Historic District Commission (HDC) – Page 5

We made some changes to the proposed Historic District Commission (HDC) Charter amendment in response to some excellent feedback we received. I replaced the old language with the new on this website, so you’ll only see the current (new) language when you click the blue boxes at the top right of any page on this site. I also eliminated the drop-down menu for the blue boxes because I received feedback that my original set up was kind of confusing.

The new language is attached to all petitions that will be circulated shortly for signatures. In brief, the changes are as follows:

- In the past, the HDC has arbitrarily applied borrowed standards that are outside of the Michigan Local Historic Districts Act (LHDA) to argue over resident fences and landscaping choices, for example. We’ve added a new Section 16.9(a) expressly limiting the HDC to the standards referenced in the LHDA. This is appropriate because the LHDA is the state statute that authorized the creation of our local historic district and the HDC should be limited to applying the standards authorized by the act, not any other standards it arbitrarily chooses to use.

- We completely revised the “Delegation of Authority” in Section 16.9(d) to allow the HDC to delegate its authority to limited people, in limited circumstances, to issue a certificate of appropriateness. The authority to do this would be delegated only to the HDC chair, HDC secretary, or the city manager. This would apply only to “minor classes of work” defined in written standards that the city council approves. An example of a likely circumstance could be a leaky roof where the owner wishes to replace asphalt shingles with asphalt shingles. This limited approval procedure is allowed by the LHDA and designed to allow for HDC approval in emergency situations without causing members to violate the Open Meetings Act. The HDC will be required to establish clear standards for these limited circumstances, receive city council approval for the standards and circumstances, and the HDC must review all certificates of appropriateness issued using this process on a quarterly basis to determine whether the standards need to be revised or the delegation of authority should be changed. Any issue not included in this limited procedure will have to be considered at properly noticed regular or special HDC meetings.

- Section 16.9(h) regarding stop work orders originally prohibited the HDC from issuing stop work orders. This section was revised to prohibit the HDC from asking anyone else to issue a stop work order on the HDC’s behalf. There is no authority under the LHDA to issue stop work orders. This change was made in recognition of the fact that the HDC has not directly issued stop work orders but instead has requested the building department to issue them.

At the end of the day, I think we are all on the same page when it comes to preserving our history while recognizing that our residences are homes, not museums. I perceive these proposed changes as positive because they allow for preservation of our historic district; firmly establish control of the HDC in the elected council members, who are directly accountable to Clarkston voters; and they protect taxpayers by ensuring that HDC expenditures are approved by the city council.

We hope these changes will cause a shift within the HDC from a mindset of enforcement and arbitrary edicts to cooperation and education. Hopefully, this will encourage people who have avoided home improvements because they didn’t want to deal with the HDC to reconsider. This will benefit everyone in the city whether they live in the historic district or not because some home improvements allow the city to charge more property taxes, and we presume increased revenue to the city will allow the city to invest in more projects that will benefit everyone (and improve the value of all our homes).

Once again, I’d like to extend my heartfelt thanks in advance to the petition circulators and everyone who signs it – your efforts will allow Clarkston voters the opportunity to create a more positive bridge between us and our HDC!

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Category: Historic District Commission (HDC)

A Quick Update on the Proposed HDC Charter Proposal