Isn't it true that you could be fined up to $1000 per day or even go to jail for violating Section 58-157?

Isn't it true that you could be fined up to $1000 per day or even go to jail for violating Section 58-157?

I follow with the code you reference in your question. Yes, there is a fine and possible jail time for violating the code. With the protection of historic resources there must be some penalty for those who choose to neglect the home with the intent to "demolish by neglect". There is a similar ordinance for homes left vacant or in disrepair throughout the City the process is longer and the penalty is less rigorous. You can not build back your historic resources new, so there must be a provision for deterring the destruction.

Our personal concern on this blog is the inability of some of our neighbors to maintain their homes. There are provisions within the ordinance and proposed guidelines for those who are not financially capable of maintenance and repair or to adhere to the guidelines in a strict sense. But the cost of maintenance of a home can be expensive and we must continue to depend on our community to address those social issues and take care of our poor. Oakhurst and the City of Decatur has demonstrated the ability and willingness to do such and I am confident that will continue.

Sec. 58-157. Same--Failure to provide; response by preservation commission.
Property owners of historic properties or properties within historic districts shall not allow their buildings to deteriorate by failing to provide ordinary maintenance or repair. The preservation commission shall be charged with the following responsibilities regarding deterioration by neglect:
(1) Monitoring. The preservation commission shall monitor the condition of historic properties and existing buildings in historic districts to determine if they are being allowed to deteriorate by neglect. Such conditions as broken windows, doors and openings which allow the elements and vermin to enter, the deterioration of exterior architectural features, or the deterioration of a building's structural system shall constitute failure to provide ordinary maintenance or repair.
(2) Notice to owner to remedy; time limit. If the preservation commission determines a failure to provide ordinary maintenance or repair, the preservation commission will notify the owner of the property and set forth the steps which need to be taken to remedy the situation. The owner of such property will have 30 days in which to do this.
(3) Failure by owner to remedy; penalty; abatement by commission; owner liability for costs. If the condition is not remedied in 30 days, the owner shall be punished as provided in section 58-4 and, at the direction of the city commission, the preservation commission may perform such maintenance or repair as is necessary to prevent deterioration by neglect. The owner of the property shall be liable for the cost of such maintenance and repair performed by the preservation commission.
(Ord. No. O-90-07, § 11 1/2-7(b), 6-4-90)

Two new questions: (1) Why have you not included City Ordinance Section 58-157 (2) Property rights restrictions

Why have you not included link to City Ordinance Section 58-157 on this blog and discussed that repairs may be required and penalties imposed if repairs not made?

The City Ordinance Section 58-157 does require that contributing homes be kept from such disrepair and neglect that they would deteriorate. The code is as follows:
Sec. 58-157. Same--Failure to provide; response by preservation commission.
Property owners of historic properties or properties within historic districts shall not allow their buildings to deteriorate by failing to provide ordinary maintenance or repair. The preservation commission shall be charged with the following responsibilities regarding deterioration by neglect:
(1) Monitoring. The preservation commission shall monitor the condition of historic properties and existing buildings in historic districts to determine if they are being allowed to deteriorate by neglect. Such conditions as broken windows, doors and openings which allow the elements and vermin to enter, the deterioration of exterior architectural features, or the deterioration of a building's structural system shall constitute failure to provide ordinary maintenance or repair.
(2) Notice to owner to remedy; time limit. If the preservation commission determines a failure to provide ordinary maintenance or repair, the preservation commission will notify the owner of the property and set forth the steps which need to be taken to remedy the situation. The owner of such property will have 30 days in which to do this.
(3) Failure by owner to remedy; penalty; abatement by commission; owner liability for costs. If the condition is not remedied in 30 days, the owner shall be punished as provided in section 58-4 and, at the direction of the city commission, the preservation commission may perform such maintenance or repair as is necessary to prevent deterioration by neglect. The owner of the property shall be liable for the cost of such maintenance and repair performed by the preservation commission.
(Ord. No. O-90-07, § 11 1/2-7(b), 6-4-90)

Why do you state that property rights will not be restricted if Oakhurst becomes LHD when they certainly will be?

