Maintain Goshen's historical importance

The proposed changes to Goshen's local law (Local Law No. 2 2015) concerning the Dobbins Inn and Village Hall, not to mention all OB properties in the Village, are troubling. These changes to current zoning designations along Main Street in and around the Church Park National Historic District and Goshen Historic Track National Historic Landmark should be reviewed carefully. As a person tasked with the preservation of history in my employment, as well as my being a resident of the Village of Goshen, an abundance of caution in considering any alterations to existing regulations is recommended.

Goshen's historic vernacular landscape has long been recognized for its importance on local, state and national levels. The naming of Goshen Historic Track as a National Historic Landmark in 1966 - the first sporting site to achieve this rare designation - is but the first example of this recognition. While some 85,000 locations are listed on the National Registry of Historic Places, only 2,553 sites nationwide have achieved the honor of being hailed a national landmark. In 1980 forward-thinking citizens nominated the Church Park district to the National Register and proposed the widening of the district's corridor in 2004 to include a greater number of contributing structures. This effort was spearheaded and completed by many dozens of our village citizenry - investors financially and emotionally tied to the value of historic preservation. At that time, the Village recognized the importance of maintaining the integrity of our community's cultural landscape by zoning these environs as part of an Architectural Design District and refusing to compromise this entrance to our village with commercial development.

Goshen is an area rich in history, and the beauty of its federal, Greek revival and victorian architecture is evidence of that history. This is the Goshen visitors now see, and it impacts the viewshed of the treasure that is the entrance to the Village of Goshen as well as Goshen Historic Track and the Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame. Changing the surroundings of these sites changes the impact they have on tourism as well as the ambiance they provide to community residents.

Rezoning any area within or adjoining the village's historic district is likely to have unintended and irrevocable consequences. We cannot and would not want to turn the clock back to 1838 when Historic Track was first established or to 1841 when the court house was built or even to 1913 when the Museum's historic stable was constructed, but what we can do is maintain the heart of what we have while building the community's future in areas that will not alter its historic foundation.

There will be a public hearing regarding this issue at the Goshen Senior Center, 100 Trotter Circle, Goshen, at 7 p.m. Monday.

Janet T. Terhune is the director of the Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame in Goshen.