Beginning summer of 2016, Cooper-Young residents came together to form a committee to pursue Landmarks District status for the neighborhood. The goal was to safeguard the neighborhood's historic homes and give residents a voice in shaping new developments throughout the area. Over the last year, we have worked together to draft guidelines detailing how new construction and additions to existing structures might fit with the neighborhood. We have held three community meetings -- two of which focused on asking for feedback on the proposed guidelines -- and a good faith vote open to all property owners in the proposed district. This vote not only had a higher turnout than expected, it also showed that 86% of engaged property owners are in favor of gaining Landmarks District status for Cooper-Young.

Now that the community has voted, the CY Landmarks Committee is ready to submit our application to the city. This process will include three public hearings in front of various city boards, with the final decision being made by the City Council. Before we get there, we'll need to fund three rounds of first class mailings to every property owner in the proposed district plus post at least 10 large signs before the first public hearing. We estimate that this will cost about $3000 total. With a generous match from the Cooper-Young Community Association, we'll still need to raise about $1500 to submit our application.

We know that this whole project is one giant community effort so we're asking for your help! All it will take is a few dollars each from supporters like you and we know we'll be able to make our goal. As we move forward in this process, we hope that you will stand with the CY Landmarks Committee and show our elected officials how invested we are in protecting the past and shaping the future of our great community.