Canton, OH Historic Preservation: Historic-Cultural Monuments (2026)

Chapter 1105, the Historic Preservation Code adopted by Ordinance 103-2017, opens with Council's finding that Canton contains structures and landmarks of historical, aesthetic and cultural significance whose preservation matters to the community's cultural and economic well-being. Section 1105.032(a) allows a designation application for a Historic District, Landmark, Building or Site to be filed by the Landmark Commission itself, the property owner, a Council member, City staff, the City Engineer, the City Planning Commission, or a local preservation, neighborhood or community organization, and it freezes any demolition or excavation of the subject property while the application is pending.

Under Section 1105.032(b), the Canton City Landmark Commission evaluates whether the property has historic integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling and association, then forwards a recommendation to the Canton City Planning Commission for a public hearing under subsection (f), and finally to Council, which needs only a simple majority to ordain a designation the Planning Commission approved, or a two-thirds vote to overrule a Planning Commission disapproval under subsection (h). Once a property is designated, Section 1105.034 requires the owner to provide reasonable maintenance to prevent deterioration, and Section 1105.04(a) bars any alteration or demolition, and blocks the City from issuing a building, zoning or demolition permit, until the Landmark Commission issues a Certificate of Appropriateness.