Jefferson City's Historic Preservation Commission reopened its demolition ordinance proposal, following a meeting with city staff to review concerns.
The commission approved the proposed document two months ago, after investing about 27 hours of review and discussion, Chairman Art Hernandez said.
The commission had provided working copies of the proposal to city staff seeking input on multiple occasions and thought its copy was in an acceptable form.
However, at Tuesday's meeting, City Attorney Drew Hilpert and Janice McMillan, director of planning and protective services, voiced concerns about potential lawsuits and excessive staff time.
Hilpert said he was concerned the changes would take rights from property owners and remove decision-making from the city. He suggested the wording be more specific with well-defined terms and objective criteria.
The proposal would send any application for demolition, not released by the commission, to the City Council for a decision. If the demolition application was denied by the council, the property owner then could appeal to the circuit court.
The proposal also creates more expectations for city staff, such as notification of interested parties and neighbors related to a particular demolition address.
McMillan asked new procedures be standardized similarly to what is required of other commissions, like planning and zoning.
She also suggested the commission might consider targeting the demolition application changes for a specific area of town, rather than the entire city.
During public comments, historic property owner Steve Veile agreed the area designated as Old Town might serve as a possible target. Veile also was encouraged the proposal provides greater checks and balances for property owners while placing the decision in the hands of elected officials.
Historic City of Jefferson President Tammy Boeschen noted many Missouri cities have more stringent historic preservation ordinances than this proposal. The organization originally prepared a version of this ordinance change for the commission to begin its process.
Resident Vicki Schildmeyer encouraged the commission to send this version to the council, to give the city more tools to address the abandoned building concerns.