Georgetown planning department proposes changes to downtown, Old Town overlay

Georgetown Downtown and Historic Planner Britin Bostick presented proposed changes to the downtown and Old Town overlay district guidelines during a June 3 Georgetown Main Street Program meeting.

Proposed changes to the guidelines include changes to the format, content and requirements, Bostick said.

The biggest proposed change will be the reduction in the guideline content from total 14 chapters to five, Bostick said. The reduced chapters will have the same information but provide easier navigation, Bostick added.

“A lot of our feedback from stakeholders said is this is great, but it is really hard for me to navigate this document,” Bostick said. “So, we are trying to make that a lot easier.”

The chapters included in the proposed changes will cover two downtown areas, Old Town, demolition, relocation and signs, she said.

New content will include a removal of pictures that are not of Georgetown and architectural style illustrations, Bostick said.

Some proposed changes to requirement include more detailed guidance for space additions according architectural style, relationships to neighboring structures, clarifying a one-sign limit per business and sign illumination styles, she added.

The current design guidelines were adopted in 2001. The proposed changes are anticipated to be presented to City Council during a July 13 public hearing.