A grant to hire a consultant for historic preservation
By Paul Hall on Friday, May 7th, 2021 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
LA GRANDE, OR – La Grande City Council met Wednesday night and the Council voted to approve accepting a grant from the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department – State Historic Preservation Office to update the City’s Downtown Historic District Standards, subject to budget approval of the matching funds. The City’s Landmarks Commission recommended approval of the grant which will enable the City to hire a consultant that is knowledgeable in historic preservation and has strong public engagement skills to effectively facilitate the process to update the standards.
The Staff emphasized the importance of a professional, neutral third party to work with the Landmarks Commission, City Staff, property owners, and developments to craft standards that are clear and supportable for the community. The current language is often vague and open to different interpretation which can lead to inconsistent decisions on projects because it applies to all buildings in the Historic District without taking into consideration the different eras they were constructed. It is expected that the new requirements will take into account the four different categories of buildings and establish clear, easy to understand requirements.
The State funding will be $22,000 with a $10,000 cash match from the City, along with in-kind contributions of another $2,000. The current standards were originally developed as guidelines in 1999.
