Brookhaven officials have taken the first step toward receiving a Certified Local Government designation that would help the city get grant funds for historic preservation.

At a recent meeting, officials established what could become the city’s historic district. It basically includes the downtown area’s central business district.

To become a CLG, the city must enact an ordinance establishing a historic district and preservation commission, which enforces the preservation ordinance.

Generally speaking, the CLG program is a beneficial one. Cities are able to get state funds to help preserve and restore buildings and are given priority when it comes to receiving grants. The only aspect of the program that can be unpopular is the zoning regulations that accompany it.

Those ordinances can be very restrictive and can trample property rights. The key to a successful CLG program is a preservation ordinance that strikes a balance between preservation and property rights.

Mayor Joe Cox, the Board of Aldermen and City Attorney Joe Fernald are in the process of evaluating ordinances in other communities to see what might work for Brookhaven. Most of these ordinances are variations on the state model ordinance tailored to the specific community.

Officials said a public hearing would take place once the ordinance is drafted. We  encourage the city to reach out to property owners in the proposed historic district to get their feedback when drafting the ordinance. Imposing a restrictive ordinance on property owners who’ve had zero input would only harm the downtown area.

Property owners will only support the ordinance once they feel any and all concerns have been addressed.