The Jamestown Planning Commission reviewed the Local Preservation Ordinance at its meeting Tuesday.
City Principal Planner Ellen Shadle said the ordinance would be part of the City’s zoning provision. A Preservation Board would accompany the ordinance which would be comprised of community members.
She said the ordinance is designed to help find solutions for property owners, “And so if your goal is to add space to your residents, the ordinance does not prohibit additions but that addition may not necessarily look the way it’s initially intended within the guidelines of the ordinance. And if you want to make your house or building more energy efficient there may be an issue around vinyl windows.”
Shadle gave an example of how urban renewal efforts might have been different for the City back in the 1970s, “You know, if there had been an LPO back in the day when they were razing Brooklyn Square, maybe there still would be a Roosevelt Theatre and there wouldn’t be a drug store drive-thru there anywhere?”
Commission member Mike Laurin said preservation is something that the community can get behind but thinks it should be something the homeowner is wanting to do willingly and the oversight seems negative, “I’m in favor of a program or something to encourage residents and property owners to maintain their property. When you look around the city there are a lot of houses that are in need of maintenance for a variety of reasons. Some of those are not because they don’t want to but because there are financial restrictions through them.”
The ordinance will continue to be reviewed and edited by the Planning Commission before coming up for a vote by the Commission.
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