Changes suggested for historic areas

ThisWeek CW 07/28/2011

http://www.thisweeknews.com/live/content/canalwinchester/stories/2011/07/27/changes-suggested-for-historic-areas.html?sid=104

The Canal Winchester Landmarks Commission agreed unanimously Monday night to recommend changing the name of the city’s preservation area to a preservation district in order to match the terminology used for the historic district.

Members also agreed to recommend amendments to the Old Town overlay and amendments that would create two separate documents outlining preservation area guidelines and historic area guidelines, instead of the current mixed document.

The Old Town Committee and the city’s planning and zoning commission must also approve all recommendations before they are presented to city council for final approval.

Currently, preservation area structure changes are reviewed by the city staff, the Old Town Committee or planning and zoning, as appropriate. If this recommendation is approved by city council, then the Landmarks Commission will review all applications for certificates of appropriateness for the preservation area.

Commissioner Bruce Jarvis was the lone dissenter in the vote to move the recommendations forward.

“One thing I feel very strongly about is that the preservation area was designated as a buffer for the historic district and I hope we aren’t talking about applying the (historic district) rules to a larger area,” Jarvis said. “It was intended to be a buffer from going immediately from black to white and should be more about form and function as opposed to materials. To apply the same strict criteria would be a very tough sell.”

Commission member Patrick Lynch disagreed.

“The preservation area isn’t just a buffer, it is our future historic area because as time goes on, the historic district will grow,” he said. “It may be 50 years from now, but if we don’t enforce the rules, then we won’t have (an expanded historic district). That is why Landmarks was created.”

Jarvis said he couldn’t support the same level of rules for the preservation area that are currently in place for the historic district.

City planning and zoning administrator Andrew Dutton said the recommendation does not change the requirements for the preservation area except to have the oversight done by the Landmarks Commission.

“Now you’ve got a group of people specifically interested in preservation voting on certificates of appropriateness,” Lynch said.

He suggested a subcommittee should complete an in-depth review outside of the scheduled public meetings to make further recommendations to the Landmarks Commission.

Dutton said any votes would have to be held in a public meeting, but said he would speak with legal counsel about the ability of an informal subcommittee to meet outside of public hearings.

Prior to voting on approval of the recommendations, Landmarks Commission members voted to remove the current requirement that says property owners must obtain a certificate of appropriateness when choosing what colors to use on their buildings in the preservation area.

Jarvis noted that he lives in the city’s preservation area and never had any idea that he was supposed to get certified when he painted the exterior of his house.

The Landmarks Commission also voted unanimously to approve an application for Don Hartman Tires to use HardiePlank material to replace rotted wooden soffit at the rear of the building and unanimously approved an application for window signs for The Body Shop, a new business opening at 3 W. Waterloo St.

The next Landmarks Commission meeting will be held at 7 p.m., Monday, Aug 22, in Town Hall, 10 N. High St.