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page 13 <br />Mr. Moore's daughter, owner of 602 Harrison, argued <br />that the district's original occupants were <br />middle-class people who did as they liked with their <br />homes. The present occupants should have that same <br />right. If standards were imposed, everyone in the <br />district would be subject to standards, and might <br />only later discover what a nuisance standards were. <br />Mr. Oxian replied that district standards were <br />devised by the residents of a district themselves; <br />the HPC did not mandate them. Landmarks were created <br />by owner consent. <br />Mr. Glenn Moody of 418 W. Madison asked whether the <br />HPC had received his letter of opposition. He <br />declared he still meant everything he'd said in the <br />letter, and left. <br />The owner of 602 Harrison resumed, saying that, while <br />she did not advocate abandoning the neighborhood to <br />decay, she viewed the prospect of district standards <br />with trepidation. She wanted to know what kind of <br />standards they would be; she feared that standards <br />would keep residents from making such repairs as were <br />within their reach. <br />The owner of 510 Lindsey then asked what benefits a <br />historic district offered him; he was not aware of <br />any. <br />Mr. Oxian repeated that neighborhood residents <br />themselves wrote district standards. The HPC offered <br />advice, made model standards available, etc. Decks <br />and vinyl siding were not automatically prohibited, <br />and the HPC always considered owners' individual <br />needs and circumstances when ruling on C of A's. The <br />purpose of this hearing, he said, was simply to <br />establish boundaries; standards were still far in the <br />future. Also, since the issues of standards and of <br />absentee landlords were irrelevant, he wanted no more <br />discussion of them. <br />Ms. Jann Perkins of 602 Harrison said standards would <br />keep homeowners from maintaining their houses in <br />practical, economical, up-to-date ways. She <br />sympathized with Mr. Kahle, the evening's first C of <br />A petitioner, and wondered why he couldn't build a <br />deck if he wanted to. <br />The proposed district, she went on, was a low-income <br />area, and its residents could only afford modest <br />repairs. They were maintaining their homes as best <br />they could, and the burden of standards might make <br />them simply move out. Finally, she questioned why, <br />