Landmark Preservation Commission gains control through BACK-DOOR

COME AND VOICE YOUR OPINION.

It is important:

On January 20, the Planning and Zoning Board will review Ordinance No. 003, 2011 and provide a recommendation to City Council.

On February 1, City Council will vote (2nd reading) on Ordinance No. 003, 2011

City Council and the Landmark Preservation Commission (LPC) are taking a back-door approach to gain design control of new development in the Eastside and Westside neighborhoods.

• In a neighborhood that is designated Historic the Landmark Preservation Commission would have the right to review new and renovation projects within that neighborhood. It is very difficult to create a Historic District since you need a majority of the property owners to agree on it. Instead of creating a Historic District, City Council is using new ordinances to take control of design and aesthetic decisions about your home.
• We had a year long study prepared by the planning staff with multiple public meetings and online surveys. People generally rejected the concept of required design guidelines or an “aesthetic code’. It’s too subjective they said.
• At the last minute Staff and City Council revised the proposed code changes and Council voted for an ordinance that had not even been presented to the public. They set the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) and eave heights so low that most projects will have to apply for a variance. Then they threw in the following amendment “Require that an applicant receive a recommendation from a sub-committee of the Landmark Preservation Commission (LPC) prior to requesting a variance for certain development standards.

With this new ordinance the Landmark Preservation Commission will have the right to review most projects in the neighborhood since most projects will require a variance. The LPC will not be required to use the National Park Service Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties since thee projects are not registered historic places. The review will be totally subjective, they can just say “the porch is wrong”, “the windows are too contemporary”, etc. In other words, there are no written rules, guidelines or codes for this review!

From the Landmark Preservation Commission (LPC) webpage:

“Their primary functions are the local landmark designation of historic buildings and the review and approval of plans for exterior changes to these structures”

The LPC should not be an “Architectural Review Committee” for the Eastside and Westside Neighborhoods. This will be a costly and time consuming mistake.