Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Historic Designation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Woodland Park preservation panel seeks legal clarity on whether Robert’s House designation covers barn
Summary
The Historic Preservation Committee found conflicting ordinance language about whether the designation at 750 CR21 covers only the house or the entire property (including an older barn) and agreed to consult city legal counsel before pursuing any amendment or grant work that requires property-level designation.
Members of the Woodland Park Historic Preservation Committee reviewed earlier minutes and the ordinance language tied to the Robert’s House historic designation and found inconsistent wording about the property boundaries.
Committee members said the 2006 architectural inventory form and one of the ordinance 'whereas' clauses describe the property as a whole, while another clause appears to reference only a structure. That discrepancy left it unclear whether the barn on the Robert’s House property at 750 CR21 is included in the local designation.
The committee agreed to ask the city's legal staff to interpret the ordinance language and the inventory description before taking further steps. If legal counsel determines the barn is not covered, members noted the remedy would likely require amending the ordinance with a first and second reading, a process committee members estimated could take about two months.
Committee members emphasized the practical stakes: local designation is a prerequisite for many funding sources and for some preservation protections, so confirming the legal scope is necessary before grant applications or planning work that assume the whole parcel is designated.
The committee tasked staff to locate the ordinance and the inventory entry, confirm the legal description, and report back. The minutes approving those corrections were passed at the start of the meeting; no public hearing items were scheduled for this session.
Next steps: staff will consult the city attorney about the ordinance language, confirm whether the barn falls on the same legal tract as the designated property, and return to the committee with a recommended path (legal clarification or ordinance amendment).
