The City of Buffalo designates landmarks and historic districts to recognize and protect places of local, state, and national significance.
The NYS General Municipal Law ç 119-AA enables local governmental programs for the preservation, restoration, and maintenance of the historical, architectural, archaeological, and cultural environment, and was adopted to promote a "spirit of stewardship and trusteeship for future generations."
The City of Buffalo has designated 167 local landmarks and 18 local historic districts, inclusive of about four percent of the parcels in the city. In addition to local designations, Buffalo possesses many properties that are either individually listed, or are contributing resources to historic districts, on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).
The City of Buffalo established the Preservation Board in 1976. Its powers and responsibilities are derived from Buffalo's Preservation Ordinance, which declares "as a matter of public policy that preservation, protection, conservation, enhancement, perpetuation, and utilization of sites, buildings, improvements, and districts of special character, historical or aesthetic interest, or value are necessary and required in the interest of the health, education, culture, prosperity, safety, and high quality of life of the people."
The City of Buffalo designates landmarks and historic districts according to a process and criteria established in the Preservation Ordinance. The Preservation Board makes a recommendation, and the Common Council makes a decision, as to whether a proposed landmark, landmark site, or historic district meets one or more of the following criteria:
Any structure, property, or area that meets one or more of the above criteria must also have sufficient integrity of location, design, materials, and workmanship to make it worthy of preservation or restoration.
Once the City of Buffalo has designated a landmark or historic district, the designated property or properties fall under the jurisdiction of the Preservation Board. The Preservation Board reviews exterior work only, and applies the Secretary of the Interior Standards & Guidelines in making decisions on projects.
A landmark is a structure, object, or site, which the City of Buffalo has designated per the criteria of the Preservation Ordinance, that has been determined to possess individual local, state, and/or national significance.
A historic district is geographically definable area, which the City of Buffalo has designated per the criteria of the Preservation Ordinance, that possesses a significant concentration, linkage, or continuity of sites, buildings, structures, or objects united historically by past events or united aesthetically by plan or development. A historic district may also comprise individual elements, separated geographically, but linked by association or history.