When Aaron Kissel wanted to demolish a detached garage at his home in Montclair, he came up against opposition from the township’s Historic Preservation Commission.
What made the situation unusual is that, one, it involved a mere outbuilding and that, two, it wasn’t located in a designated historic district. It was located in a proposed historic district. And yet, because of the way the township’s demolition ordinance is written, the commission was still allowed to review the application.
Kissel’s application still remains undecided, but the hearing served as a reminder that Montclair has some of the strongest preservation laws in the state and these laws are only getting stronger. This is coming at a time when preservationists in nearby townships are seeing their local commissions weakened.
Only two miles away, in Orange, the HPC finds itself in quite a different predicament. Often the city will not refer projects to them or, when they do, it happens after the Planning Board has already approved the project, making architects unwilling to implement their suggestions.
The HPC’s former chair Troy Simmons said during a meeting in June, that perhaps the reason the municipal government is stonewalling them is because city officials perceive them as obstructionists. Simmons saw his tenure as trying to undo that perception.
“There’s a view that the historic commission still in 2024 is a bunch of little old ladies in white tennis shoes and pearls who want to see no change happen anywhere,” said Simmons, who stepped down as chair last month. “We welcome change but we want to see things that are – as I’ve said already – something I want to wake up and drive by and be proud it's in my town. It doesn’t have to look old or have white columns and a white picket fence.”
Despite Simmons' attempts to win back the city’s favor, the city once again snubbed him when it came to a redevelopment proposal for one of the city’s most important landmarks – Orange Memorial Hospital – in which seven of the nine buildings located within that National Register-listed historic district are slated for demolition. Simmons was succeeded by Jody Leight, a decadelong commissioner and a real estate attorney, who has been more outspoken, so it will be interesting to see how Orange’s HPC evolves under her leadership.
Preservation began in the United States as a form of activism — namely to save Manhattan’s Penn Station. It is no mistake that some of the protesters who were marching and holding signs became the earliest members of the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission in the 1960s.
However, in recent times, the preservation movement has been defined by stagnation and concessions. Municipalities have trouble creating new historic districts. In the ones that exist, few protect them as vehemently from intrusion as we once did.
Montclair remains an exception. In October, Steven Smolyn, a consultant to Montclair’s HPC (a new Preservation New Jersey Board Member), cautioned the HPC against allowing the subdivision of a property at 249 Valley Road that he called the most important home in the Erwin Park Historic District.
“Any type of new construction – it could be an ultra-modern structure or an extremely sensitive and thoughtful building within a historic district – is inherently an intrusion to the historic district,” Smolyn said.
So what is the difference between Montclair’s HPC and Orange’s despite their proximity? Why is one growing stronger while the other is weakening? One important difference between Montclair and Orange is that Montclair has HPC staff, aside from the usual commission attorney, the helps the township meet state requirements. Another obvious difference is wealth – the median income in Montclair is three times what Orange residents make.
But Smolyn told Preservation New Jersey that he doesn't think that socioeconomics are a factor. He points to a place like Millburn, one of the state’s wealthiest suburbs, which has faced strong opposition to designate two new historic districts and strengthen its demolition ordinance. Meanwhile, Newark’s James Street was full of working-class families around the time it was landmarked in 1983, and their neighborhood had become one of the more vocal historic districts in supporting preservation.
Instead, Smolyn believes the strength of an HPC might boil down to messaging. “The weakening of historic preservation ordinances can often be traced back to insufficient public messaging about the specifics of these ordinances and their long-term benefits, such as increased property values,” he said.
Smolyn also believes that certain historic districts foster a unique sense of community that is appealing to certain homeowners. When residents cultivate solidarity, Smolyn believes that threats to the cause of preservation usually fall by the wayside.
“In Montclair, people living in historic districts generally embrace the responsibility of being stewards for their homes, aiming to preserve them for future generations,” Smolyn said. “Many developers want to sustain Montclair's appeal as a desirable place to live, mainly due to its preservation from the early 20th century.”