The Historic Preservation Commission will identify historically significant property, advise the City Council on the designation of such property, protect historical characteristics of landmarks or historic districts, educate the public about the opportunities presented by historic preservation and perform other functions to safeguard and enhance the community heritage as embodied in historical properties or buildings, structures, sites or objects.
Historic Preservation Commission Members
The commission consists of seven members who serve three-year, alternating terms. One member may reside in the 1-1/2 mile extra-territorial jurisdictional area of Urbana while the rest must be residents of the City of Urbana. The Preservation Commission shall be appointed by the Mayor of Urbana and approved by the City Council. Members shall be appointed based on expertise, experience or interest in the areas of architecture, architectural history, building construction or engineering, finance, historic preservation, geography, landscape architecture, law, neighborhood organizing, planning, real estate or another related field. Preservation Commissioners shall serve without compensation and shall serve terms of three years.
A list of members and their contact information and terms is attached below.
To send an email to all commission members and staff, please use this address: HistoricPreservationCommission [at] urbanail.gov (HistoricPreservationCommission[at]UrbanaIL[dot]gov).
Historic Preservation Commission Meetings
Regular meetings of the Historic Preservation Commission shall be held the first Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m. in the City Council Chambers at 400 South Vine Street. There shall be a minimum of four (4) meetings per year.
View List of Upcoming and Recent Meetings
Historic Preservation Ordinance
The purpose of the Historic Preservation Ordinance is to promote the educational, cultural, economic and general welfare of the community by: A) providing a mechanism to identify and preserve the distinctive historic, architectural and/or landscape characteristics of Urbana, which represent elements of the city's cultural, social, economic, political and architectural history; B) fostering civic pride in the beauty and noble accomplishments of the past as represented in Urbana's landmarks and historic areas; C) stabilizing and improving the property value of Urbana's landmarks and historic areas; D) promoting restoration and rehabilitation by encouraging investment in historic resources; E) ensuring that all of the economic benefits resulting from preservation, including tax incentives, new jobs and renewed buildings, are available to our citizens; and F) preserving the character of historic neighborhoods and especially Urbana's historic downtown buildings and facades.
Links to other Related Historic Preservation Webpages
Historic Preservation Application
History of Historic Preservation in Urbana
Local Historic Landmarks and Districts In Urbana
Assistance
If you have questions or require assistance, please contact the Planning Division staff by email at Planning [at] urbanail.gov (Planning[at]UrbanaIL[dot]gov) or by calling 217-384-2440.
If you are interested in volunteering your time and expertise and want to be considered for appointment to an Urbana board or commission, please fill out an online Board and Commission Application.