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Council adopts changes to historic‑preservation ordinance, adds owner consent and delivery confirmation
Summary
Council adopted amendments to the city’s historic preservation ordinance that require written consent of property owners for individual designations and require owners representing at least 50% plus one of properties for a local historic district; staff must confirm delivery of notices by certified or verifiable delivery methods.
The City Council adopted on second reading amendments to Chapter 12, Article 11 (Historic Preservation) that revise designation procedures and public‑notice requirements.
Deputy Director Marissa Robinson summarized the two principal changes the council requested at the prior hearing: (1) that the city must provide notice to all property owners of each property proposed for designation using a delivery method that confirms receipt (examples listed include certified mail, FedEx, UPS or hand delivery); and (2) that no individual historic property may be designated without the written consent of the property owner and that a local historic district may not be designated without the written consent of owners of at least 50% plus one of the properties in the proposed district. The ordinance also revised boundary‑change and appeal language in related subsections.
There was limited public comment on the ordinance at the hearing. Council debate included concerns about voluntary versus mandatory approaches to designation; one council member said the updated ordinance is an improvement but spoke against mandatory designation approaches and urged emphasis on voluntary participation. The ordinance passed on second reading with one recorded dissent.
Action: Ordinance 15‑82 amending historic preservation provisions was adopted on second reading by council vote.
