Harrisonville’s Community Development Director has brought forward proposed code amendments to Divisions 7–10 of Article XVI governing the H-1 Historic Preservation Overlay District, with the Historic Preservation Commission asked to recommend approval. The effort responds to State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) recommendations and the 2021 Historic Preservation Plan, and includes revising maintenance standards, appeals, fees and penalties, and references to the city’s design-review guidebook. Staff notes that the current ordinance needs alignment with the SHPO model, integration of prior but un-incorporated amendments, and cleanup of definitions and enforcement roles.This is a policy and code-modernization initiative that may require or benefit from outside legal, planning, and design-guideline expertise, and it sets the framework for future project-level reviews, enforcement, and potentially a broader update of districtwide design guidelines and preservation program materials.

Staff reviewed ordinances from ten Missouri jurisdictions and the SHPO model ordinance; city uses "Harrisonville’s Guidebook for Landmarks and Preservation Districts" as Appendix A to the zoning code.