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KIRKSVILLE, MISSOURI -- If you’re a downtown Kirksville business owner, in the near future you may not be able to make changes to the external appearance of your business without approval.

The Kirksville Historic Preservation Commission (KHPC) is hoping to pass guidelines, which they hope will preserve the historic atmosphere.

“We're concerned about the downtown because we want our downtown to attract people, and we think one of the things that would attract people is the historic character and vitality of the town,” said Brad Selby, KHPC Staff Representative.

Selby referenced the loss of the West-side of the square several years ago. He fears the loss of other buildings, and there is nothing in the current ordinance to prevent someone from making changes to the historic buildings.

“We don't want to see more building owners put metal siding on buildings,” said Selby. “We want to see the brick, we want to see the mortar, and the original materials... and the only way to do that is to have some type of design guideline.”

The commission met Wednesday, Dec. 1, to discuss the guidelines, in which multiple changes were recommended. This was the first step in the process. Next, the ordinance-change proposal would go through a Dec. 20 study session, after which it would have to pass through the Planning and Zoning Commission, and finally followed by City Council, who would make the final decision.

Selby says there is not a set timeline; however, if he were to guess, February, or early March would be when it would be finalized, if approved.

These guidelines would affect business owner’s decisions to make changes to the store fronts, display windows, cornices, and roofs, among other things. Some of the buildings have their names engraved in the mortar, and the commission would like to preserve that. If business owners want to make these changes, they must go through a design-approval-process with the commission.

“All of those things are part of the design guidelines that we want property owners to pay attention to, so they all work together as a unit and we hope that's what this design commission and design committee will be able to do, so we can bring that together and keep an historic perspective to our downtown,” said Selby.

Selby said not all of the business owners are happy about the changes, but some of them are very interested and do not want other business owners to make changes that would detract from the architectural style.