Photograph by Robert Scheer
The Crowell House, located on Douglass Lane, is one of the roughly 100 structures listed on the city's Heritage Resource Inventory
By Loretta McCarty
In an effort to protect the city's historic properties from "over-the-counter approvals" of modifications, the Heritage Commission has drafted a policy that would require projects to be reviewed by the commission and incorporate its recommendations.
The commission presented this development review policy to the City Council at a joint meeting June 5. The proposal suggests that any intended modifications to a resource listed in the Heritage Resource Inventory or located on a designated Heritage Lane that is exempt from the administrative-review or public-hearing design-review processes should be reviewed by the Heritage Commission Chair and one other commissioner. They would decide whether the project needs to be reviewed by the entire commission.
The proposal further asks that any modification to a designated historic landmark should automatically be reviewed by the entire commission and that after the review, the applicant should be required to incorporate the recommendations into the final design plans submitted for approval by the Community Development Department staff.
As it now stands, the commission has no direct authority over projects that come up for development.
"We can only make recommendations to the Planning Commission," said Associate Planner George White, the city staff liaison to the Heritage Commission. While the commission can make recommendations as to how to best preserve a building, it has no say if an owner decides to tear a property down.
White says the commission is hoping to expand awareness of the state's Mills Act, enacted in 1976 as an incentive for residential buyers to invest in historic property.
Under this 10-year contract, the owner is obligated to prevent the property from deteriorating and to comply with specific restoration provisions in exchange for tax breaks.
In addition to the proposed draft, the commission proposed studying other cities' preservation plans to make sure Saratoga is doing everything it can to preserve historic sites.
Willys Peck, a member of the commission and a local historian, said, "There is not much left in Saratoga--our walking tours are pretty much where some place used to be."
The council voiced support for the efforts of the Heritage Commission to preserve historic Saratoga buildings and at its June 19 meeting will determine how quickly it can move forward with the proposed development review.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, June 19, 1996.
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