We believe it’s time for Denton City Council members to implement policies for developing historic properties that give fair consideration to the rights and needs of property owners, buyers and sellers.
In our view, those folks are often left out of any meaningful discussions about properties deemed to have historical value and how they can be developed and used.
Arguments about aesthetics, appearance and that most mysterious topic of all — appropriateness — often seem to outweigh practical considerations that any good business owner must consider.
Elected and appointed bodies can spend hours debating paint colors and siding textures while a property owner watches his or her opportunity to sell to a viable buyer slip away.
We often wonder what guidelines were in place when structures now deemed to be “historical” were built.
Did early-day residents have to follow a strict set of aesthetic rules in order to build a commercial property? If one bought a residential lot on a Denton street back in the early 1900s, were the design choices limited by someone else’s style preferences?
Most neighborhoods that bear the “historic” designation today are filled with a variety of building styles. Some homes are similar, but we don’t see many communities that have the cookie-cutter appearance of the mid-century developments.
Members of the council and Historic Landmark Commission held a joint meeting Tuesday and agreed that the city needs to clearly identify historic properties so that property owners, buyers and even city staff members know where they are.
Owners of commercial or public buildings or houses in historic districts must go before the commission if they want to make exterior changes. The commission reviews the work and grants permission through a “certificate of appropriateness,” an additional step meant to help protect the life and value of historic buildings and neighborhoods.
During Tuesday’s meeting, commissioners cited several controversies that have come up including unauthorized home renovations and installation of solar panels in historic districts, the razing of several buildings, including former Fire Station No. 3, and the city’s own waffling about whether to seek landmark status for City Hall West.
Conversations with a developer interested in buying City Hall West from the city stopped after the city agreed to work with the Denton County Historical Commission to pursue a marker for the building.
This summer, the City Council created an ad hoc council committee to review the commission’s duties and appointed council members Greg Johnson, Kevin Roden and John Ryan to serve on it. The ad hoc committee has yet to meet, but it is supposed to review the city ordinance that created the commission, since that has not been done for more than 30 years.
We’d like to see this committee meet, and soon. Perhaps its members can find a middle ground in this ongoing debate and develop meaningful guidelines for preservation that don’t sacrifice ownership rights and a person’s ability to make a living.
Denton residents are justifiably proud of their city’s history, which is built on traditions that include freedom of choice, fair business competition and entrepreneurship.
We believe values like those are worthy of preservation.
