Local historic zoning guidelines may be tweaked
A recent meeting between city officials and a Tennessee Historical Commission representative wasn’t as revealing as the questions answered later.
During the meeting, certified local government coordinator Rob Crawford from the Tennessee Historical Commission presented a slide show regarding the importance of having a historic district.
At that time, being new in the position, he was unable to answer some questions. Those answers came later in an e-mail sent to city administrator David Rutherford which was presented to city aldermen last week by fellow Alderman Jimmy Haley.
In July 2007, officials allowed the establishment of the Historic Ad Hoc Committee. The diverse group was given the job of revising the current Historic Zoning Guidelines. At that time, they were instructed that the new manual must be approved by the board.
After being questioned about this process, Crawford believes the Historic Zoning Commission should be the one in charge of revision and approval.
‘Since it is the HZC that must be responsible for issuing Certificates of Appropriateness, the HZC must also be responsible for drafting and approving Design Review Guidelines (Historic Zoning Manual),’ he said.
Also, in his opinion, McMinnville’s current guidelines are fine and any changes made should be done with hesitation.
‘The HZC also has the responsibility to rule consistently, and thus all the more reason for those guidelines to be sound enough to provide for defensible decisions ‘ to avoid, in other words, arbitrary or capricious determinations by the HZC,’ said Crawford.
If a court determines an HZC has acted arbitrarily or capriciously in denying a COA and not following due process, it can require the HZC to reconsider the application. To avoid this situation, changes should be done professionally.
‘The current McMinnville guidelines are entirely satisfactory to our office but, if you do wish to revise them, I would strongly suggest that you take advantage of the opportunity to apply to our office for a CLG (certified local government) grant to have them professionally done,’ said Crawford. He recommends contacting Thomason and Associates Preservation Planners.
Founded in 1982, the company has worked on more than 700 projects. When it comes to design review guidelines, the company prides itself on clarity and practicality, two things that make the work of local historic commissions and review boards easier.
As for the grants, Tennessee Historical Commission is required to allocate at least 10 percent of the Historic Preservation Fund Grants to certified local governments. Because McMinnville is a CLG, it would receive priority status in grant funding available.
To help ease tensions between the HZC and historic district property owners and to speed up the process of obtaining a COA, he highly recommends establishing a Minor Works Committee as a subcommittee of the HZC. The HZC could grant administrative approval for some COAs either through its staff (Planning and Zoning Department) or through such a committee.
‘The advantage of having COAs granted by staff or Minor Works is that it speeds the process along and tends to build public goodwill as a result,’ said Crawford. ‘A hearing before the full committee is not required and it allows them to concentrate their attentions on more involved applications.’
A Minor Works Committee is made up of no more than three people – two from the HZC and one staff member.
According to his records, one community in North Carolina grants staff/ Minor Works approvals for 31 items. Of the 247 COAs approved last year, 193 were approved either by staff or through the Minor Works Committee.
Officials have not set a time to discuss the answers received from Crawford.