Town hall meeting set for Historic Zoning issue

Written by TSI Staff Reports | 20 July 2010

The Manchester Historic Zoning Commission’s revised “Review Standards” for the proposed downtown historic zone area will be the subject of a town hall meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 12 in the board room of Manchester City Hall. Drafts of the Review Standards were delivered or mailed to owners of properties in the proposed historic zone, which will comprise the Courthouse Square and the blocks immediately adjacent to it, in early June.
Before the matter of approving a Historic Zone goes before the Mayor and Aldermen for a vote, the town hall meeting, the third the commission has held since it began the work of drafting a resolution, will be held to provide one last opportunity for business and property owners to clarify any questions they may have and be sure everyone has a good understanding of how the Historic Zone would work, said Historic Zoning Commission Chairman Max Northcutt.
“We hope to have as many business and property owners as possible in attendance at this important session,” Northcutt said.
“We firmly believe that establishing a local Historic District will protect and preserve the architectural and visual character of our historic downtown, have a strong stabilizing effect on property investment, and create an increased sense of neighborhood and community pride,” he said. “All of us want a downtown business district that Manchester can be proud of, and this is the way to achieve that goal.
“Being chairman of the Manchester Historic Zoning Commission as well as a property owner downtown, this is very personal to me,” Northcutt said. “All of the efforts that have gone into this Historic Zone have been made to protect all of our investments in our downtown properties.”