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Following through with the HPC's Minimum Maintenance Standards added many •hours of staff time over the course of the year as did the various legal challenges that were posed to Historic District guidelines. Since even the simplest application takes up to an hour of staff time to complete and the majority of applications take up many more hours than that (consulting with the owner/contractor, doing research, site visits, assembling materials and reports, correspondence etc.), the addition of a new historic district -- River Bend -- and the possibility of additional districts in the near future make it increasingly imperative that the HPC find the means with which to expand the staff. Overall the overwhelming majority of COA, maintenance and legal matters encountered last year have been brought to successful conclusions. The most troublesome cases seem to be the result of owners being ignorant of our procedures and/or an unwillingness on the part of a small minority to comply voluntarily with regulations they do not agree with. COMMISSION POLICY DECISIONS Following is a synopsis of HPC policy decisions that were approved in 1992: In February the HPC adopted an addendum to Landmark Standards ("Moving Structures") that specified the criteria for allowing a designated building to be moved to another site. This policy clearly delineates the rationale required for such a move: the owner must demonstrate that the move is •consistent- with the preservation of the historical and architectural characteristics of the structure. In March the HPC approved Demolition Standards to be applied to Local Landmarks and structures within Local Historic Districts. Demolition of structures is not encouraged but the policy provides guidance for a owner that wishes to demonstrate that a building is no longer viable. The HPC requires that an owner provide evidence that: 1. the structure is uneconomical; 2. is in an advanced state of disrepair; 3. that appropriate renovation is impractical and; 4. that the owner has investigated all reasonable alternatives to demolition. In April the HPC adopted a policy for the preservation of "original landmarks and buildings." In brief, the policy states that the commission shall require a structure to be maintained in the condition it was in when designated; in effect, a structure's "originality" is considered to be that state found at the time of designation. This however, does not stop the commission from allowing an owner to return a structure to its original form. LOCAL HISTORIC LANDMARKS The HPC successfully lobbied for the designation and protection by ordinance of four (4) Local Historic Landmarks in the county and city and approved one (1) Landmark by Resolution: 635 South Main Street -- The Studebaker Administration Building The Common Council voted in March to approve the HPC's recommendation for the designation of this important structure -- one of the last buildings of the 3