Sites & Districts

Mission
"Promoting the creation and use of local historic sites..."

The board considers applications for and approves or disapproves Certificates of Appropriateness for the Walnut Street Historic Districts and Commercial Street Historic District, and carries out any other action or activity necessary or appropriate or which may be specified by Council and Planning and Zoning.

Board Principles
For the Benefit of the Public there are 3 principles that we follow as we review cases based upon Secretary of Interior Guidelines:
A bridge extends over some trees
  • That we do not harm and do not damage the historic resource.
  • That we respect the resources we have and make every attempt to keep detail of significance.
  • That "less is more" - the less invasive you are, the better - we will not have any more 19th and 20th century buildings than currently exist - so keeping the fabric intact for public benefit is our challenge.
Because there is public benefit to preserving historic resources, this group of citizens is empowered to evaluate the appropriateness of changes to historic properties.

Every application is reviewed on a case-by-case basis and is not meant to set a precedent.