976
OW
Or-
. May 12, 1976
The following article was
written by the historical
districting committee of the
Marietta Restoration Assoc.
It is an explanation of that
committee’s proposal to
create an historic district in
Marietta.
Only the first half of the
committee’s explanation
appears below, We will
print the rest of their article
next week.
Recently the subject of
historic districting was
raised in the community of
Marietta. Answers to the
most frequently asked ques-
tions are:
1. What is ‘‘historic
districting’’? Historic dis-
tricting is a method by
which a community can
legally protect a defined
area comprised of structures
which are of either historic
or architectural importance.
The legislation allowing the
creation of historic districts
was enacted by the State on
June 13, 1961. Since that
time, twenty-eight cities and
municipalities’ in Pennsyl-
vania have created historic
districts. Among those in
the area are Lancaster
(1967), Strasburg (1970(,
York (1970), Harrisburg
(1974), and Lower Paxton
Township (1976).
2. Why is historic distric-
ting being considered for
Marietta? This 1s being
done because Marietta is a
unique town which is largely
as it was when it was
founded. Few homes and
businesses, which escaped
past floods and other natural
forms of destruction, have
been torn down to make way
for more modern dwellings.
Most properties have not
been altered substantially
from their original state and
many can easily be restored
to their former style, should
the owner decide to do so.
In addition, the growth
which transpired here was
not at the expense of earlier
properties; therefore, we
have excellent examples of
Victorian architecture and
twentieth century styles, as
well as our early brick and
log homes. It is felt that this
uniqueness can be both
preserved and enhanced by
the protection and encour-
agement afforded with the
establishment of a historic
district. This has been true
in other towns larger and
smaller than Marietta which
have chosen this method of
preserving their past for the
future.
3. How will historic
districting benefit me? The
creation of a historic district
in Marietta will serve to
protect both your property
and the homes and busi-
nesses around you for your
benefit and future genera-
tions. Our area is historic
and has so far been well
preserved. You should be
benefitted from the fact that
your home and those prop-
erties around you, because
of their location in the
historic district, will be more
valuable to buyers in the
future should you decide to
sell-this has been the
experience of many property
owners in other historic
districts.
4. Is historic districting
like zoning? No. Historic
districting is designed to
work with existing zoning
laws and is, by itself, not
zoning. No provisions deal-
ing with land use are
included; that job is already
done by our zoning laws.
Mt. Joy bicen town
by Cheryll Hallgren
Mr. and Mrs. Paul Gin-
grich, co-chairmen of the
Mount Joy Bicentennial
Commission, have been
notified that Mount Joy has
been listed with the Ameri-
can Revolution Bicentennial
Administration as an official
Bicentennial Community.
Letters of congratulations to
the community were receiv-
ed from Senator Richard
Schweiker, Senator Hugh
Scott, Congressman Edwin
Eshleman and the Bicen-
tennial Commission of PA.
The Bicentennial
schedule for May includes:
May 22 - Prayer Breakfast
sponsored by the Church
Council at 7 a.m. at
Hostetter’s Banquet Hall.
MAy 22 - Miss Mount Joy
Pageant sponsored by the
Jaycees.
May 22, 23 - Hobby and
Craft Show at Donegal High
School sponsored by the
B.P.W.
May 23 - Music in the
Park, dedication of the Boro
Seal by the Horizon Com-
mittee of the Bicentennial
Commission. Music by the
Community Chorus.
May 26, 27, 28, 29 -
Jaycee carnival at Boro
Park. Stands available for
organizations Contact
Robert Hoffer.
May 28 - Opening game of
baseball season at Kunkle
field - 6 p.m.
May 29, 30 - Mount Joy
Vo-Teck Hemophilia Soft-
ball Marathon - 9 a.m.
May 29 - Annual parade,
floats needed with historical
theme. Parade time 2 p.m.
Fireworks at dusk at Boro
Park. Lions club sponsoring
prizes for costumes along
the parade route 12:30 - 1:30
p.m.
May 30 - Rifle shoot at
Sportmen’s Farm, Second
Company Sth Batalion of the
PA Militia at 1 p.m.
May 31 - Memorial Ser-
vice, American Legion Post
185 to be held in Memorial
Park.
The Merchants Associa-
tion will also be sponsoring
window displays during the
The next meeting of the
Commission will be held
Wednesday, May 12 at 7:30
p.m. in the Boro Hall.
S. How is historic district-
ing organized? The key to
historic districting is reason-
ableness and enforceability.
It is organized around a
review board which is
appointed to review exterior
changes which require a
building permit. The goal is
to make sure our homes in
the district maintain thier
individual character. The
law establishing a historic
district, when passed by
Borough Council, must be
reviewed by the Pennsylva-
nia Historical and Museum
Commission in Harrisburg.
This agency will make sure
that our law is in keeping
with the legislation passed
in 1961 permitting the
establishment of historic
districts.
6. What powers does the
Architec..ral Review Board
have? The Architectural
Review Board is an advisory
group. By state law, it must
be comprised of not less
SUSQUEHANNA TIMES - Page 15
Answers to questions concerning historic districting in Marietta
than five members which
will include one registered
‘architect, one licensed real
estate broker, and one
zoning officer. The remain-
ing members shall be
persons with knowledge of
and interest in the preserva-
tion of historic districts.
Some of the members are
usually residents. of the
historic district. All mem-
bers are appointed for
definite terms in a manner
similar to our planning
commission.
Under our present Bor-
ough zoning laws, any
additions, changes, or alter-
ations to the outside of your
home (exceeding fair market
value of $%00) require a
building permit. If your
home or business is in the
historic district, your re-
quest for exterior changes
will be reviewed at an open
meeting of the Architectural
Review Board. This review
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