I’m pleased to share that with the new term starting the end of November, I’ve been appointed by the Mayor to the Historic District Commission (HDC), and tonight marks my first meeting.

The HDC was established in 1975 ‘to promote the preservation of Laurel’s historic sites and buildings in order to safeguard the heritage of the City’s built environment’. As many folks may be aware, while Laurel was incorporated 154 years ago in 1870, its roots trace back even further into the mid-/late-1700s and in its early life it was called ‘Laurel Factory’ for the factory and mill located along the banks of the Patuxent River.

The Historic District itself is comprised of seven individual, but contiguous, districts illustrated below and the HDC follows the design guidelines listed in Article I, Div. 14 of the City’s Unified Land Development Code.

If anyone has any questions, suggestions, ideas, or other as they related to the HDC, Laurel’s history, or other, please do not hesitate to reach out to me and I’m happy to be of assistance, and additional information about the Historic District Commission can also be found on its page on the City’s website.