Politics & Government

Planning Commission to Revisit City's Historic Preservation Ordinance

It's been six years since the ordinance has been reviewed. Following the recent decision on the fate of the Heideloff property, the planning commission thinks it's time for a second look.

Following the recent decision on the Heideloff property, the Lakewood Planning Commission wants to have another look at the city’s historic preservation ordinance.

No changes to the ordinance are proposed, said Dru Siley, the city’s director of planning and development.

“After the historic designation discussion about the Heideloff property, the planning commission wanted to put the ordinance on the docket as a discussion item to discuss any questions they have about the ordinance,” he said. “There were some concerns about ambiguity in the ordinance.

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“They’re going to begin that discussion.”

Siley added that the planning commission had some questions about who could nominate a property and what determines whether a property should be designated.

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The historic landmark ordinance is written as a two-step process: First the planning commission must decide if a property is eligible for the designation.

Then, it decides whether a property should receive the designation.

Lakewood City Council OK’d the ordinance in 2008.

“Now that it’s being used and applied, the commission wants to more thoroughly discuss that ordinance. They are not proposing any changes.”

Neighbors of the home at 13474 Edgewater Drive proposed the home for historic designation status, but the homeowners objected.

In the end, the commission sided with the homeowners. The neighbors appealed the planning commission’s decision, which was upheld.

Then, the homeowners scrapped their plans to demolish the home to build a new $2 million home.

The upcoming planning commission meeting is slated to take place in the auditorium of Lakewood City Hall at 7 p.m. on May 2.


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