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It should be noted that the first sentence of paragraph 1 and also paragraph 4 are not in fact sentences. If these are "recommendations" what impact do they have? Additional Comments: The following comments are mine alone, based on my own perceptions. They might or might not be shared by other members of the Standards Committee, but I do not speak for anyone but myself. The process of creating the Proposed Guidelines and Standards was unnecessarily antagonistic. From the outset, the Chapin Park LHD Standards Committee sought to identify the degree of flexibility we were allowed in revising what was viewed by all as a seriously flawed document. We were given only vague opinions at our first meeting that we `don't need to touch this section" or that section, when in fact the sections referred to contained blatant flaws as well as contradictions and inconsistencies with verbal and written representations made to the neighborhood. Those of us who aggressively undertook to address these flaws and inconsistencies were often met with impatience, scorn, arrogance, paternalism and at times outright hostility. It felt at times that we were fighting an entrenched bureaucracy that resisted change even when change was for the better and the alternative was to continue living with error. Despite this resistance and hostility, and despite an arbitrary deadline imposed upon us, the Standards Committee arrived at a consensus behind a greatly improved document that we felt could serve as a model for correcting and revising the standards of the other LHDs in the county. This required compromise and patience, as the members of the committee represented a true cross section of the strongly held divergence of opinion present in the neighborhood. When the HPC staff was presented with the result of our weeks of work, we were met with arguments that printing of the final document was already contracted out, and that we were not allowed to make such sweeping changes. The Director of the HPC gave assurances to Common Council members who had heard our neighbors concerns about the uncertainty surrounding the so called "guidelines" that the original mailing was just a draft and that the final guidelines would be those selected and agreed upon by the neighborhood. When reminded of these assurances, the Director's response was "I was mistaken". To their credit, the President of HPC and the chairman of the Standards Committee were able to work out an agreed upon (between the two of them) draft incorporating many of the improvements in language and structure drafted by the Committee. There are certain