Pictured is the Arcade Building on North Main Street. The Arcade Building is one historical building in the city that has had preservation discussions about it for years. The potential for a local preservation ordinance to help preserve historical buildings in the city is up for discussion at Monday’s city council. P-J photo by Sara Holthouse

A local preservation ordinance — something that has been brought up multiple times in the city throughout the years — is on the agenda for the City Council’s work session on Monday night for both a discussion and possible committee approval.

The local preservation ordinance would look to help safeguard certain sites of historical and architectural significance in the city. According to Monday’s agenda the city is looking to pass this ordinance following concerns about the destruction of historical architectural buildings in the city. The local preservation ordinance is on the agenda twice, first listed as a discussion from the Housing Committee and later as a resolution from the Public Safety Committee.

Improving preservation of historic buildings has been discussed off and on for years, but the most recent Local Preservation Ordinance discussion came in the wake of discussions of what to do with the historic Arcade Building on North Main Street, Jamestown.

The Arcade Building was first constructed in 1898 and was noted in a previous Post-Journal article from 2017 to still be in good structural condition in regards to the foundation and walls, but following a fire in June of that year of the two-story building next to the Arcade Building, the story noted work was still being done to prevent it from being completely demolished. A 2017 study found the price for a full restoration of the building would have been $16.42 million. Stabilizing the building would have cost $1.708 million while demolishing the Arcade Building would have cost $1.445 million. Those prices would be higher today.

Since that study, the Arcade Building has been placed on the “Seven to Save” list by the New York Preservation League. The Preservation League has highlighted threatened historic sites since 1999 through the Seven to Save list, which provides enhanced services from the league to bolster visibility and build support for preservation. Through the “Seven to Save” program, the league has worked with local stakeholders to avert demolition, develop plans for reuse, secure landmark designation and foster greater public awareness of the value of New York’s unique and irreplaceable historic resources.

More recently, the Local Preservation Ordinance was discussed by the city’s Planning Commission during their December meeting. In the minutes from that meeting it is noted that the city has a significant building stock that would benefit from the designation. However, in order to have a local designation there needs to be a local ordinance. Anything that can be done on a local level, starts with the ordinance.

Concerns brought up by the Planning Commission, according to the minutes, include the economic impact of trying to save a building, what obstacles could be created for homeowners trying to work on their homes — specifically that the ordinance does not talk about the benefits to the public, it primarily focuses on what will happen to them if they do not follow the procedures — what might happen to the already existing National Historic Districts in the city, property owners’ consent, the small amount of properties or districts that could be nominated for the ordinance, the potential to multiply code violations, and the ability to communicate what is going on and what the ordinance means to the public. It was noted that much discussion is still needed on how things will be structured.

The ordinance would create a Jamestown Preservation Board. Creation of new historic districts or amendments to existing historic districts would have to go through review by the city’s principal planner, the yet-to-be-created Preservation Board, the Planning Commission and the City Council. The ordinance also requires certain types of property maintenance and creates new city law that gives the city the option to do work on buildings undergoing “demolition by neglect” and then bill the property owner or, in worst-case scenarios, take ownership of properties.

The ordinance also places a much longer delay on a proposed demolition of a derelict historic structure. A single objection can delay the process at least 120 days, during which time the applicant has to come up with a “viable” alternative to demolition.

The council’s Housing Committee meets at 6:30 p.m. in the police training room in city hall. The Finance Committee meets at 7 p.m. in the fourth floor mayor’s conference room, the Public Safety Committee meets in the police training room and the Public Works Committee meets in the Development Department conference room. The work session of the council begins at 7:30 p.m. in the police training room.