Littleton residents, property owners, architects, developers participate in historic preservation forums

What is the role of historic preservation in Littleton? What are the key historic buildings, neighborhoods and districts? What incentives should the city offer to property owners to preserve their historic properties? These are some of the questions asked of participants at the True Grit of Historic Preservation forums held in February at the Buck Recreation Center, hosted by the Historic Littleton, Inc and the Historical Preservation Board.

In a standing-room only crowd on February 12, historic preservation consultant Noré Winter of Winter and Associates facilitated the first of the two forums. He presented an introduction to historic preservation that included the benefits of preservation, trends and case studies. Afterwards, Mr. Winter asked the group to participate in a discussion about what was important to preserve in Littleton. Participants jotted down their ideas on comment sheets, shared and discussed them with others at their table, and then reported back to the large group. Many participants mentioned community icons such as Main Street, the Courthouse and the historic depots as important to preserve, while others were quick to point out residential neighborhoods, such as Littleton Heights (north of Littleton Boulevard between Spotswood and Louthan Street) and Aberdeen Village (east of Ketring Park) as places worthy of preservation. Overall, a diverse group of properties and areas were mentioned as places that give Littleton its identity and provide a link to its heritage. The evening concluded with participants identifying topics they wished to hear more about at the next forum.

The second forum, held on February 26, continued where the first left off. Responding to the groups’ stated interest in incentives and design guidelines at the first forum, Mr. Winter presented more information on these preservation “tools.” While Littleton already has design guidelines in place for new construction in downtown and an incentives package for historically designated properties, the group learned that there are additional incentives and specific types of design guidelines that could be considered for Littleton. Again, each participant had the opportunity to jot down their ideas and discuss what could be appropriate for Littleton and the results from each table were presented to the group.

Historic Littleton, Inc; and the Historical Preservation board have gained an insight into the community’s intereste and desires for preservation. Their work is now cut out: they will review the comment sheets and discussion from the forums and making plans to address the concerns and desires of the community. One thing is for sure - there is more to come!