FREEHOLD – Municipal officials in Freehold Borough will use a study from the Historic Preservation Advisory Commission which determines if and how buildings that are planned to be improved in the borough have historic assets.
On Oct. 4, Borough Council members adopted an ordinance that will amend the municipal zoning ordinance by incorporating an historic assets study that was prepared by the commission. The study will be added to the historic rehabilitation standards of the Freehold Center Core Redevelopment Plan.
According to the ordinance, the rehabilitation plan encourages redevelopment, alterations and other improvements to historic buildings in a way that restores or preserves the unique architectural details of the buildings, consistent with the commission’s ordinance.
The commission determines if buildings, structures, accessory structures, sites or objects that are applying for development applications qualify as historic assets.
All applications to the redevelopment entity are required to submit a request to the commission to make such a determination about potential historic assets. Through the survey, the commission defines historic assets as “key,” “contributing” or “non-contributing,” according to the ordinance.
Key historic assets are improvements, buildings, structures, accessory structures, sites or objects that individually qualify as an historic property.
Contributing historic assets are improvements, buildings, structures, sites or objects that are integral components of an historic district because they date from a significant time period for the district or represent a significant architectural style, period or construction method.
Non-contributing historic assets do not date from a significant time period nor represent a significant architectural style, period or construction method.
As stated in the ordinance, the Borough Council members found and determined that the historic assets study provides more predictability to property owners looking to rehabilitate their historic properties and ensures that any application reviews and determinations are made in a timely manner.
“The aforementioned amendment to the rehabilitation plan will afford maximum practical opportunity consistent with the sound needs of the locality of a whole, for the redevelopment of the area,” the ordinance states.
