Town Trustees Reject Changes to Historic District Rules in 3-2 Vote

Town of Lake City Board of Trustees decided at the September 4 regular meeting not to alter the town’s Historic Preservation Guidelines to allow four-foot fences with six-foot arbors in front of historic homes. This has been a topic discussed by Town trustees for several weeks, after a request was received from a Lake City homeowner.
   During the action items segment of the meeting, Trustee Henry Woods made the motion to not approve changes to be made, and Trustee Diane Bruce seconded the motion.
   Trustee Jesse Kendall, who is also a member of the Hinsdale County Historical Society board, took a pensive moment before speaking, and said the decision was a “difficult one,” ultimately voting against supporting the motion, as did Trustee Landon Whinnery. Mayor Dave Roberts voted in favor, and the motion carried 3-2.
  Chairperson for the Historic Preservation Commission, Kerry Holt, was in attendance at the September 4 meeting, and she said, “I tend to follow with property owner’s rights, and I did a lot of research to find out what a property owner is allowed to do in other communities. It was the same everywhere I looked – four foot fences are allowed, even with arbors, just not in front of the facade of the house. If you allow a fence more than 4 feet tall in front of the home, it blocks the facade and changes the character of the view of the house. This is according to History Colorado. It’s not allowed anywhere in the nation; it’s not just specific to Colorado. I caution you about a slippery slope. For example, I’d love to build a covered front porch in front of my house, but I can’t.”
   In Town Manager Lex Mulhall’s report, he said, “I strongly urge the Board to follow the Historic Preservation Commission recommendation to not change the historic guidelines to allow 4 foot fences with 6 foot arbors in the front of historic properties. The Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) have received training in historic preservation districts and guidelines. They also spent several hours of unpaid time in making a very well-researched and informed recommendation to the Board. If the Board goes against the recommendation of the HPC and changes the guidelines, then I foresee the following unpleasant possibilities opening up before us: adopting the change will set a precedent that will cause others to come and present their recommended changes to the historic guidelines when they are unable to fulfill their desired plans due to not meeting current historic guidelines. Secondly, If 6 foot arbor fences are widely adopted and built by property owners in the historic district, then that will completely change the historic character of our district.
   When History Colorado comes back to do an inventory of the historic properties and sees that the historic character of our district has changed and no longer meets the national guideline standards, we may lose our historic district designation altogether. If we lose our historic district and violate our status as a certified local government, then we also lose the ability to locally designate historic properties like Car 211, and property owners, including the town, will lose access to financial and technical services and funding.”
   Trustee Henry Woods said, “As trustees, we need to protect the historic district. If we were ever to lose that designation, we would lose grants and tax write-offs. Our designation has brought millions of dollars into our town over the years. In 2007, when the country was in a recession, we got all these grants through historic preservation for a variety of historic buildings, including the Hough building – it brought us through the recession. It’s a really important thing. There are towns who have lost their designation and it really hurt them, as it would hurt us. We need to support our Historic Preservation Commission because they’re the ones doing this work for us.”
   Trustee Diane Bruce said, “I have read all the information, and I have put a lot of consideration into this. I understand where Svetlana (Piltingsrud, homeowner) is coming from, but in the end, I agree with the recommendation of the Historic Preservation Commission and I thank Kerry – I’m appreciative of all her hard work, gathering facts and evidence. But I really think opening ourselves up to this would be a mistake. I speak in favor of not changing the guidelines.”
   Trustee Landon Whinnery, said the problem he was having with the issue was that there are a lot of modern-technology substitutes to keep deer out of a yard, such as water spraying, motion sensors, lights, “these things are okay, but a nice-looking arbored fence is not?”
   Trustee Jesse Kendall said, “I understand her side of this. She built a beautiful garden all over her lots. I’m glad I don’t live in the Historic District. I’m really ‘on the fence,’ so to speak.” 
  Mayor Dave Roberts said, “I am a proponent of people’s property rights. It’s not an easy decision. Do we know for certain that an arbored fence really does stop [the deer]? I come back to the fact that it is a designated Historic District and there are guidelines that go with that. When I was a realtor, I made sure every single person I dealt with in selling a home in the historic district – that they were fully aware of what could and could not be done. I had a packet ready with Historic District guidelines, and I made sure they had read it. I feel for her, but in changing the ordinance, I am concerned we would be opening a can of worms. I am not in favor.”
   In other Town news, Town staff and the Board of Trustees are having a difficult time finding new board members. The resignation letter of Trustee Justin Hill was read and formally accepted by the Town Board at their September 18 regular meeting.
   At the September 4 meeting, Town Manager Lex Mulhall cited the following: 31-4-303. Trustees to fill vacancy – mayor pro tem – clerk pro tem. (1) The board of trustees has the power, by appointment, to fill all vacancies in the board or any other office, and the person so appointed shall hold office until the next regular election and until a successor is elected and has complied with section 31-4-401. The board also has the power to fill a vacancy in the board or in any other elective office of the town by ordering an election to fill the vacancy until the next regular election and until a successor has been elected and has complied with section 31-4-401.
(2) If the board, at the time a vacancy occurs or within sixty days thereafter, lacks a sufficient number of members to establish a quorum to fill the vacancy as provided in subsection (1) of this section, the town clerk shall, without further action by the town board, call a special election to be held as soon as practicable to fill the vacancy until the term of office of a successor elected at the next regular election has commenced as provided in section 31-4-301. The board may cancel such election if the board is able to fill the vacancy prior to the date of the special election.
   Mulhall explained that it is considered “best practice” to conduct a special election in a situation where a board is missing the expected number of members, “but since no one has submitted a letter of interest, there would be no point in spending upwards of $12,000 on that,” he said.
   In short, it’s acceptable to have a trustee shortage as long as the remaining board still constitutes a quorum, which by definition is “the minimum number of members of an assembly or society that must be present at any of its meetings to make the proceedings of that meeting valid.” Currently, there are four remaining trustees and Mayor Dave Roberts. Anyone interest in serving on the board can submit a letter of interest at Town Offices in the Armory, or call 970-944-2333 for more information.

   At the September 4 meeting, Town Engineer Joanne Fagan also gave an update to the progress of the Wastewater Treatment Plant renovation project. Although no formal action took place September 4, Fagan was upbeat as she said, “about an hour ago (before the meeting), the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) informed me that we have been granted $375,000 toward the project.”
  Fagan said further, “It makes sense to just proceed with additional loan monies and the grant from DOLA, but regardless, the rates will likely go higher.” Fagan said she reached out to other communities who were in the same situation as Lake City – needing to upgrade their wastewater treatment plant, but falling short on funding and needing to increase rates to help cover the deficit. The wastewater treatment plant renovation project for Lake City is currently  projected to cost approximately $5.6 million.
   Fagan said, “If it’s any consolation, Naturita, (located in Montrose County, Colorado) is looking at $7 million for their plant, and it is lagoon-based like ours. Ouray’s is a mechanical plant and the required upgrades they need to make will be around $18 million. They will be charging customers an additional $70 a month, and their base rate is already higher than ours. I told the Town Manager in Ouray that I thought an additional $57 was high, and she just laughed.”