Fairhope councilors, preservation commission debate proposed historic-demolition review ordinance

City of Fairhope staff presented a draft ordinance at a council work session that would create a formal review procedure for demolitions of buildings the city identifies as historically significant.

The draft, introduced by Eric Cortinez, calls for applicants who seek to demolish structures that appear on specified historic lists to meet with the Historic Preservation Commission and to delay issuance of a demolition permit while the property’s significance and alternatives to demolition are considered. "This ordinance does not prohibit somebody from being able to tear down a historic building," Cortinez said. "But what it does is it slows the process down to make sure that the owners of these buildings are given the knowledge they need to make a good decision."

The proposed definitions identify historically significant properties as those appearing on any of several lists: the City of Fairhope’s surveys (the staff referenced a 2015 Schneider report), the Baldwin County Shields & Banners voluntary registry, the Alabama Historical Commission listings, the National Register of Historic Places, and material available from the Fairhope Single Tax website. If a demolition application targets a property on any of those lists, the building department would notify the applicant that the application is subject to the historic review procedure; the review delay would "not exceed 60…