of the society’s trustees.
The Davenport House, meanwhile, would struggle to operate on an “even keel” without that revenue.
The Telfair stages approximately 50 external events a year between the Owens Thomas house and its other two venues, the Jepson Center and Telfair Academy. Proceeds from those gatherings helps fund more than 150 educational programs a year “serving tens of thousands in our community,” said Telfair CEO Lisa Grove.
Other house museum operators who currently do not rent their facilities for special events are watching the situation closely.
The Colonial Dames, owners of the Andrew Low House Museum, have discussed the possibility of special event rentals in the past, according to Stephen Bohlin, the museum’s executive director. The revenue potential is attractive, he acknowledged.
The Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace is another logical event venue. The Girl Scouts stopped renting the space years ago because of insurance liability issues, according to museum director Fran Harold.
But the museum’s garden will be restored in the next year and will include a patio space “where small groups could potentially gather” for an event.
“At that time we might consider limited rentals,” Harold said, “but we would have to evaluate all the factors again including liability, noise, etc. and consider very carefully whether it would be worthwhile.”