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Swarthmore residents press council to pursue National Register and Main Street America designations
Summary
Former members of the boroughhistoric preservation task force and other residents urged Swarthmore Borough Council to pursue National Register of Historic Places listing for the Borough Center and to apply for Main Street America designation, arguing those steps would unlock grant, tax and technical-assistance benefits while preserving community character.
Several former members of Swarthmores Historic Preservation Task Force told borough council on Oct. 7 that the borough should immediately move to pursue listing the Borough Center on the National Register of Historic Places and to seek designation as a Main Street America participant.
Sean iring, former vice chair of the task force, summarized the panels four recommendations: adopt and enforce measures to safeguard character-defining features, seek local historic-district certification under Pennsylvania law, submit an application for the National Register, and designate the Borough Center as a Main Street America participant. "I suggest that we start with the National Register listing and Main Street America designation as they are the most advanced in content and beneficial to our community," he said.
Melanie rotbart, who identified herself as the task forces former secretary, said the task force had already prepared an updated determination of eligibility and that the State Historic Preservation Office had concurred that the Borough Center is eligible. She offered task-force volunteers to prepare and submit the state and National Park Service application materials.
"Listing our eligible historic district in the National Register of Historic Places will elevate our access to federal and state grants, technical assistance and tax incentives for businesses," Sean iring said, citing examples of nearby towns that have used the designation to support downtown preservation and economic development.
Hannah sis, a former task-force member, framed preservation as a set of planning tools rather than a barrier to new development. She told council that preservation can complement environmental sustainability, affordable housing and economic-development goals and urged creation of a standing borough historic-preservation work group to implement the task-force recommendations.
Task-force members and other supporters said the National Register listing creates eligibility for programs and incentives without imposing automatic local regulatory controls; several speakers recommended coupling that federal recognition with Main Street programming to amplify economic and tourism benefits.
Council did not take final action on the recommendations at the meeting. Task-force members said they are ready to help draft applications and asked council to consider a work group to oversee next steps.
