Web posted
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Window rules put on hold
Check out the window ordinance in our Data Center
By JAMES JORDAN
Traveler Editor
news@arkcity.net
The windows ordinance for Arkansas City has been put on hold, but city commissioners say they are determined to see action in their efforts to improve the appearance of the city after their meeting Tuesday.
The ordinance would have required all windows be either made of glass or a like substance, or be closed off completely. This was aimed at eliminating the many boarded up windows in the city, which have things like tin or plywood covering what were once windows.
Several building owners objected at Monday's work session and at the regular meeting Tuesday. No one from the public spoke for the ordinance at Tuesday's meeting.
Commissioner Scott Margolius will lead a committee, made up of primarily building owners downtown, that is charged with coming up with a plan, or recommendations, that everyone can live with.
Margolius said the committee would return by the first meeting in May with its recommendations. An ordinance of some kind may pass at that meeting. He said he realized putting it off may give the appearance of stonewalling, but said "that is why we put in a deadline."
The ordinance would have applied to every building in the city, but the downtown buildings got the most attention. Owners of those buildings were the ones who showed up at the meetings to voice objections.
Jim Sybrant, whose family owns one of the larger buildings at the corner of Washington and Summit, said he agreed with the intent of the ordinance, but felt it was too restrictive.
"It limits the right to change a building," he said after showing a picture of the Union State bank from 1887, that showed how the building had changed since that time.
His family's building was sealed, windows covered with tin, 40 years ago, which was acceptable at the time. He said that has protected the building from rain damage. He said he has a plan and wants to do something to make it look better. But he said the building has 64 large windows and the cost of putting in glass windows would be about $30,000.
"I can't and won't spend that kind of money," he said.
He favored the idea of forming a committee and coming up with an ordinance that would make the city look better while not putting undue hardship on building owners.
He said his first concern was securing the building and safety.
Commissioner and Vice Mayor Mell Kuhn said he appreciated the concern for safety, but "there is also an aesthetic obligation to the town as well. Glass would be our first preference, but we do understand the economics."
Sybrant said he would not be opposed to using some other type of material to cover the windows and make them more presentable. "Maybe there are some other ideas," he said.
Mylissa Call, who runs a business and owns buildings, also opposed the ordinance saying that often times glass falls out and can be dangerous on second and third floors of old buildings.
"Plywood is just fine," she said, though she added that it could be made to look nice.
Blanche Schmidt, who also owns a building and runs Schmidt Jewelers, said she had replaced glass as a security measure at her store. She said she had also recently ordered tin to cover windows and had received approval from the city.
Her building is also one of the older and larger buildings downtown, across the street from the Sybrant building. She said with over 40 windows, she could not afford to restore them to their original state.
The building owners also said such restoration would be very expensive and would raise their taxes because their assessed values would rise. There are tax breaks, as much as 95 percent for 10 years, but those end eventually and taxes can still rise.
Margolius suggested a dialogue with a citizens group to come up with a plan that is more acceptable and realistic for building owners and for the city. The idea seemed good to the other commissioners and to those present. Members of the committee were chosen from the group at the meeting, which was mostly building owners.
"We need to work out something that everyone can live with. We need to find a way for it to be a win-win," he said. "This is not a move to kill the ordinance."
Commissioner Patrick McDonald said any ordinance crafted would not fit everyone.
Kuhn said he was concerned about the property values of the town as a whole.
In other matters commissioners:
* Went over their goals and heard a report of a plan for implementing those goals from City Manager Doug Russell. Public hearings are set for those goals. The first one will be at noon on March 26 at City Hall. The second meeting will be at 7 p.m. on March 27 at the senior center.
* Renewed city insurance coverage for property, liability, vehicles and equipment at a cost of $139,129, which is up six percent from last year's price of $131,208.
* Authorized an agreement for KLINK overlay project on West Madison Avenue.
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