Livingston Aldermen received guidance from the Tennessee Historical Commission, concerning proposed changes to the city’s historic zoning ordinance.
Representative Stevie Malenowski joined the city’s work session to explain how historic zoning operates under state law and what flexibility communities have when regulating changes to historic properties. Livingston’s existing ordinance dates back to 1986.
“These districts are living districts, they allow for change that is sensitive to the buildings,” Malenowski said. “Anything that is out of the public way, so anything that can’t be visible from the public right-of-way, that doesn’t need any review from the Historic Zoning Commission.”
Aldermen questioned how the proposed changes would affect existing property owners, new construction, demolition permits and residential properties within the historic district. Malenowski explained communities can establish guidelines that protect historic buildings while allowing flexibility for property owners.
City Attorney André Greppin explained that the city’s existing ordinance requires property owners within the district to appear before the Historic Zoning Commission when seeking approval for exterior changes. Updated language would introduce a certificate of appropriateness process that could allow certain projects to receive administrative approval without requiring a full commission meeting.
“The new language that the state provided would, based on the guidelines that the Historic Commission along with the Board of Aldermen create, would allow for people to get a COA and not have to go before the Historic Zoning Commission,” Greppin said.
Aldermen also sought clarification about whether historic zoning requirements would continue when buildings change ownership and whether residential properties could be excluded from certain restrictions. Malenowski said properties can be classified as contributing or non-contributing to a historic district, allowing communities to apply different levels of review.
Main Street Director Morgan White also explained the financial benefits of maintaining historic zoning, noting that the designation helps Livingston compete for state development grants.
“Currently our applications rank higher than communities around us because we have a Main Street and because we have historic zoning,” White said. “So where some people will have zero on that line on the grant application, we’ll have plus 10 and plus 10.”
White said Livingston recently received the state’s highest score on a downtown improvement grant application.
No vote was taken during Monday’s work session. Mayor Lori Burnett previously proposed waiting until January before aldermen make a decision on the future of the city’s historic zoning ordinance.