Gettysburg Borough Council heard pointed opposition Tuesday night to a proposal to expand the Seminary Ridge Historic District, with Adams County Library leaders, preservationists, and residents warning that the move could stifle development, and particularly plans for a new Gettysburg Public Library.
The comments came after the Historic Architectural Review Board (HARB) in December unanimously recommended creating a new Seminary Ridge Historic District along Route 116 and West Confederate Avenue.
Miranda Wisor, executive director of the Adams County Library System, told council that some community members believe the proposal is aimed at limiting the library’s future. “This is a move to control the library’s future development plans on the south side of the seminary campus,” she said.
Wisor emphasized that significant historic resources in the area are already protected through the Seminary Ridge Historic Preservation Foundation and National Park Service viewshed rules, as well as existing HARB oversight. “I urge the council to deny the proposed expansion, and to maintain the existing historic district boundaries,” she said.
Judy Morley, president of the Seminary Ridge Historic Preservation Foundation and a scholar of preservation policy, said protecting history must be balanced with community needs. Morley said Seminary Ridge already has multiple layers of protection and that expanding the district would “tip the balance… to one that is overly bureaucratically weighted toward preservation.”
Other speakers also tied the historic district proposal directly to the fate of the planned library. “New restrictions are likely to negatively impact the construction of the new Gettysburg Public Library,” said Gettysburg resident Janelle Wertzberger.
Longtime borough resident and library board member Don Marritz was more blunt, saying that “If the historic district were expanded as proposed, it would prevent the construction of a new library.”
Teresa Smallwood, Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs at United Lutheran Seminary, said she supports the library project. “There is no more preserved institution than what lies on Seminary Ridge,” Smallwood said, adding that young people connected to the seminary would benefit greatly from a new library.
Rob Williams, Seminary Ridge Museum Outreach Director and a library trustee, said the Adams County Historical Society has determined that the proposed library site is not historically significant. “There is no reason for the Historical Society to believe that that library should not be built there,” Williams said, noting that the project enjoys the society’s support.
HARB Chair Brandon Stone told council that the board’s December vote to recommend a new historic district was unanimous. He said the proposal follows the same logic used when council expanded historic protections in 1999 to safeguard Gettysburg’s gateways. “The Seminary Ridge represents the last remaining unprotected entry of that kind,” Stone said. He emphasized that the recommendation was informational and that “no action is required” at this time.
Council said any decision is likely far off as it takes a fuller look at its existing ordinances.
