Excerpt from Herald-Mail Media:

The Hagerstown Historic District Commission re-elected its officers during a meeting last week.

Michael Gehr was renamed chairman of the commission, while Chris Davis was renamed vice chairman.

Gehr, who was appointed in 2000, is an architect. Davis, who was appointed in 2013, holds a career in planning.

The commission is responsible for reviewing all proposals to modify the exteriors of buildings and properties, including demolition and new construction, in the city’s four locally zoned historic districts — Downtown, South Prospect Street, Potomac-Broadway and Oak Hill.

It is required by state law and the city’s current land-management code that commission members are required to represent certain professional disciplines and demonstrate an interest in historic preservation.

Members are appointed by the Hagerstown City Council, and officers are selected annually by the commission.

 

Other members of the commission include:

• Leslie Allen, who was appointed in 2013 and holds a special interest in conversation.

• Chad Crumrine, who was appointed in 2014 and holds a special interest in history.

• Steven Silas, who was appointed in 2012 and holds a special interest in conservation and architectural history.

• Samantha Taylor, who was appointed in 2016 and is an interior designer.

• Monika Wertman, who was appointed in 2012 and holds a special interest in history.

Nonvoting advisers are:

• Tracy Carr-Kretzer, who was appointed in 2008 and is a graphics and sign designer.

• Dan Matonak, who was appointed in 1987 and is a structural engineer.

• Paula Reed, who was appointed in 1987 and is an architectural historian.

The city’s historic-district ordinance first was adopted in 1987 as part of the city’s zoning regulations.

The commission works with an adopted set of design-review guidelines based on the Secretary of the Interior’s standards for rehabilitation.

 

The guidelines ensure that renovations and additions are compatible with historic buildings, that historic buildings are preserved if feasible and that new construction fits into the architectural character of the surrounding district.