Sharon Kennedy, MAHDC Vice President and Annapolis HPC Chair, explains why it’s time to update Annapolis’ preservation ordinance in the Capital Gazette:
“As the result of community conversations as well as procedural practices over the past years, the HPC has identified four main goals of the updates:
- Codification of the existing administrative approval process. Designed to provide a fast and efficient process for property owners, it currently results in staff approval of 89 percent of new applications, usually within 72 hours.
- A strengthened and more effective process for action against the few property owners that allow continued deterioration of their properties to the detriment of the community.
- Clarification and streamlining of the process for owners to landmark their properties outside the district so they can provide protection as well as access tax credits to reduce rehabilitation costs.
- Updates to improve clarity and to reflect current best professional practices within the preservation field.
These changes will maintain Annapolis’ long held and most deserved designation as the ‘gold standard’ for preservation ordinances in Maryland.”
How long has it been since your commission reviewed its ordinance?
