Jamestown Planning Commissioners listened to a brief about a requested local preservation order. If enacted, the ordinance will give the commission the ability to preserve, protect and designate local-historical structures, buildings with architectural-significance and specific areas as historically protected, outside of U.S. National Park Service identified areas. P-J photo by Christopher Blakeslee

Jamestown’s Planning Commission is pushing forth an effort to implement a new Local Preservation Ordinance.

However, this ordinance must still pass through the City Council and meet various state and municipal requirements in order to be enacted.

The ordinance will distinguish the role of national historic designation to structures and areas determined by the National Park Service from those deemed local, historic and community-centric, places of antiquity and the uniqueness of local exterior design and construction, which should be preserved, protected and identified.

Moreover, the local preservation ordinance will also secure structural assets from unnecessary, illegal or undesired demolition; cultivate and promote community awareness, knowledge and understanding of historically significant sites, art or architectural design; promote, cultivate and enhance the economic benefits of historic preservation to the city of Jamestown and its residents, workers and visitors; protect and progress property values in the city; resolve conflicts between the preservation of historic sites, landmarks, districts and alternative land uses.

New York state and local law has provided avenues by which legislation like this may be enacted. Article 5, 96-a; Article 5-G, Article 5-J and Article 5-K 119-dd of the General Municipal Law; Article 14 of the Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Law; and *10 of the Municipal Home Rule Law; is hereby declared as a matter of public policy that the protection, enhancement and perpetuation of landmarks and historic districts are necessary to promote the culture, economic and general welfare of the public.

However, the wide range of implications of such an ordinance is not lost on some of the planning commissioners.

“We can all agree that this is an important issue, something that we should pursue,” said John I. LaMancuso, a commission member and local attorney. “Like the Weeks House, on Lakeview Avenue… if we said Lakeview Avenue is now a historic district, and you now have to come to us, how likely is it that someone is going to buy that house and invest $100,000 to restore it. That is something that worries me as someone who’d like to see that house and many others restored to their former glory.”