"WE'RE ON TRACK"

After A Year Of Promises, ERI Is About To Deliver A Town Hall

Readers may recall that The Reporter critiqued the August 2024 “Re-Examination Report” of the Masterplan which was delivered by Environmental Resolutions [ERI]. ERI said that Mount Holly leadership found historic preservation too restrictive. The report suggested that the town should simply delete historic preservation from its Masterplan.

There was a significant amount of pushback to this report during latter 2024. When Rich DiFolco was elected that November, the dynamic on council changed. By early 2025, Mr. DiFolco said that the township would not eliminate historic preservation, but that some modifications were needed.

By August of 2025, the Reporter was discussing how the Masterplan was years out of date and that the promised modifications of the Historic Preservation element of that plan were beginning to also be quite late. Mayor Banks promised the modifications in December, then in January.

Last night, Mayor Banks reported that the modification are still not complete but that the process is “on track”. When I challenged that assessment by saying the historic preservation rules have been in limbo for well over a year, the Mayor repeated his position that the process was on track.

While there is no date set yet, the township is promising that ERI will take part in a town hall regarding the changes to Historic Preservation rules in Mt. Holly. Hopefully, a copy of the new rules will be provided to the public with a week to spare before the town hall takes place. This would allow everyone to prepare for the meeting and have questions and comments ready for ERI.

The Reporter has suggested that Mount Holly seek funding for downtown facades so that what happened at Mount Holly News and Card [see below] is avoided in the future. We will keep readers informed as this story develops.