NORWICH – Last summer, an advisory group was created to determine what role history would have in regards to the city’s future. The City of Norwich Historic Preservation Committee, made up of eight community members, has been working to accomplish their goal of linking “the past and the future by revealing heritage, revitalizing community, conserving resources and designing new areas that are sensitive to the City of Norwich,” as stated in the group’s mission statement.

Last Tuesday, City of Norwich Planning Director and one of the committee’s original eight members, Todd Dreyer asked the City Council for permission to apply for a $6,800 Preserve New York Grant for cultural resource surveys. If received, the grant would allow the Historic Preservation Committee to take the first step toward determining which areas of the city have historical significance, and which do not.

The $6,800 would be used to conduct an architectural reconnaissance survey. “We have been in touch with Cynthia Carrington Carter, a historic preservation expert,” said Dreyer. Carter explained the use of the architectural reconnaissance survey in a letter to the city, explaining it would “identify and locate buildings, structures, districts, cemeteries and landscapes that appear to be eligible for the National Register of Historical Places, so that their protection can be considered during the design and planning of new projects.”