Phase I – Historic Preservation Ordinance and Commission 
Phase II – Historic Resources Survey and Design Guidelines 
Phase III ‐ Historic District Adoption

The City of Richmond Hill is in the process of formally adopting historic preservation practices as part of its current municipal policies and procedures. Drafted by our office, on March 6, 2018 the City of Richmond Hill adopted a historic preservation ordinance. Prior, the City had no ordinances, regulations, or regulatory bodies in place related to Historic Preservation.

In recent years, the Richmond Hill Historical Society has uncovered and highlighted the City’s rich history, particularly its roots linked to Henry Ford. Efforts to better understand, recognize, and preserve this history has led to greater community interest and support for the creation of preservation policy and local historic districts. As a result, the City became interested in developing local historic districts.

With the creation of an ordinance and historic preservation commission (Phase I) the City seeks to survey and develop design guidelines for the first local historic district in Richmond Hill, the Ford Commercial District (Phase II). Following the survey and development of design guidelines, the newly created historic preservation commission will be poised to move forward with the creation of a historic district in this area (Phase III).