Advisory Board Seeks to Create New Historical District

Since January, the Historical Preservation Advisory Board has worked to turn a 180-acre residential neighborhood into a historical district recognized by the township. The designation is a zoning technicality designed to prevent historical homes from being razed to build new buildings, the board's chairwoman, Maureen Strazdon, said during a meeting Thursday.

The board will present a resolution that would convert the neighborhood into a historical district to the Cranford Township Committee Dec. 13.

"Our goal this year is to create the district and get it officially designated, at least at the township level," Strazdon said. The board will hold an information meeting about the resolution at Crane House Oct. 10.

Strazdon emphasized that the designation would not prevent homeowners from making improvements on their own properties and would not affect insurance rates or property taxes. It would not require residents to paint their homes a certain color, she added, or force homeowners to conform to new property maintenance standards.

"All it will do is prevent someone from demolishing something in the district," Strazdon said.

Titled the North Cranford Historical District, the area contains 433 residential buildings that exemplify Cranford's predominant architectural style from 1850 to 1920, Strazdon said.

During this time, the town was transforming from a rural farming village into a town populated by middle and upper class families, she said. As more and more residents commuted to and from New York City by train, Cranford became one of the first suburban communities in New Jersey, an early adopter of a trend that would intensify and come to identify central New Jersey.

"These houses reflect the concept of suburbia right after the railroad came to Cranford," Strazdon added.

In August 2001, the State Historical Preservation Office found the 180-acre area eligible for listing in the state historical register. This residential zone includes a portion of Holly Street, a portion of Springfield Avenue, Orchard Avenue, Forest Avenue, Central Avenue and more. For a map of the proposed historical district, click the Township Master Plan map above.