Videos from the Historic Resource Preservation Board (HRPB) workshop on Wednesday, May 18th

Going forward pay attention for upcoming neighborhood meetings addressing issues concerning historic preservation. The dates and times will be published on this blog, the City's website, and other places as well. This workshop set the stage for many conversations to follow, changes to the process, and ways to make the experience a much better and streamlined one for residents, homeowners, and the business community.

The video below is a playlist. In the top left-hand corner is the icon "1/6". Click that to see different parts of the meeting. I'll have much more on this issue over the following weeks and months. There were many ideas by the HRPB and the City staff and the discussion was a very helpful one.
The staff gave a brief overview of historic preservation through a PowerPoint. The first one didn't pick up well on the video, so you can click here to see a pdf copy of the presentation after the first agenda page. The second PowerPoint came out just fine after an adjustment to the lighting in the room.

Public comment was taken and each board member presented a list of their concerns and issues. There seems to be a push to make more of a distinction between contributing and non-contributing properties. That line has blurred over time which results in non-contributing properties being held to a higher standard as if they were contributing. I mentioned the need to look very hard at the interface between the city's bureaucracy and the resident when dealing with historic preservation issues. The message cannot just be that it is more expensive and takes longer to get things done in a historic district. More education needs to be done with the public and the real estate community about the benefits of historic preservation.