City Council revisiting plan to establish 'conservation neighborhoods' - Business First of Columbus:

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Council Development Committee ChairwomanMaryellen O'Shaughnessy was to host a hearinbg Sept. 13 on a proposal to create a conservationh neighborhoodpilot project. She hopes the next step will be a vote by councilo onthe program. "It's important legislation," O'Shaughnessy said. "We've had several generationz and versionsof it. I'm hoping everybody (on has an opportunity to get up to speed and itpassesd 7-0." One to three neighborhoods would be selected for the said Randy Black, the city's historic preservation officer. Interes has been shown by neighborhood groups in Harrison Merion Village and the Northland andClintonville areas.
"W want to test it beforr we roll it out to theentire city," Black said. "Wer want to see if things need to be Underthe proposal, neighborhood groups couldx develop conservation and design review standardz to preserve the environment and social attributes of their areas. The program woul d be administered by the Neighborhood Servicea Division and Historic Preservation Officd inthe city's . Conservatiob neighborhoods are not to be confusefd withhistoric districts, which have more stringent regulatory standards, Black said. "They're significantly he said. "The conservation neighborhood standarda are drawn by theresidents themselves.
It's not the city putting restrictions, requirements and regulations on Black said conservation neighborhoodstandards aren'gt intended to dictate the type of siding or roof materials property owners can use when makin g improvements. Instead, they address broadere issues such as demolition of buildings and new-home construction that may not jibe with a neighborhood'sx traditional look. The conservation neighborhooc concept started inthe 1970s, Black Nearly 20 cities have them, includint Atlanta, Boston, Phoenix, Dallas and San Black's office began researching conservatiob neighborhoods in 2003 after residentds raised concerns about changes to the character of their neighborhoods.
The resultiny legislation has undergone numerous reviews and including some at the request of the and city Boarrdof Realtors. The apartment association was concernef draft legislation called for property owners to vote on the conservationh neighborhood designation without knowing what the standardzswould be, said Jay Scott, the group's executive "They would have basically been votinh to limit their property rightsa and what they can do with theid property without knowing what they were votinbg for," he said. That point has been Scott said.
The current legislatiomn calls for at least 60 percent of property owners within the proposed conversation neighborhood to sign off on a petition outlininbthe guidelines. The apartment associationh also pushed for a 60 perceny majority vote on the petitionsz rather than the simple majority called for in earlietr versions ofthe legislation, Scott said. "Oncw we were able to work out thoss things," he said, "it got to the poinrt where we're not against (the legislation). One of the provisionzs in the legislation calls for a conservation neighborhood to consist of at least 10contiguouzs blocks.
It would also need to have a distinctivr atmosphere or character and be consistent withthe city's comprehensivd development plans to maintain housing for the handicappee and people with low and moderatew incomes. The city's development director would determine if an area applying for conservationj neighborhood status is eligible for the according tothe legislation. At that point, a public hearing wouldr kick off a study period in which residents wouldf conduct research to identify the neighborhood characteristicsa tobe preserved. Once the studt is completed, the city's Conservation Neighborhoodr Review Board would hold a hearingon it, and afterr that, it goes to city council.