ATHOL – Businesses, property owners, and area residents will have one last chance to comment on a new set of design guidelines being proposed for downtown Athol.

A public presentation of the guidelines being proposed by Innes Associates Ltd. will take place at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, June 11, at the Athol Public Library. The Newburyport-based consulting firm was hired to assist the Downtown Vitality Committee in revising the existing guidelines, which haven’t been updated since 1997.

“The plan is that they’ll come to that meeting and present the final set of recommendations that they have,” Director of Planning and Development Eric Smith said. “Obviously, if there are some things people want to see changed, they’ll take those comments in time to go back and make some changes before the June 30 deadline. It’s a state-funded project and that’s the end of the current fiscal year.”

Smith said the guidelines put together 27 years ago worked at that time, but are in need of an update.

“Things regarding signs and awnings and things like that definitely need some updating and some new photos,” he said. “But the consultants felt there were some things that are missing from that document, like effective storefront design and display.”

Several dozen people filled out an online survey seeking input on various issues related to downtown design.

“Some of the comments that we got from the public in the survey process,” Smith said, “were basically talking about streetscape issues; whether we need more street trees or benches, things that are basically in the public realm. Obviously, the town has more control over the streetscape components. But private development and private property require a different process and that’s why they’re design guidelines at this point. These are things we’d like to see happen.”

During the upcoming public meeting, Smith said there’s likely to be some discussion on the development of zoning bylaws, which would codify some of the guidelines, transforming them from guidelines to requirements.

“But under state planning laws, you can’t really regulate style,” said Smith. “You can regulate building height and setbacks, thing like that, but that’s why – for now – we’re calling them guidelines. There are tools you can use, like site plans, to kind of impose things – but that’s a discussion for a later date.”

While design guidelines might seem like a fairly mundane topic, Smith said, they are important for the health of a vibrant downtown.

“We have a lot of older architecture here and it’s better, just for aesthetics, to have a nice-looking building rather than something like a cardboard or plastic sign or a banner which is out of character with the traditional elements,” said Smith. “Design guidelines are at least a way to educate people about what the folks – residents and the Downtown Vitality Committee and the Planning Board – would like to see. We’d like to see some of the buildings renovated and be able to maintain historic elements.”

Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.