Ben and Carrie Modlin vs. Historic Preservation Commission (COA#2019-1007A)

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Commissioner Hertel left the proceedings at 6:57pm. Commissioner Hertel rejoined the proceedings at 7:00pm C. COMMITTEE REPORTS i. Disposition of Historic Preservation Assets 1. N/A ii. Standards Update 1. Indiana Landmarks is funding of a development of a `model guideline', and HPC is a partner. a. Commissioner Eric Stalheim has been hired to be a consultant on that `model guideline.' This alters the timeline somewhat. b. Commissioner Downs-Krostenko inquired about a committee that would be working on this project. c. Administrator Feasel stated that she would like to have Todd Zeiger to come in and speak to the Commission regarding what the model guideline would be. 2. Two additional grants will be used to present this process to the public a. National Trust for Historic Preservation Grant b. Indiana Humanities—Historic Preservation Education Grant 3. Commissioner Downs-Krostenko stressed that Staff are intimately aware of where the issues are within the Standards and Guidelines. She asked for clarification as to what specific categories cause problems that could be updated a. Administrator Feasel stressed that there are nine different Standards;they are similar but have nuances in language. The goal is to consolidate those standards into one Standard,with addenda as necessary(to keep that unique character for specific neighborhoods). b. Lead paint is not covered as extensively in the guidelines. 4. Commissioner Hertel stressed that we could make the guidelines more stringent,and that a guideline change could result in a legal precedence. a. Legal Counsel Kennedy stated that—if there is homeowner input,and the neighborhood charettes—that you are starting with a clean slate. b. Commissioner Downs-Krostenko stressed that previous staff left the guidelines purposefully ambiguous so that projects could be reviewed by staff in Chapin Park,and that has left the door open for bad decision making. It is important to review these changes and the guidelines and ensure that they cannot be used against the tenets of historic preservation. c. Specialist Toering stressed that the nine historic districts have robust standards in comparison to the Group B Standards, which allow for a considerable amount of ambiguity. In some ways this allows for room for the Commission to negotiate and maneuver,and in other ways it allows for the applicant to do things that are very strange. Group B has the widest range and extremes of style that are covered in the least amount of text. If you are going to make the district guidelines tighter,you must have the buy-in from the people from the neighborhoods. 5. Commissioner Hertel asked about the idea that Indiana Landmarks had previously discussed a rating system,and that we do our community a disservice if we only meet the minimum requirement.