What is it about Aiken -- chartered as a town in 1835 and, according to the 2000 Census, one of the top three fastest growing cities in South Carolina -- that Smith so respects?

``They have a preservation commission and strict zoning ordinances,`` he said.

Smith was one of a contingent of citizens who appeared at January`s Camden Planning Commission meeting concerned the historic Sarsfield property would be subdivided. He was one of only two people to officially be added to that night`s agenda to speak out against the plan.

``I think the awareness factor (in Camden) has been ratcheted up several notches, but there`s lots of homework to do,`` Smith said during an interview Wednesday morning.

Before anyone mistakes Smith for wishing to impose regulations on homeowners, however, he points out that Aiken`s example is a good one precisely because it does balance history and progress in a city with some similarities to Camden.

``The ordinances don`t apply to Aiken`s business district,`` Smith explained. ``Despite that, the local businesses have preserved the look of historic Aiken.``

Smith described downtown Aiken and its historic sites as a success in landscaping.

``The landscaping puts such a positive foot forward,`` he said.

Trees especially have been a key component of Aiken`s success in Smith`s opinion, along with other plantings and the way sidewalks have been constructed. As in Aiken, he said the historic value of Camden homes doesn`t just lie with the buildings but with the landscape.

``It`s not just the building; it`s the landscape and the neighborhood setting as well. Trees play a significant role in that ... they are a major asset. What happened on Kirkwood Lane, for example, was unthinkable, but it happened,`` said Smith.

The success in both preserving historic buildings and landscaping in Aiken, said Smith, can be attributed in part to the dedication of its elected officials in constructing ``common-sense`` regulations.

``Aiken is growing by leaps and bounds but with comfortable regulations,`` he said. One other group can also be credited with Aiken`s preservational success.

The Aiken Historic Foundation was founded as a direct result of an attempt to cut down significant trees along one of the city`s main boulevards. Smith believes that example proves preservation organizations and city planners can work together to strike a balance between growth and history.

Smith said Aiken is a good example for Camden to follow for several reasons. Aiken and Camden share a passion for equestrian sports. While Aiken is a larger, younger city, citizens in both communities are understandably proud of their heritage, including a history of serving as large, winter resorts.

Like Camden, Aiken served as a winter colony for many Northerners who flocked to the South during cold weather months. Unlike Camden, Smith said, Aiken has retained more of those resort properties. It is the loss of those type of historic sites here, however, that cautions Smith against even last month`s success with Sarsfield.

Smith`s own home is South Hill, located on Greene Street and built between 1830 and 1835 by James Cantey next to the famous Kirkwood Hotel. The Kirkwood shut down after World War II and was later dismantled. It is precisely this kind of loss that Smith fears.

``We`ve lost some significant properties over the years,`` he said, ``including Kirkwood, the Bernard Baruch House and the Court Inn.``

That`s why, when Camden Planning Commission member Ronnie Bradley asked for a show of hands of people who would be willing to place their homes under the long-unused historic overlay district, Smith`s was one of those that went up. He said he plans to add a deed restriction to South Hill in the hopes of preserving the property beyond his ownership.

Camden, Smith said, holds a wide variety of architecture that should be preserved, including homes and other buildings constructed in the Georgian, Federal, Greek Revival, various Victorian and Neoclassical styles. According to Smith, the Price House, which currently serves as home to the Kershaw County Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center, is a Federal-style building.

``The Robert Mills Courthouse, where the chamber plans to move, was also a Federal-style building, but it was later renovated as Greek Revival.``

If you sense that Smith is passionate about historic architecture, you would be right. To understand why, you have to go back to April 1962. Smith was 14 at the time, living in a small town in northeast Texas.

``There was an 1840s Greek Revival house across the street from the local college, which included a 1930s landscape. The college had acquired the property and bulldozed it to make room for more buildings. It was very painful to watch that very beautiful house destroyed,`` recalled Smith.

Although he has always been fascinated with the beauty of historic architecture -- even making his parents stop on car trips to look at old courthouses -- it was that spring day 40 years ago that led him on the path his life has taken.

Smith graduated from the architecture school of the University of Texas at Austin in 1973. A year later he worked as the staff architect at the Texas Historical Commission. In January 1976, he became the S.C. State Archives` first staff architect and, from May of 1982 to January 1985, he was the director of Historic Camden. While he accepts no personal glory for the achievement, it was during Smith`s watch that Historic Camden became affiliated with the National Park Service.

It is this background and lifetime commitment to preserving historical architecture that prompted Smith to speak out last month. He hopes he can help educate the public on the importance of historic preservation, and the consequences of not doing so.

``I`m hopeful that the decision to keep Sarsfield intact will lead to better planning,`` said Smith. ``There are a lot of agency programs and organizations that can help.``

One of Smith`s latest discoveries is a historic real estate program offered by the National Trust for Historic Preservation that acts as a training course for real estate agents. The National Park Service also provides information packets detailing solutions to specific problems with historic buildings.

Smith wants both citizens and officials to look at the long-range picture.

``I fear that Columbia will continue to grow this way. In 30 or 50 years, will we wonder what the town was like now?`` asks Smith.

That is a question that prompted Smith to urge preservationists to begin looking at 20th century architecture as well as the more tradition buildings from the 19th and 18th centuries.

It`s not so much that Smith fears a balance has been lost in Camden but that it could be.

``It hasn`t been a problem,`` he said. ``There has been a balance, but we`ve gotten by with what we`ve had. We need to find ways to maintain that balance. The homes and other buildings in the historic district contribute so significantly to the city`s historic character. Without them, the district would lose its meaning and its focus.

An example, he said, can be found in Darlington.

``They wanted to have their town square listed on the National Historic Registry, but the area was deemed to have lost its focus because three buildings -- a courthouse, opera house and hotel dating from between 1895 and 1910 -- had been torn down,`` said Smith.

Similar buildings in Camden, including the archives, post office and Amtrak station, are what he calls ``key anchor`` locations.

While he doesn`t expect anything to happen to those buildings or others, he points out that their loss would greatly diminish Camden`s historic character.

``If we don`t protect Camden with the proper regulations, maybe over time we could lose what Camden really is,`` warns Smith. ``That`s a worse case scenario. But their loss could force a reexamination of the historic district`s national level Historic Registry listing. That could affect our tourist industry.``

And Smith would see it as a personal loss as well.

``I love the character of this town as well as its people, and that`s why I chose to live here. When you start losing that, then why come to Camden at all?``