FREEHOLD — The historic character and ambiance of Freehold Borough’s downtown district is something that needs vigilant monitoring and protection, according to members of the borough’s Historic Preservation Advisory Commission.
According to a commission member, there has been a general feeling that the panel has been overlooked in the case of several applications for building permits within the historic district, an area that encompasses the downtown.
The commission members are expected to address the issue at the Sept. 20 meeting of the Borough Council.
Councilman John Newman, who is the governing body’s liaison to the commission, said the panel denied two applications recently forwarded to it by the Building Department.
However, Newman said he believes work has been done on several buildings that the commission was not aware of, although it should have been.
“According to the ordinance creating the commission, it has the right to review any and all applications which would encompass a change to the exterior of a building in the historic district,” Newman said.
“I have brought to the attention of council and the Building Department several matters within the historic district that have simply not gone through the proper procedures and may have had different outcomes if they had been reviewed by the Historic Preservation Advisory Commission.
“For example, I have brought up questionable renovations to a historic house on West Main Street, applications before the Planning Board that failed to go to the commission, and, of course, the numerous signs of different varieties and dimensions in the downtown Special Improvement District,” Newman said.
Newman said the commission members recently passed a resolution asking that they be permitted to review sign applications. The move would take the approval of signs completely out of the hands of the Building Department. The resolution has been submitted to the mayor and council.
Kevin Coyne, the borough’s historian who serves on the commission, said the current sign ordinance does not really work.
“The Historic Preservation Advisory Commission has advisory capacity over everything exterior in the downtown. It seems illogical for the Building Department to review the sign applications. Our capacity is only exterior and signs are a defining part of the exterior. I don’t think the Building Department relishes having to do the sign reviews anyway,” Coyne said. “It is not to add a layer of oversight, but to consolidate it with a body that has the most interest in and knowledge of the issue.
“The sign ordinance and the vision study, which was codified by the mayor and council, seemed to have been completely ignored in (several) applications. Furthermore, if you look around the downtown, both the sign ordinance and the vision study have been ignored time and time again with regards to sign, awning and facade changes,” Coyne said.