By Dave Fidlin
CORRESPONDENT
After weighing several property owners’ comments, the boundaries of the Village of Waterford’s Heritage District could be redrawn — again.
The Village Board was slated to act on the redrawn boundaries at its meeting Feb. 27. But officials instead decided to lay the issue over so an appointed committee tasked with Heritage District issues can communicate the changes with impacted property owners.
The Heritage Design District Committee has been reviewing the boundaries of the Heritage District, which represents the village’s historic area, in recent months.
One of the more recent proposed changes includes the addition of properties on Third Street, from Division Street to the south side of the Fox River.
Trustee Andrew Ewert successfully made the motion to table a decision. He said he believed the committee should reach out to all new businesses in the Heritage District’s boundaries and gather feedback on whether or not those businesses want to be within the map.
The Heritage District’s redrawn boundaries are the latest in a series of changes and evolutions that have taken place throughout the past 14 years.
One property owner, incorporated into the district’s boundaries during the initial review last fall, has been adamantly opposed to inclusion.
Darla Yanny’s year-old business, the Waterford Unique Antique Market at 209 N. Milwaukee St., is among the properties being incorporated into the proposed district boundaries.
“I want to opt out. I don’t see a benefit,” Yanny said, pointing out her building, previously a Reineman’s True Value store, only has roots going back to the 1970s. Most of the buildings in the district were constructed in a far earlier era.
The committee on Feb. 20 met with Yanny and fellow business owner Ryan Ross, but upheld its recommendation to keep the property in the proposed boundaries.
In a memo, Village Administrator Rebecca Ewald made note of some of the district’s changes over the years.
“The Heritage Overlay District was initially created in 2003 to allow bed-and-breakfast establishments, temporary seasonal gift shops (to accommodate Christmas in the Village) and conditional uses in residential areas, acknowledging the lack of zoning regulations when the village was created,” Ewald wrote in the memo.
Over time, the code requirements have been amended to accommodate developments within the district’s boundaries.
Case in point: When St. Thomas Aquinas built its new church, the ordinance pertaining to the Heritage District was amended to accommodate school, municipal and institutional uses.
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