The law of keeping: the ordinance of 1973 and the Commission

1973 — present

The ordinance: The City of South Bend's own account is one sentence: the Historic Preservation Commission of South Bend and St. Joseph County "was established by Ordinance in 1973." The landmark ordinances the Commission has issued under it for fifty years cite it as Ordinance No. 5565-73, as amended; the Commission's own published preservation standards cite Ordinance #5567-73 and #54A-973 as the adopting ordinances of the preservation program. Both citations stand in the Commission's documents as printed here; the 1973 ordinance's own text is the settling document, and it is named as such for the update cycle. What the law built is not in dispute. The Commission is a nine-member board of appointed citizens: two members appointed by the County Commissioners, two by the South Bend Common Council, two by the County Council, and two by the Mayor of South Bend — each body appointing one Democrat and one Republican — and a ninth member, the architectural historian, appointed by the other eight. Members serve three-year terms. Its jurisdiction covers two governments at once: the City of South Bend and the unincorporated areas of St. Joseph County.

What the Commission may do: The city states its powers plainly: the Commission drafts preservation guidelines and plans, advises other agencies on historic sites and structures, and assists and educates the public. It does not designate by its own act — it recommends sites, structures and neighborhoods to the Council, and landmarks and districts are designated by ordinance of the Common Council; once designated, the Commission administers the preservation standards the designation carries. Its instrument is the Certificate of Appropriateness: no construction, reconstruction, alteration, demolition or moving of a designated landmark proceeds without one, and a COA is valid for one year from issue. The Commission's standards run at two levels, Group A and Group B, set out in its Standards and Guidelines — a document still maintained, in its fourth version as edited in November 2025, its district standards adopted 20 June 2023 and its landmark standards 21 August 2023. In March 1999 the Common Council closed the law's plainest gap: an amendment to the preservation article, passed 22 March and signed 23 March 1999, gave proposed landmarks interim protection — six months, or until the Council approves or rejects the designation — so that a building could no longer be altered or demolished in the space between its proposal and its designation. The Commission as a body of city and county government is the Government account's subject; what it has done with the law is this account's, and the entries around this one are that record.

Sources:

1. City of South Bend, Historic Preservation Commission page (southbendin.gov), as updated 29 July 2026 — the establishment by ordinance in 1973; the nine-member structure and appointing bodies; the jurisdiction; the powers; the Certificate of Appropriateness and its one-year validity.
2. City of South Bend landmark ordinances (e.g., the designation of 310 West Monroe Street; the designation of 113 Laurel Street, Bill 41-09) — the citation of Ordinance No. 5565-73, as amended.
3. Historic Preservation Commission of South Bend and St. Joseph County, Preservation Standards for Historic Landmarks — the citation of Ordinances #5567-73 and #54A-973; the COA requirement before construction, reconstruction, alteration, demolition or moving; the Group A and Group B levels.
4. Historic Preservation Commission, Standards and Guidelines, Version 4 (adopted 20 June 2023, Districts; 21 August 2023, Local Landmarks; edited 6 November 2025).
5. City of South Bend Ordinance amending Chapter 21, Article 6.5 (Bill 104-98; passed 22 March 1999, signed 23 March 1999) — interim protection of proposed landmarks for six months.