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The Caldwell City Council appears to be reacting like a stopped clock on this matter, ie you can do absolutely nothing and be right at least twice a day.
Here is a smattering of the stuff of high importance the City Council is trying to digest:
WILLFUL NEGLECT ORDINANCE
"Mr. Billingsley passed out copies of Bill 10, Ordinance 2825 to the Council which contains three items
sought by the Historic Preservation Commission. The first item deals with fencing standards; the
Commission would like to have the ability to review picket fencing materials that are not made of wood.
Secondly, they would like the ability to require a Certificate of Appropriateness when a wheelchair ramp isbuilt or altered on a historic building.
The third item deals with creating a process to abate a situation where a property owner is willfully neglecting a historic property. Mr. Billingsley explained that City Code prohibits willful neglect of a historic property, but the code does not establish a process to correct the situation. He proposed a code amendment that would give the property owner a chance to appear before the Historic Preservation Commission and work a plan of action to clear up the code violation. If the property does not follow
through with the plan of action, the Commission could send a formal recommendation to the City Council to proceed with legal action.
Several Councilmen stated their concerns about the ordinance. First, Councilman Oates stated that he would not vote for the amendment. Councilman Sobba wondered how staff would be able to determine if a property is being willfully neglected.
Councilman Blacker asked if a definition of willful neglect is in the zoning ordinance.
Councilman Hopper asked if staff could enforce such a process city-wide rather than
just on historic properties.
Elaine Carpenter, representing the Commission, stated that the Commission wants to work with property owners to make their buildings look respectable. She said it is not a goal of the Commission to harass property owners; the amendment would establish a process where staff and the commission can work together to clean up a historic building.
Mike Dittenber from the Caldwell Housing Authority spoke about programs under his direction that could be helpful to the Historic District. He stated that he has the ability to subpoena witnesses and investigate housing dilapidation matters.
Mr. Billingsley suggested that the public hearing for the Willful Neglect ordinance be continued to May 17th. He will discuss the workshop with the Commission before the meeting on the 17th......."
Civic pride in Caldwell is something that is not a commodity not found in abundant surplus and the same can be said for a lot of other cities. The Historic Commission proposal should be something enforced city-wide per Councilman Hopper's input on this matter.
Caldwell's code enforcement program needs to be enhanced with an eye toward addressing "willful neglect" city-wide. Conditions called willful neglect are the face we present to the people who live here as well as those passing through our city. Civic pride while hard to legislate is worth the effort.
We would like to see a summary abatement program added to the WILLFUL NEGLECT ORDINANCE.
How about that swell looking place at the corner of 12th and Dearborn? It is a monument to "willful neglect". This old house could be something of value but the current owner seems content to thumb his nose at city building officials as he takes the place apart with a sawzall and no building permits.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know what if anything has been done with respect to this flagrant violation of just about every building and civic code on the books?
If you are concered that construction is occuring illegally just contact the building department with the address. This is public iformation. Just ask if a permit has beed taken out if not let them know what is going on. Remember that is all public record.
ReplyDeleteWhy did it take nearly two years to get approval for the signs at Boone Memorial Church. We know speed kills but this approval process was beyond reason. The Historic Commission was to bottleneck on this project.
ReplyDeleteCaldwell’s field of dreams moment should be “If they come, we will help build it.” Instead of stricter enforcement of well-intended ordinances, (historic preservation, landscaping etc.) council members should spend energy finding ways to make it easier to work here, live here, or open a business here. Just look at Indian Creek: they made it pretty, but there’s hardly a reason to go there. There’s barely a place to pick up lunch, let alone useable space for me to sit and eat it by the water.
ReplyDeleteA City-wide initiative is indicative of the city’s attitude about “Civic Pride.” It isn’t enough to have a home sweet home sign above your door, it has to be to the Council’s aesthetic, which isn’t hand painted, but shipped in from out of town from an expensive Martha Stewart catalogue. I applaud the HPC for standards, but the council needs to reduce red tape instead of dictate which color red paint is best for your fence. Do that, and the Civic Pride will come more naturally.
Is a D8 Cat traveling across a condemmed allegded "historic property" at 1.7 mph a problem or a solution to the long term betterment of the community?
ReplyDeleteIt never ceases to amaze me how those who own nothing of this nature feel empowered to tell those who do what to do at someone elses expense.