With the month of May being National Historic Preservation Month, the Clarkston Historic District (CHD) will be 30 years old on May 15.
‘The state of Michigan requires the Historic District to have a commission,? said Charlotte Cooper, Commission chairman. ?(The commission’s) purpose is to safeguard the heritage of the historic district, including its cultural, social economic, political, and architectural history.?
Clarkston HD commission has five (currently four) members and meets monthly to review applications, for construction, addition, alteration, of work within the district.
The commission along with Cooper include Melissa Luginski, Kay Robertson, and Kevin Harrison.The commission follows guidelines set up by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
“I think some people have a negative impression we’re enforcers,? said Luginski. ‘We consider ourselves a resource.?
Some of the resources the commission offers is tax incentives to owners for improvements on their buildings. Cooper said workshops and information will become available soon.
‘They have to do the paperwork,? she said. ‘But we’ll have that information and can get them trained if they want to do that when they start to do work on their home.?
‘The HDC has financial benefits that are clear, but also you have the insurance the neighborhood will not be altered to the point where you start to lose value,? added Luginski. ‘I’ve heard the statistic that historic district properties on average will sell for 25 to 35 percent over a non-historic property.?
The Village has a total of 300 properties, which includes: houses, barns, and garages. Of the 300 properties, Cooper said 200 of them are located within the historic district or have historic designation.
‘We don’t know how many of the 200 are historic because we know there are new houses mixed in with the old houses,? said Luginski. ‘For such a small village we have a very strong historic district.?
Cooper compared the 30 year old commission to that of a 30 year old adult.
‘If you take a young person, by the time they’re 30 they’re out of that silly what am I going to do with the rest of my life, they have sort of settled into something,? said Charlotte Cooper, Commission chairwomen. ‘I think that’s the way our historic district and our commission are, we have settled, but we’re still young enough we have all these fabulous plans for the future we’ve never had before.?
Some of the future plans include large bronze markers to mark the boundries of the district. As well as plaques that will be available and a booklet, which will contatin all historic information, procedures and guidelines for every property owner within the district
Luginski agreed and gave kudos to prior commissions.
‘The residents of the city have managed it well for the first 30 years,? she said. We’re committed to continuing the stewardship of it and we’re excited about the next 30 years.?