Preservation advocate urges neighbors to press legislators for exemption after 2024 middle-housing bill

Commenter, a resident, told meeting attendees that the 2024 middle‑housing legislation passed without exempting historic‑preservation (HP) districts and urged neighbors to contact legislators and organize to seek an exemption. “We have been in this situation since 2024,” Commenter said, adding that the city’s government‑relations office opposed multiple zoning bills that year.

Commenter said the city and outside lobbyists pushed to keep historic districts exempt from provisions in the middle‑housing bill but were unsuccessful. “What they didn't wanna hear, and refused to hear, was about exempting HP,” Commenter said. The speaker said certain HP design controls and demolition timelines remain in place under the current law but that explicit exemption for historic districts was not granted when the bill passed.

The resident pointed to an effort to find legislative sponsors for an exemption. Commenter asked Aaron Marcus, identified in the meeting as a legislator in the area, to champion an exemption; the speaker said Marcus did not secure a hearing and the effort “died.” Commenter said organizers are again asking Marcus to run a bill and are seeking additional sponsors—preferably from other cities and including a Republican sponsor—to advance an exemption.

Organizing and legal review are underway, Commenter said: organizers are “fast and furious working with outside, an outside lawyer to see if there's what we can do.” The speaker urged residents to write legislators both inside and outside the district, noting that rural voters can influence outcomes and that the short‑term rental group discussed at the League of Cities meeting has offered to join the effort.

Commenter framed the effort as defending longstanding neighborhood character and property value, saying residents who moved into historic districts “have every right to fight for your neighborhood.” The speaker also criticized opposition within the community, saying, “Willow is just whining,” while acknowledging that the Willow historic district has been effective at organizing and often secures desired outcomes.

Discussion at the meeting centered on organizing strategy, legislative outreach, legal review, and coalition building; no formal motion or vote on a legislative strategy was recorded during the remarks. The speaker urged immediate outreach to legislators as new zoning bills begin to be written and encouraged residents to coordinate across districts and interest groups to seek a legislative exemption for historic districts.