City of Muskogee Historic District Unified Design Guidelines - Founders' Place Historic District and Kendall Place Historic District

From Why Design Guidelines?: "Both the Historic Preservation Commission and the historic districts believe that preserving our past is important to our present social, cultural and economic vitality. Muskogee's history and historical architecture figure prominently in the history of our state, and their importance should be protected. With this mind, the stated purpose of the City of Muskogee Historic Preservation Commission is 'to promote the education, cultural, economic and general welfare of the public, through the protection, enhancement, perpetuation, and use of structure and areas of historic, architectural or cultural significance.' ...These design guidelines are therefore intended to provide homeowners, landlords, contractors, and anyone wishing to work with properties in the historic districts with clear guidance for renovating or repairing such properties. The guidelines are based on the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation of historic properties. This is the code the Commission follows to determine Certificates of Appropriateness for renovations and other work done to the exteriors of a property. Rehabilitation is defined as 'the process of returning a property to a state of utility, through repair or alteration, which makes possible an efficient contemporary use while preserving those portions and features of the property which are significant to its historic, architectural, and cultural values.' While we do not want to prohibit people from improving their properties or bringing them into the 21st century, we do want to maintain the integrity of the historical aspects of our homes and buildings. Since 1977 the Standards have been considered the basis for all legal codes regarding historic properties. When everyone knows what the processes, codes and guidelines are, there is less room for error and costly mistakes. The Standards pertains to historic buildings of all materials, construction types, sizes, and occupancy and encompass both the exterior and the interior of historic buildings. Changes to an interior should take into account structural integrity of the building, as well as preserving important architectural details. The Standards also encompass related landscape features and the building's site and environment as well as attached, adjacent or related new construction." Project funding was provided in part by a Historic Preservation Fund grant to the Oklahoma State Historic Preservation Office, Oklahoma Historical Society, administered by the State, Tribal, Local Plans and Grants division, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior (grant number P19AF00201).

City of Muskogee Historic District Unified Design Guidelines - Founders' Place Historic District and Kendall Place Historic District

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