Historic district guidelines

An update on the formation of historic district guidelines, applicable to downtown Three Rivers businesses, was provided this week to the Three Rivers City Commission.

The report was presented by Rob Vander Giessen-Reitsma, chairman of the city’s Historic District Commission. He provided Mayor Tom Lowry and commissioners detailed examples of conformity guidelines to which downtown building owners will be subject if they perform any type of renovations.

Vander Giessen-Reitsma, who owns World Fare in downtown Three Rivers, said the standards and guidelines adopted by the HDC are consistent with the Secretary of the Interior’s standards for rehabilitation and the State Historic Preservation Office.

The purpose of the historic downtown guidelines is to preserve the character of old buildings and maintaining their downtown appeal, he said.

Lowry and commissioners made note of a number of matters included in the rough draft of the guidelines and offered their suggestions to Vander Giessen-Reitsma.