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Planning Commission backs ordinance to create Milford Historic District Commission
Summary
The Milford Planning Commission voted to recommend City Council adopt Ordinance 2024-15 to establish a Historic District Commission that would develop preservation guidelines and advise on National Register nominations; the ordinance creates the commission framework but does not itself impose new regulations.
The Milford Planning Commission voted to recommend that City Council adopt Ordinance 2024-15, an amendment to Chapter 230 (zoning) that would establish a Historic District Commission for the city.
The recommendation came at a public hearing where planning staff outlined the ordinance’s purpose and background, including direction from the city’s 2023–2028 strategic plan and references to a 2018 comprehensive plan objective. The draft ordinance would create a commission, specify appointment procedures and member terms, add definitions for “National Register of Historic Places” and “historic district,” and set the commission’s duties; it would not itself impose design regulations. "This will allow us to set a standard for these properties and set a tone in terms of the Commission's work with the Council and the Planning Commission on what it looks like," Commissioner Jim Purcell said when he cast the motion to recommend adoption.
Planning staff told commissioners the city has three registered historic districts—the North Milford Historic District, the South Milford Victorian Historic District and the Milford Shipyard Historic District—and that the draft ordinance is intended to create a body that will be trained and then prepare any proposed regulations for later review by the Planning Commission and City Council. The staff report said the city’s 2022 national citizen survey showed broad resident support for a historic review board and that a 2008 draft ordinance was never acted on.
Under the draft language discussed, the mayor would nominate five commission members; the ordinance text calls for, “to the extent available,” at least two professional members representing architecture, history, archaeology, planning or related disciplines, at least two residents of the districts and at least one business representative from within a district. Staff said the intent is for those members to be independent of the Planning Commission and City Council to avoid conflicts on appeals or regulatory duties.
City staff recommended adoption of the ordinance as written in the packet; commissioners asked about a timeline for appointments and training, and staff said they expected to identify qualified members within a few months and to seek consultant assistance in the following fiscal year to train appointees. No members of the public spoke either in favor or opposition during the hearing.
The Planning Commission voted to recommend the ordinance to City Council. The motion was made by Commissioner Jim Purcell and, after a poll, commissioners voted in favor. The commission recorded six affirmative votes and the recommendation will be forwarded to City Council for final consideration.
