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Highland Park council narrows route for noncontiguous historic districts, approves owner-consent requirement
Summary
The City Council adopted an ordinance requiring owner consent for inclusion in noncontiguous local historic districts, reversing an earlier practice that allowed involuntary inclusion in such districts and prompting extended public comment and debate about preservation tools and individual property rights.
The Highland Park City Council on Sept. 8 approved an ordinance amending the city code to require owner consent before a property can be included in a noncontiguous local historic district. The ordinance change passed after public comment and extended council debate over historic-preservation policy and a pending nomination that city staff and some residents said prompted the timing of the proposal.
The new rule aligns noncontiguous-district nominations with the city's 2018 policy that requires owner consent for local landmark designations, city staff said. Director Fontaine said the change would "prohibit the inclusion of a property from consideration in the proposed noncontiguous local historic district without owner consent" and would not change owner-consent requirements for contiguous historic districts.
The measure drew lengthy public comment from local preservation advocates who argued that noncontiguous districts serve a different practical purpose than landmarking single properties and that requiring near-universal owner…
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