Bath Historic District Committee plans first major meeting

BATH — The Bath Historic District Committee will have an informational meeting March 12 at 6 p.m. at Historic Bath Town Hall at 1241 N. Cleveland-Massillon Road. An announcement about the meeting was made at the Feb. 19 Bath Township Board of Trustees meeting.

It is the first major meeting of this new group, which is seeking to have portions of the North Cleveland-Massillon Road corridor designated as historic districts.

The meeting will feature speakers Barbara Powers, of the Ohio Historic Preservation Office, and project consultants from Benjamin D. Rickey & Co. More information is posted at www.bathtownship.org.

In a press release, the committee said 895 houses and outbuildings in Bath Township qualify for the National Register of Historic Places, but only 21 are registered. Any building more than 50 years old can be considered, according to the committee, which asserts residents can benefit from increased property values and tax savings.

According to the group, historic register designation also affords some measure of protection since federally funded or licensed projects, such as road widening or cell phone tower construction, must be reviewed for the impact the project would have on listed and eligible properties.

The committee was created in May 2007 with a goal of establishing a historic district as well as a zoning overlay for historic districts in the township. The overlay would include requirements that construction and development projects undergo review, recommendations and approval by the township’s zoning committees and trustees.

The push for establishing a historic district, an idea discussed in the past but not acted on, was prompted by the 2007 controversy surrounding the proposed construction of a cell phone transmission tower at 1911 N. Cleveland-Massillon Road.

The cell tower was never built, primarily because, according to township officials, of a statement issued by the State of Ohio Historic Preservation Office that declared the tower would have an “adverse impact” on local historic properties.

Speaking at the trustees’ meeting, Bath Historic District Committee member Bruce McMakin urged Bath residents to attend the meeting to learn more. McMakin said the group is “getting an awful lot of support.”

“The Bath community is a great place to work with,” he added.