Plan commission recommends Hunter Valley historic-preservation overlay with conditions

The Monroe County Plan Commission on a unanimous vote recommended that the County Commissioners approve a Historic Preservation (HP) overlay for part of the Hunter Valley historic landscape (REZ-25-4), subject to three conditions requested by the Historic Preservation Board of Review.

Drew Myers (staff) said the overlay covers parts of two parcels (98.6 acres and 9.629 acres) and the proposed HP boundary draws on a prior multiple-property survey and the outline-plan conditions of a previously approved Planned Unit Development amendment. Myers said the locally designated overlay maps approximately 11.45 acres for protection and includes karst features, a historic quarry landscape and 18 contributing resources identified in a 2014 survey recorded in the State Historical Archaeological and Research Database (SHAARD).

Staff recommended three conditions of approval: that the petitioner add an exhibit accurately naming and identifying each historic resource in the designation area; that the petitioner locate and document all existing historic structures within the proposed area; and that the petitioner work with the county legal department on the feasibility of transferring any historic limestone quarry equipment found outside the designation area to the Monroe County Board of Commissioners for use at county-owned quarry property on the north side of State Road 46.

Myers said stormwater and highway departments had no objections to the overlay designation and that the designation does not change the parcel’s underlying PUD zoning or permitted uses but provides protections for historic resources. The petitioner was not present at the hearing, though staff reported the petitioner had been present for the Historic Preservation Board of Review and had begun satisfying conditions. The Plan Commission voted 6-0 to forward a favorable recommendation, including a requested waiver of a final hearing.