PC 030911 - Laserfiche WebLink

Commissioner Blank started that he generally agrees with what has been said, although he thinks the system is broken but was not sure fixing it with an ordinance is necessarily the right thing to do. He noted that the Commission has heard this tonight from a couple of speakers, and perhaps it was broken by the creation of so much vagueness and contradiction in the guidelines that contributes to a lengthy and frustrating process. He also acknowledged the great deal of process re-engineering and work that went into the CSRT. Commissioner Pearce stated that as the Commissioner who pushed for this conversation to begin, she is appreciative of the Planning Commission, the public, and , noting that she believes everyone agrees that resources in town and the character of the community are very important. She noted that the form it will take is up for debate, but based upon the reading she has done and the conference she attended on historical preservation, a lot of innovation has occurred in the last ten years, and there are many new things out there that can really help to alleviate some of these issues. Commissioner Pearce stated that she is in favor of private property rights, in favor of streamlining, and in favor of having information be out there so the City is not enveloped in a morass of several ordinances. She noted that if the Commission has difficulty understanding all the documents provided on historic preservation, she can only imagine what it is like for the average homeowner in a Downtown district to figure out what to do. She indicated that she knows there are implementation changes the Commission can look into to help fix this for everybody and can preserve what the community thinks is important to preserve. She noted that she is not interested in a National Historic Register or whether someone of significance has lived in a home, but rather starting a conversation in the broader community about what is important to the City as a community and streamlining the process to arrive at that goal. She added that she thinks if this is done and information is provided up front, it will result in a goal that people can rally around. She indicated that she is not sure what the answer is but knows that in hearing experts talk, there is a lot of great things that can be utilized in the community. Chair Narum agreed with her fellow Commissioners does not support an ordinance at this point. She thanked Mr. Dolan for his presentation, noting that there are a number of things identified in the DTSP that have not been completed and need to be done. She indicated that at this point, her thinking would be to refine the DTSP and DTDG and take into account the things that Mr. Peter MacDonald stated regarding looking at economic vitality and including the hospitality ordinance. She stated that she would like to see a district created in the future only from the standpoint of drawing people to the Downtown, and suggested refining the DTSP and DTDG to provide enough specificity so it is clearer, along with some flexibility. PLANNING COMMISSION REGULAR MINUTES, March 9, 2011 Page 19 of 24