Red Bank presents draft historic design guidelines and 75-building Broad Street survey

Marjorie, vice chair of the Red Bank Historic Preservation Commission, opened a public presentation on the commission's new design guidelines and related surveys and introduced consultant Steven Smolin, who led the session and fielded questions.

Smolin, an architect with Architectural Heritage Consultants, said the project has two parts: a set of historic design guidelines intended to help property owners and reviewers manage change sensitively, and architectural property reports covering 75 contributing buildings in the Broad Street commercial district. He described the book's structure (introduction and context, guidelines, additions/new construction, appendices) and said copies are available at the library, City Hall and online via a QR code.

The guidelines draw on the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation and supplemental National Park Service guidance on flood adaptation and sustainability. Smolin said the goal is not to freeze buildings in time but to provide clear, objective criteria so applicants, design professionals and future commissioners can evaluate projects consistently. "Preservation is not about freezing things in time. It's more about…