Greensburg, IN — During the Greensburg City Council meeting on Monday, Mayor Josh Marsh introduced a new ordinance to the Council that changes how the City will visit the historic preservation district issues. Now all Historic Preservation issues will go to the office of the Plan Director and any variances will be heard at the Area Plan Commission meetings.
Since 2006, the Greensburg Historic district, which has both business and residential properties in the downtown region, has had a commission of 5 members that oversee any changes to the outside facades of the buildings. Changes must meet State standards for this district. Those state standards, that originate from 1997, with a revision in 1990, are to be applied to specific rehabilitation projects in a reasonable manner, taking into consideration economic and technical feasibility.
The main focus was :
• To provide design guidelines as a standard to protect property values and preserve and protect the overall historical integrity of the district as a whole;
• To review property owners’ plans for changes (not normal maintenance) to the façade of the building; new construction, and/or demolition of a building within the designated district and issue the appropriate Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) for projects that meet the established guidelines for the district. If the proposed work is inappropriate for the district, the Commission will work with the owner to find a solution that meets the needs of the owner while still making respectful changes to the building.
• The Commission, at the request of the residential property owners, is also to help residents in historic neighborhoods in establishing historic districts and guidelines specific to those residential districts.
• Ongoing public education on historic preservation and the importance to the community
There were currently 5 members and 3 advisors serving on the Greensburg Historic Preservation Commission. They were Chris Harpring, Theresa Schwering, Tonya Downey, Terrah Nunley, and Alex Sefton, and advisors Sarah Hamer, Steve Ramer, and Sherri Hogg. The Council voted 5-0 in favor of dissolving the commission.
