Historic commission approves up to $2,500 to mail survey notifications to property owners

The Carmel Historic Preservation Commission approved a budget of up to $2,500 to prepare and mail notifications to property owners whose properties were added in the commission’s recent update to the city historic-architecture survey.

Commission staff explained that compiling name-and-address lists for roughly 1,100 properties is time-consuming and that county systems do not provide a simple “easy-button” to bulk-resolve owner names to addresses. Staff proposed mailing to the property’s street address with an addressee such as “Property Owner” for the initial round, with a possible second targeted mailing timed to the facade-grant application period.

Commissioners discussed options including hiring a temporary contractor, using county GIS lookups for smaller targeted sections, and buying commercial lists as a supplement. One commissioner suggested breaking the work into smaller sections and manually assembling owner names for neighborhoods that might become proposed local historic districts.

After discussion, a commissioner moved and the commission approved allocating up to $2,500 to produce and mail the notification, with staff to schedule a public meeting for owners and to pair mailings with later facade-grant outreach. Staff recommended scheduling the owner outreach meeting in June to avoid overlap with the May facade grant awards process and the staff member’s planned absence in May.

Staff said the mailing will describe what survey inclusion means — including that survey status can subject a property to the city’s demolition-delay process — and invite recipients to a public meeting where commission members will discuss the survey and answer questions. The commission noted that future, more targeted mailings could include owner names if staff is able to compile them or if the commission hires help.

The motion passed on a voice vote.