Flat Rock council backs moving forward with proposed historic district nomination

Flat Rock’s City Council voted to express support for moving forward with a proposed historic district nomination being prepared with the Michigan State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), city staff said.

The resolution authorizes staff to continue coordinating with SHPO on the nomination and to proceed with public-notice and hearing steps, after which council would vote on whether to designate the district.

City staff member Leslie Harkey told the council that SHPO staff from Lansing recently conducted an on-site review and are spending the next two weeks proofreading the nomination materials, which cover roughly 690 properties. "They are spending the next 2 weeks kind of proofreading our project," Harkey said, adding staff prepared individual property reports that include GPS coordinates and parcel numbers. Harkey and city documents provided to council said about 88–90% of the properties in the proposed area qualify as historic in the city’s survey.

Planning and next steps: Harkey said SHPO will complete online review work and the city will post a link to the nomination materials on the city website for property owners to review. After a 60-day period for public comment, the city will hold an open forum at the recreation center and then schedule a council vote on designation.

Scope and benefits: Mr. Zick (city staff) explained that the nomination is written to encompass industrial-era resources that include features such as the dam, the overpass and the old high school. He said the state’s rules have been relaxed in recent years so that modern materials (for example, certain replacement windows or vinyl siding) do not automatically disqualify a building. Zick said owners of qualifying commercial buildings may be eligible for state tax credits and, in some cases referred to in the record, a federal tax credit that was described in the meeting as a substantial percentage layered with state credits.

Council action and comments: A council member moved and another member supported a resolution expressing the council’s desire to move the nomination forward; the motion passed on a voice vote. The resolution does not itself designate property or change zoning — it simply authorizes the city to continue the SHPO nomination process and set a public hearing for formal consideration.

What it does not do: Council members and staff repeatedly said the final designation decision will return to council after the public hearing period; no property is designated without that subsequent council vote.

Next steps and timeline: Staff said SHPO review work should conclude in about two weeks, followed by publishing the nomination materials online, a 60-day public comment window and a public forum at the recreation center before a future council vote.