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Public requests delay on Landmarks Commission ordinance updates; council schedules further review
Summary
A resident urged council not to waive the third reading of amendments to Chapter 28 (Landmarks Commission), saying commissioners were promised redlined code versions and need more time. Planning and legal staff summarized changes and said they had provided redlined copies after the October meeting; the item will return for further consideration.
During public comment at the Nov. 18 meeting a resident, Lisa Sell of 434 Madison Street, asked the council not to waive the third reading of proposed amendments to the Landmarks Commission ordinance (Chapter 28), saying several commissioners had not received redlined documents they had requested and needed more time to review new appeal procedures and other changes.
Planning staff and the city attorney summarized the ordinance updates in the council’s later discussion. Proposed changes include specifying that the Landmarks Commission have a chair and defining the chair’s term, directing community development to provide application forms and to set fees administratively, clarifying that routine site work and landscaping do not require commission review, aligning the certificate‑of‑appropriateness standard with design guidelines (rather than historic preservation plans), authorizing the commission to impose enforceable conditions and timelines for corrective work, and adding a written appeals procedure to the council.
Staff said the Planning Commission recommended approval at its Oct. 22 meeting, and the Landmarks Commission had reviewed the redlined changes at its Oct. 1 meeting. The attorney said redlined PDFs were sent to commissioners a few days after that meeting; council members asked staff to confirm that those copies reached all commissioners. Because this was a second reading, council members noted that waiving the third reading would accelerate enactment; several members said they preferred to allow time for any remaining review. The item will return for final consideration at a future meeting unless the council votes to waive the third reading at that time.
Aldermen who serve on the Landmarks Commission said the draft pulls language from other boards’ rules to make procedures consistent and to codify practices that have evolved. Staff recommended approval of the proposed updates but agreed to follow up on any outstanding document requests from commission members before final action.
