Rochester’s historic buildings and landscapes are truly unique and add character and economic value to the city. To protect this value, the City introduced zoning regulations in 2003 that are set forth in City Code Section 120-65B for Center City and Section 120-158C for any area outside Center City.
Designated Buildings of Historic Value [list] are all those properties in City-designated preservation districts, all City-designated individual landmarks, and all properties listed or eligible for listing in the State and/or National Registers of Historic Places. These properties include buildings, structures, districts, objects and sites significant in the history, architecture, archeology, engineering and culture of New York and, in some cases, the nation. Among the eight City-designated preservation districts are East Avenue and Mt. Hope/Highland. Among the many National Register districts are Maplewood, Browncroft and the Cascade District. Some areas have both City designation and National Register listing. Over time, properties are added to or removed from the list, depending, in part, on age, condition and integrity.
Properties are determined eligible for the State and National Register by the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) within the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP). Properties achieve listing in the State Register by a determination of the New York State Board for Historic Preservation. Those properties are then recommended to the National Park Service for consideration by the Keeper of the National Register for inclusion in that registry. For more information on the Registers and the State Historic Preservation Office, see www.nysparks.state.ny.us/shpo/.