Monday, January 18th, 6:30 p.m. - First Evangelical Lutheran Church. In 1993 the state of Wisconsin passed a law requiring cities with properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places to enact local historic preservation ordinances. As a result, the City of Green Bay, like dozens of other communities throughout the state, enacted a local historic preservation ordinance and created a Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) tasked with preserving the community's historic structures, sites and districts.

Recently the HPC has been considering whether Green Bay's historic resources are adequately protected and whether the City should pursue Certified Local Government (CLG) status. With regard to the question of adequate protection, the HPC notes that the Astor National Register District has lost 60 properties (or 15.5% of the contributing historic properties in the district) since 1980. Certified Local Government status offers the benefit of making preservation grant funds available to the City; however, in order to become a CLG the city must revise its current historic preservation ordinance. A revised preservation ordinance could accomplish two things—it could provide better protection for the community's historic resources and allow the city to obtain CLG status.

The purpose of the upcoming presentation is to generate awareness of the HPC's role in the community, describe the current historic preservation ordinance, and discuss what a possible revision of the historic preservation ordinance would entail. Ultimately, the HPC would like to gauge whether or not the residents of Astor would be in favor of a revision to the historic preservation ordinance or if the ordinance should be left as it currently stands.

Would you be in favor of a revision to the ordinance? Do you think the ordinance should remain as it is? Please join us at this meeting so you can learn more about the proposed changes. We will be in the basement of First Evangelical Lutheran Church, 743 S. Monroe, starting at 6:30.

Molly Martzke
President Astor Neighborhood Association