(A) The materials used in the construction of buildings in the historic district reflect the time period and local availability of materials. For this reason, these historic building materials contribute greatly to the historic character of the buildings and the entire district and shall be retained. The primary historic building materials found in downtown Peru include brick, glazed brick and limestone.
(B) A good general rule when choosing wall materials is that nothing will be more appropriate than the original materials. Adding aluminum or vinyl generally requires covering up or removing decorative molding or trim and makes projecting details like doors and windows become flush or inset. This takes away the dimension of the building and makes it look flat, which causes a negative impact to not only the building, but also to the historic district.
(C) Design guidelines.
(1) Original materials and historic siding shall be preserved and repaired.
(2) If the existing historic materials or siding is irreparable, deteriorated or missing, the substitute materials shall match the original in properties, proportion and appearance.
(3) The use of artificial siding is prohibited in the district.
(4) Siding shall be installed only without irreversibly damaging, removing or obscuring the architectural features and historic materials of a building and shall cover only areas that were originally covered by siding.
(Ord. 14, 2011, passed 10-3-11)