The owners of both properties must work through the HAPC, because both are in the historic Uptown district, with both being located on High Street. The commission works from design guidelines with the title, “The Future for Oxford’s Past.”
“Our purpose is to review and preserve the integrity of the Uptown historic district and other historic districts within Oxford,” said the organization’s vice chair, Kim Peterka. “We have surveys and they designate buildings as conforming or non-conforming.”
The HAPC also covers the University Historic District and the Western College Historic District, according to the commission guidelines. And that doesn’t mean only buildings, but it can also entail furniture and signs, commission members said.
“If you can see it in the historic district, the historic commission should have some input on it,” said Sam Perry, the city planner.
The commission spent most of Wednesday’s meeting conferring with Ted Wood, who wants to open a restaurant at 12 W. Park Place, a former skating rink. Wood plans to turn the property into a restaurant geared mainly toward families, and he was making sure the plans conformed with HAPC guidelines.
“I keep referring to that part of town as the ‘grown up’ side of town,” Wood said. “I want to keep it that way … I want grown-up, because grown-up is an attitude … this is where you go to behave, and you get good food, and you get good service.”
The HAPC also discussed plans for the building housing Bill’s Art Store. That building is owned by the Sigma Chi foundation, which plans to demolish the back part of the building and keep only the front part facing High Street. Bill’s Art Store was told it has to move out by the end of May.
Sigma Chi plans to sell the property after the demolition, Perry said. The reconstruction of the Fiji house is ongoing.
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