TRUMBULL COUNTY Cortland considers plan for a historical district

Regulations could also require new businesses to blend in.
By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
CORTLAND -- City officials are studying how to craft regulations that will preserve the older neighborhoods and historic downtown buildings.
By next year, a committee studying historical districts plans to present council with recommendations that will likely be enacted through zoning changes.
"We have some beautiful old homes and I'd like to keep it that way," said Mayor Curt Moll.
Creating a downtown historical district is suggested in the city's strategic plan, approved earlier this year.
Exactly where the district would be, or if it would be determined building-by-building or street by street, remains to be finalized. The area being considered is roughly between Mecca and High streets, from Grove to Pearl, Moll said.
Models
City officials are looking toward Hudson, Aurora, Canfield and Poland as potential models for a historical district in the city's older downtown neighborhoods.
Members of a committee investigating historical districts plan to visit the four communities within the next few weeks and report back in June, said Councilman Diedre Petrosky.
Possible aspects of the plan could include a review board that would make sure home renovations are in keeping with older neighborhoods' character, and regulations that would require new commercial buildings to conform with the buildings around them.
"We don't want to make things difficult for the homeowners," Petrosky said. "We want to help to ensure the property values increase."
The purpose of regulations wouldn't be to change the city, but to keep parts of it the way they are now, she said.
"We are looking at preserving Cortland's heritage; we are looking at ways to foster civic excitement here," she said.
siff@vindy.com