The Marietta City Council continues to discuss the Historic Preservation Rules in place within the city. According to the MDJ, the meeting last night was quite interesting.
The historic preservation ordinance issue divided the council as Mayor Bill Dunaway used his veto Monday to keep a proposed change to the ordinance on a schedule to be considered at the council’s June meeting.
The story continues…..
Historic preservation rules permit property owners to keep their properties from being listed in a historic district if one is created by the city.
State standards do not include that provision.
If a property were listed in a historic district, its owners would be subject to restrictions governing how they could use their property and what they could do on it.
“I think there’s still a lot of confusion about what the new ordinance would mean if we adopt it,” Ward 3 Councilwoman Holly Walquist said.
Ward 2 Councilman Grif Chalfant exchanged heated words with Dunaway after Ms. Walquist said she planned to vote to put off debate on the ordinance.
“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t chastise my fellow council member,” Chalfant said, angry that Dunaway was arguing with Ms. Walquist.
Ultimately, Chalfant, Ms. Walquist, Ms. Lewis, Ward 7 Councilman Philip Goldstein and Ward 5 Councilman Anthony Coleman voted to kill Dunaway’s veto.
What are you thoughts on the issue of Historic Preservation for our community? This brings us to the issue of the beautiful trees in the historic downtown area.
Should the beautiful, large trees in our community be preserved as well as the historic homes and buildings? We now have a nice patch of treeless land at the new Walnut Grove development. At some point, maybe the city should require that larger trees be planted when a clear cut occurs. Does putting a sapling in the ground where a 100 year old oak once stood meet your standards? Share your opinion below!