I am not certain of your reference to property rights. The local historic district does not restrict the use of your property. There are design guidelines - currently being discussed by the community - that must be followed within the local historic district. It is true that the guidelines restrict some renovations to homes within the local historic district, mostly to contributing homes. The intent of the local historic district is to preserve the block face of the contributing homes in the district, so the restrictions in place encourage renovations that maintain the block face. The guidelines are available on the website http://rbgraphix.com/Oakhurst/index.html or you can request them via e-mail at preserveoakhurst@gmail.com. The guidelines are specific to the proposed local historic district.

Notice of Community Input Meetings with Historic Preservation Commission

East Lake/Mead Road Proposed Local Historic District (aka Oakhurst Local Historic District aka Meade's Station Local Historic District)

The Historic Preservation Commission is in the process of preparing an application for a local historic district in the northwest section of Oakhurst. This process will include a significant amount of public input from residents and property owners to determine the intent of the district and the appropriate ordinance and design guidelines to protect the district if it is created.

Below is an estimated timeline for preparing the application and a public involvement schedule. This timeline could change based on the public comments received during the input process and staff availability. However, the public hearing before the Historic Preservation Commission will not happen before October 2007.

All meetings are scheduled for two hours and will be held at City Hall at 509 North McDonough Street in the City Commission Room.

Public Input on Ordinance & Design Guidelines

Wednesday, May 23, 2007 at 7:00 PM
Tuesday, June 5, 2007 at 7:00 PM
Saturday, June 9, 2007 at 10:00 AM
Saturday, June 23, 2007 at 10:00 AM
Tuesday –Wednesday, June 26-27, 2007 at 10:00 AM

During July and August, the Historic Preservation Commission will complete the list of historic and non-historic structures, building surveys, finalize the boundaries, and prepare the ordinance and design guidelines.

Public Input on HPC Application for the proposed local historic district

Tuesday, August 21, 2007 at 7:00 PM
Saturday, August 25, 2007 at 10:00 AM
Wednesday, September 12, 2007 at 10:00 AM & 7:00 PM
Saturday, September 15, 2007 at 10:00 AM

The Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) will hold a public hearing on the creation of this district on Tuesday, October 23, 2007 at 7:30 PM at City Hall. This is the time to comment on whether or not you support the creation of this district. The City Commission generally holds a public hearing on creation of the district within 90 days of the HPC hearing.

If you cannot attend a meeting you can submit comments or request more information via mail, email, fax, or phone to the attention of the Historic Preservation Commission c/o Amanda Thompson at the address below:
509 North McDonough Street
Decatur, GA 30030
678-553-6513 Phone
678-553-6518 FAX
athompson@decaturga.com

To be honest and frank the more we learn about the historic district designation and speak to Oakhurst residents on either side of the proposal, i

Please try to attend this important meeting tomorrow night, Wednesday May 9th, 2007 from 7-8:30 at the Boys and Girls club.

To be honest and frank the more we learn about the historic district designation and speak to Oakhurst residents on either side of the proposal, it has become clear that this proposal that intends to preserve "the unique historic character of the surrounding" neighborhood has not and will only do so at a heavy price. The "surrounding neighborhood" contains a variety of unique and craftsman style homes, however, what makes the "character" of the neighborhood is the people that live and have established businesses in our neighborhood. Quoting the Oakhurst Neighbored website, (http://www.oakhurstga.org/index.html)

"Some of us have lived in Oakhurst for a generation or longer, while others have just arrived. We are many ages, races, religions, and creeds. Together, we are a community. People in the market for a home in Oakhurst "are attracted to the neighborhood's diversity of residents and housing, its excellent schools and Oakhurst's sense of community,"

"I lived in Dunwoody 12 years and hardly knew my neighbors. This is a very close-knit neighborhood with sidewalks and the little village of shops and restaurants where people sit out and talk to their neighbors."

