The Old Town Hall at 40 East Main Street dates to 1812 and is listed on the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places, according to the historic preservation plan. The building now houses law offices.Â
A public hearing on a Moorestown historic preservation plan that would pave the way for the Township to exert more control over the demolition or alteration of some historic sites will be held on Thursday evening.
The Planning Board is scheduled to listen to members of the public and then vote on the adoption of an update to the Historic Preservation Plan Element of the Township master plan at a special meeting that begins at 7 p.m. in Moorestown Town Hall.
"This element (of the master plan) concerns itself most with the physical characteristics that have shaped the town since its founding," according to the 41-page element written by Tristan Harrison of the firm of Clarke Caton Hintz of Trenton.
While a property may appear on the National and State Registers of Historic Places, the listing does not protect them from individuals or corporations "in altering or renovating in inappropriate ways historic buildings or grounds, damaging archaeological resources or demolishing building and structures," according to the plan.
Goals in the update to the master plan include establishing by ordinance a Historic Preservation Commission and also designating local historic landmarks or districts by ordinance.
The goals also including establishing a Local Historic District, which could address potential demolitions and changes to properties and could "evenhandedly balance the rights of the property owner with community-wide concerns about the loss of cultural heritage."
A Local Historic District designation "can regulate the private use, maintenance, alteration, and demolition of historic buildings, landscapes, and sites, or the destruction of archaeological sites," according to the plan.
The report cites three examples of where historic Moorestown buildings were destroyed or threatened. All three properties are in the Moorestown Historic District and proposed Phase I of the Local Historic District, according to the plan.Â
In 2010, a farmhouse, the Levi L. Walton house on Harford Road near the Delran border, was torn down to make way for single-family homes. In 2000, a "unique two-century-old, four-story barn" on the grounds of Villa Collina on East Main Street was demolished, the report notes.
"Just recently, the former Lankenau Funeral Home on Chester Avenue at Central Avenue, and the former Weichert Realty offices on W. Main Street at S. Church Street have been proposed for demolition and redevelopment," according to the report.
The Local Historic District would be rolled out in three phases, according to the plan.
Phase I covers the commercial core of the Moorestown Historic District. Phase II would include the residential, commercial and institutional remainder of the Moorestown Historic District. Phase III would include properties contiguous to, but outside the district.
"This element (of the master plan) concerns itself most with the physical characteristics that have shaped the town since its founding," according to Harrison's report.
