Having a historic preservation program contributes to the social, economic, and environmental well-being of the town. Preservation supports a sense of community identity through the promotion and recognition of the town’s history as physically embodied in historic properties like our Lyons Sandstone Building District on the National Register of Historic Places. Financial incentive programs, like the Federal Income Tax Credits for Historic Preservation, support the success of local businesses located in historically designated buildings; furthermore, studies in communities across the nation have proven that both residential and commercial properties located in designated historic districts tend to appreciate at a faster rate than those properties in the surrounding market. Additionally, historic preservation encourages environmental sustainability by promoting the adaptive reuse and rehabilitation of existing buildings; this acknowledges the expense in embodied energy of new building materials and keeps unnecessary demolition and construction waste out of the landfill.