Downtown Sylva property owners will still have to replace any plywood currently covering up windows, but they will be provided with more time to do so. 

In September, the Sylva Board of Commissioners considered a trio of ordinance amendments aimed at shoring up both aesthetics and safety in the downtown area. One of the amendments disallowed structures with exteriors of metal siding or concrete blocks, while a second targeted manufactured housing in the district. Those two passed.

The Town of Sylva is celebrating its 125th year since incorporation. To mark the occasion, a slate of activities are planned for Oct. 10-11. The celebration pays homage to the history of the town.

“The activities are all things that would have happened in 1889,” explained Sylva Town Manager Paige Roberson.

Manufactured homes, metal siding and unfinished concrete blocks are no longer allowed in downtown Sylva. The plywood coverings blocking out so many windows up and down Main Street, however, can stay a while longer. 

It’s been a couple of weeks since the downtown Sylva fire. And while most of downtown is humming along nicely, the handful of businesses directly impacted by the fire continue working to recover.

The town of Sylva will not be enacting a moratorium on metal-sided buildings in its downtown area in an effort to preserve its aesthetic integrity, but an ordinance outlining such a prohibition will be explored.

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“It doesn’t look salvageable to me,” Sylva Mayor Maurice Moody told a full house crowd during an emergency meeting following the fire. 

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Following Saturday morning’s fire on Main Street in downtown Sylva, Mayor Maurice Moody has scheduled an emergency meeting and work session for the Town of Sylva Board of Commissioners and local business owners for Monday at 4:00 p.m. in the board room of Municipal Hall, 83 Allen Street, Sylva.

The purpose of the meeting is to allow for an opportunity for merchants and the town board to discuss Saturday’s fire, the impact on businesses, and any updates as they become available.

Photos courtesy of Kristin Moore

The music inside Wells Event and Reception Center is noticeably different than next door at Wells Funeral Home.

Instead of reflective classical, the speakers hum with smooth jazz.

When Franklin town leaders meet in April, they will be digesting a number of alternative plans for revamping the downtown gazebo, the beloved but dated focal point of the town square on Main Street. The designs and ideas for a gazebo facelift will be presented to the board of aldermen by a group of downtown merchants lobbying for a larger voice in town conversations. 

The division along Franklin’s Main Street is tough to see with the naked eye. Passersby appear oblivious to the battle lines. The lazy rhythm of downtown, its quaint storefronts and ornamental lamp posts serve up a idyllic postcard, quietly concealing contention.