Please note that I’ve referred to the Local Historic Districts Act (MCL 399.201, et seq) as the LHDA, the Clarkston ordinance (152.01, et seq of the Clarkston Code of Ordinances) as the Clarkston Ordinance, and the HDC charter proposal as the Charter Proposal.
Discussion:
LHDA, MCL 399.205(9) – The HDC must adopt its own rules of procedure and design standards and guidelines for resource treatment.
Clarkston Ordinance, 152.07(J) – Permissibly allows the HDC to adopt its own rules of procedure but requires the HDC to adopt design review standards and guidelines for resource treatment.
(The LHDA, 399.201a(s), Clarkston Ordinance 152.04, and Charter Proposal 16.2(b) define a “resource” as one or more publicly or privately owned historic or nonhistoric buildings, structures, sites, objects, features, or open spaces located within a historic district.)
Charter Proposal – Requires the HDC to work with the city council to adopt policies and procedures that must be submitted within 30 days after the Charter Proposal is adopted, and the HDC may not act on pending matters before approved policies and procedures are in place. The same process must be followed for policy and procedure revisions. Policies and procedures must be posted in an accessible place on the city’s website and made available in paper form to anyone who wants them.
Notes:
This is separate from the design review standards and guidelines for resource treatment compelled by the LHDA and the Clarkston Ordinance. Requiring approved policies and procedures would not be reinventing the wheel. HDC commissioner Lisa Patercsak publicly stated the HDC has policies and procedures in place (though they are not on the city’s website as she claimed they were). At least one HDC commissioner would presumably be present at a city council meeting to answer questions about any proposed policies and procedures and would undoubtedly receive quick approval from the city council. Policies and procedures are important because they provide clear guidance for everyone about the way the HDC will conduct itself, how it makes decisions, how those decisions can be appealed, etc.
Paid for by Susan Bisio, P.O. Box 1303, Clarkston, MI 48347 with regulated funds.)