To the Residents of Marion:
Although the village still looks much the same as it did when I first arrived 53 years ago in 1972, many people, including myself, feel that a plan to protect our beautiful and historic architecture is needed.
We also need a proposal that offers thoughtful guidelines to future construction so that neighboring property owners do not have to get directly involved in often heated debates about the architectural merits and scale of a new house. The current proposal of the Historic District Study Committee, as presented at the recent February 18th open meeting, is a fair one to achieve these goals.
At that meeting, I listened to the legitimate concerns of a number of residents who expressed opposition to the Study Committee plan. I know most of these friends and neighbors very well. Some are involved in real estate investment and construction and own property within the proposed district. Their concerns with the creation of a new oversight commission to limit their property rights is not the main problem.
The greater concern is that, with the high desirability of living and owning property in Marion Village, there is increasing pressure to demolish smaller, historically valuable houses, or to purchase vacant lots or non-historic properties and maximize the profit potential of new construction without consideration for the overall effect the new structure will have on the immediate neighborhood.
This situation is already ongoing in Marion. As long as the builders and the new property owners stay within existing laws and zoning regulations, there is nothing the Historical Commission can do to prevent the approved construction of a new or enlarged building. We also cannot stop the demolition of a house, no matter how important it may be architecturally or historically, if the owner wants to remove it.
Therefore, for the greater good of all of us who love our surroundings, and who also cherish our individual freedoms, I think that the current proposal for the establishment of an Historic Village District with a very limited area and clearly defined powers and controls will go a long way towards protecting the beauty of the historic village we all enjoy.
Bryan J. McSweeny, Member
Marion Historical Commission
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