Heritage Commission

Meeting Time:

Second Tuesday of each month, 6:00 pm at the Florence Township Town Hall, Highway 61, Frontenac Station, Minnesota.

Public is welcome and encouraged.

Mission:
The mission of the Florence Township Heritage Preservation Commission is to protect and preserve the natural beauty, cultural heritage, and historic features of Florence Township designated Historic Districts.

Heritage Preservation Commission

Welcome to the Florence Township Heritage Preservation Commission web page!
The HPC, which under proposed new bylaws will have seven members, makes recommendations to the Florence Town Board aimed at protecting and preserving the historic and culturally sensitive areas in our beautiful township’s designated historic districts. Working with federal, state and local guidelines posted elsewhere on this page, we review permit requests to ensure that properties designated as historic are not destroyed or damaged. We also host occasional events focused on the township’s history.

If you live in the Old Frontenac Historic District and plan to modify your property, please use the Design Guide Resource and Goodhue County Zoning Regulations, listed nearby on this page. Print a copy of the Design Review Application, fill it out, attach the requested drawings, and bring at least copies to the next HPC meeting. You’ll need approval from the HPC and the township’s Planning Commission before you take your request to the Town Board for final approval.

Questions? Feel free to contact any of the commission’s seven members, each of whom has been appointed by the town board to serve a three-year term.
They’re listed at right.

After the storm, and other permit questions…

Do you have a question about completing a HPC Design Review Application for property maintenance?

You’ll need a building permit for a contractor to re-shingle your home, but if your roof repair is not altering the character or finish of exterior materials, such repairs/maintenance work does not require a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA).

A design review application and COA are required for

Construction
Alteration
Reconstruction
Moving
Demolition
Any other exterior change

(Note that this includes some work that would not require other permits from the local government. That is, the requirement for a building permit is NOT a test for whether a COA is required.)

Please refer to the Florence Township Design Guidelines Resource for Local Historic Districts for recommendations on exterior building materials, mass and scale, building heights, lighting, windows,fences, landscapes and demolition.

Florence Township Community Lilac Giveaway/ Plant Swap & Share.
Saturday, May 20th – Wakondiota Park ballfield shelter . 9am-11am, Rain or Shine. Share plants you’ve divided and pick up new plants for your garden – for free! Nothing to bring? Come anyway and take a plant home! Bring all kinds of plants flowers/vegetables/seeds/bulbs, please label with as much info as possible, height, spread, colors, light, soil and water needs. Lilacs available courtesy of the HPC and friends for Florence Township Residents. First come, first serve.