The main topic being discussed among the neighbors (among those that are aware – and not all the residents are aware of the proposal) is this historic preservation proposal. Neighbors want to know why they were not informed about the proposal earlier. Residents want to know: who initiated the proposal; who comprises the committee forwarding this proposal; what is the definition of a contributing and non contributing house; how will the restrictions be defined; why were the selected streets included and others not; what are the likely costs associated with these design requirements; what are the costs associated with having to get approval of the preservation commission to modify my home; and many more questions and valid concerns that have not yet been addressed. Hopefully you received a notice on your mailbox about a meeting tomorrow night, Wednesday May 9th, 2007 from 7-8:30 at the Boys and Girls club. This scope of this meeting is to "discuss the intent document" which defines the reasons for seeking historic district designation and to "Work on the specific language of the design guidelines." The draft guidelines have been posted on: http://rbgraphix.com/Oakhurst/index.htmlThe organizers of the meeting have stated that "We will assume that everyone at the meeting will have read the design guidelines and thought about questions, concerns and suggestions for changes. All other questions will be parked for a later meeting and possibly answered via the oakhursthistoricdistrict blog." Presumably this includes the question of why we would want a historic designation at all, and how can this move forward in a democratic and community oriented way that improves the community rather than dividing it. However, if you don't attend the meeting your voice can not be heard, even if it does get "parked." The neighbors who have forwarded the application for the historic district appear to be plowing ahead stating, "It is very important that we give HPC {historic preservation committee} strong community recommendations on the guidelines" however how can the community provide input on the specific guidelines if the community is not sure they want the historic district designation at all…In our opinion the modest discussion that has taken place to date has not been fruitful nor has it enhanced the feeling of community in our neighborhood. Rather the idea of the historic preservation, the proposal process, and the proposal's vague implications has caused a rift among the community, alienating and separating those of us on either side of the proposal. This does not preserve but rather it denigrates the characteristics of Oakhurst that drew most of us to the community in the first place. Hopefully a better attended meeting tomorrow night, at which both the intent and specific design guidelines can be presented to a wider segment of the community, can begin the process to close this divide; if nothing else maybe we can start by acknowledging that such a divide exists. For or against, if you live in the proposed district, or even if you don't but still want to learn more, please try to attend this meeting. The only way our neighbors can really tell where we as a community stand on this proposal is if we all stand in the room together and figure out what it is about the community that's really worth preserving. Kevin and Robin Delaney

What other ways are you announcing this meeting? How can people know about it if they don't visit this website or don't use the Internet?

What other ways are you announcing this meeting? How can people know about it if they don't visit this website or don't use the Internet?

We put flyers on mailboxes, posted flyers at local businesses, notified churches so they could share with their members, and made some phone calls. We did not have space reserved for the meeting until very last minute so we were unable to put it in the Oakhurst Leaflet. Future meeting notices will be in the Leaflet. Thanks for your question.

MEETING NOTICE 5/9/2007 7pm-8:30pm

There is a community meeting on 5/9/2007 from 7pm-8:30pm regarding the design guidelines. The meeting will be held at the Boys and Girls Club. The agenda is (1) review the intent of the guidelines (2) discuss the specifics of the design guidelines. The design guidelines and intent document are on the website listed on this blog in the title paragraph. Your input is very important. If you are unable to attend the meeting you can send your comments to provost.joy@gmail.com.

While we are moving ahead to focus on the design guidelines we are not leaving anyone behind. There will be opportunities to discuss the guidelines with the HPC in June meetings. Thanks.

How do you already have the proposed guidelines after conducting only 1 meeting?

The proposed guidelines are only a template used from the Old Decatur Guidelines. It is used just to get the neighborhood and residents started as they consider what they would like the design guidelines to incorporate. The only input from the resident's so far is the intent of the guidelines. There will be at least two additional meetings to discuss the actual input on the design guidelines.

We felt that a template was good because otherwise the process is overwhelming.

Where can I find a copy of the proposed design guidelines?

A website has been created to park documents related to the proposed local historic district. The address is http://rbgraphix.com/Oakhurst/index.html. You can request a copy to be sent via e-mail by sending your request to preserveoakhurst@gmail.com. You can also request a hard copy to be delivered by calling 404-371-9007. Spread the word to your neighbors.

How do I determine the age of my home?

The easiest source is the DeKalb County Tax Commissioners website. There is a link at the bottom right of this page. The date is not always accurate because documents for Oakhurst were destroyed in a fire. You can search the City of Decatur archives for building permits or there may be elements in the design or construction of your home that would give a more accurate date.