By KEVIN NEVERS

Chesterton certainly has a lot of old buildings. Some might even call them historic.

Jim Boecher does, at any rate. A representative of Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana, Boecher urged the Town Council at its meeting Monday night to create a historic preservation commission whose charge would be the protection, preservation, and promotion of buildings in a designated district.

That commission, comprised of three to nine members, would have the responsibility of reviewing and approving the plans of building owners to remodel or refurbish the exterior of their structures. The commission, Boecher said, would base its decisions on a set of design guidelines established by ordinance after a public hearing.

The advantages of a historic district whose integrity is protected by a preservation commission are many, Boecher told members. Building owners’ investments are protected, he said. It would facilitate “smart town planning.” It would increase tourism. And it would “enhance the potential for business recruitment.”

By way of example, Boecher pointed to Crown Point’s formally established historic district, comprised of the Court House Square. There, he said, 36 building owners have sought the preservation commission’s approval for remodeling or refurbishing the exterior of their structures, and the commission has rejected only one request: that of a person who wanted to paint the purple. Statewide, Boecher added, preservation commissions approve 90 percent of building owners’ plans. “It’s more filtering out some really poor designs than strict regulation enforcement.”

Although the council took no action on Boecher’s proposal Monday, Member Bob Crone, R-3rd, did have a concern. Aren’t some building owners going to find adherence to the design guidelines especially costly? Too costly perhaps even to undertake to remodel or refurbish?

Boecher conceded that sometimes the design guidelines can increase the cost of projects, but noted that the owners of buildings in historic district—usually commercial buildings, he conceded again—can be eligible for tax breaks or tax credits.

Following Boecher’s presentation from the floor, Jim Morrow passed out copies of Historic Chesterton, a tour guide sponsored by the Heritage Society of Northwest Indiana and containing information on commercial and residential buildings reprinted from the Porter County Historic Sites and Structures Inventory and compiled by Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana.

Posted 8/28/2002