HPC signs off on sending OTR final design guidelines to PNZ, authorizes minor edits

Carbondale’s Historic Preservation Commission reviewed the proposed final Off‑The‑River (OTR) design guidelines and agreed to forward the document to the Planning & Zoning Commission with staff making only minor editorial and formatting changes. Suzanne, the consultant who drafted the guidelines, told commissioners that most recent edits addressed punctuation and clarity and that the state reviewer had suggested minor organizational changes and additional language on sustainability.

Suzanne said the sustainability notes would focus on ways to make historic buildings more energy‑efficient without harming historic materials — measures such as storm windows, storm doors and sensitive glazing — and proposed adding brief cross‑references to existing UDC provisions rather than duplicating code text. Commissioners also pressed for improved document accessibility (larger sans‑serif fonts, left justification, increased contrast and alternative text for images) and readability; Suzanne agreed to implement low‑effort formatting fixes and noted a forthcoming Spanish translation would require further reformatting.

A motion was made to authorize staff to proceed with minor grammatical and formatting adjustments (explicitly excluding substantive content changes), to present the revised packet to Planning & Zoning next week, and to return any substantive changes to HPC for review. The motion passed; the chair confirmed that the overall content will remain unchanged while staff implements low‑impact readability improvements.

The guidelines will be presented to Planning & Zoning next Thursday and later to the Board of Trustees as part of the package; commissioners were encouraged to attend the PNZ meeting and provide additional input there.