Any controversy about Vicksburg’s decision to seek National Register of Historic Places listing for a large residential and commercial slope overlooking the Mississippi River is misplaced.

This is a smart move and, if eventually approved, will offer tax inducements for property owners today and in the future who invest their dollars in the area between Washington Street and the river from Veto Street to Lee.

Already there has been some investment in new and remodeled homes in this area. There needs to be more.

In recent years, Mayor Laurence Leyens has been faulted for pointing out something extremely obvious: This is some of the city’s most promising real estate. Certainly that was true more than 100 years ago when wealthy people selected the hillside for mansions now known as Flowerree, Cedar Grove, The Corners and many other stately homes. Certainly it’s a shame that some areas in the zone, containing bungalows built after World War II, have fallen into disrepair and other areas are in advanced stages of rot.

Vicksburg has broad regulatory powers to create special districts and has the legal authority to control everything from paint colors to what types of grass are planted. A Register listing would do none of that. It merely provides one more reason for private dollars to flow into the area — with no regulatory oversight. It’s a nudge, nothing more.

Many cities across America have seen such areas transformed into mixed-size and mixed-cost residential areas that are inviting to families, offering a high quality of life. Such an eclectic future for what’s sometimes called the Oak Street Corridor would certainly be an improvement for all who live there now and might choose to do so in the future.