As the saying goes…the Devil is in the Details, and municipalities house various boards, commissions as well as councils that make the details even more important and more of a devil to agree upon. The following page outlines the roles, legislation and hierarchy of the governmental bodies that one may encounter when approaching a municipality with any type of development.

There are several boards that will have some interaction on a specific project depending on what the City Council (the people) has created to assist in controlling development in the city.

Has 4 main roles to play in city processes: policy formulation, ceremonial responsibilities, executive oversight (city manager and/or administrative staff), and as customer service representative. City Council is usually a 5-9 person elected board, which consists of individuals elected to represent the interests of the citizens. Council members are typcially not trained for this type of decision making position; they may of may not have any experience with local government process and nuances.

There are two ways that council members can be elected and the method of election has some impact on how the board functions as a group and how individuals react as council members. The two methods of election are by ward and at large. Typically, ward elected council members have a more parochial view of their role in the organization. They usually desire to protect the interests of their constituents. At large elections, on the other hand, allow individuals to vote for several candidates. These council members represent the city as a whole and thus think of their actions as impacting all of the constituents. This way of thinking gives the council members a broader view of their actions and decisions.

In many cases a Mayor is elected, either from the Council or from a general election and he or she presides over council meetings. Alternatively, a president may be elected from within Council to preside over meetings.

This Board can have as many commissioners on it as the City Council deems necessary. Typically, the commissioners are citizens appointed by the City Council. After the Council has established the ZBA it no longer has any control over the Board. Prior to forming the ZBA, Council must establish a zoning ordinance and boundaries for the ordinance. The ZBA must approve any new structure or change that does not conform to the established ordinance within the zoning boundaries before individuals, developers etc. can legally begin construction. An approval by the ZBA for outs of the ordinary zoning request are called variances and only the ZBA has the power to grant them. However, there is one occasion when the ZBA is bypassed on the route of approval and that is when a development comes under a Planned Unit Development, which the City Council may approve directly. ZBA Commissioners must make sound decisions within the zoning boundaries based strictly on the zoning ordinance and the merits of each case presented to them.

The HDC is also a commission appointed by the City Council. Prior to appointing HDC Commissioners, Council must form and approve boundaries as well as give guidelines to the Commission for enforcement and criteria for decision making regarding the preservation of historic character. Once created, Council rescinds control over HDC decisions and may only influence the commissioners through persuasion. Council should endeavor to appoint, as many different views to the HDC as possible, for instance, a planner, a preservationist and an historian may be appropriate for a wide variety of views and expertise.

The HDC Commissioners, also citizens, have total control over construction and demolition within its boundaries if the Council at its origination gives that privilege to the HDC. Typically, the HDC is more concerned with the outside of a building than the inside. The guidelines that the HDC adheres to can be very stringent or very lax depending on the mood of Council at the formulation hearing and the city’s commitment to historic preservation. The HDC is a group of individuals that must make decisions based on the criteria set for them by Council. Should a decision by the HDC be found to be outside of their jurisdiction they can be sued as individuals with little or no ramifications for the city. It is important that the commissioners not only protect the historic character of the historic district, but that they do it with reason and have solid ground (criteria) on which to stand.

This next section is a standard approach to a municipality by a developer whose site is within the city boundaries, Zoning Boundaries and the Historic District Commission’s boundaries:

Developer

In a standard setting, developers meet with the city planner or a representative of the department in order to get an idea of whether or not the project will be a viable one for that environment. Typically developers have done their own investigation of the site and the market and are convinced that this is a good investment. Conversations occur between the planning department and the developer, communication is open, and as the department gives recommendations, hopefully the developer will heed the advice. After the formulation of the construction and all of the nuances of the project are fleshed out, the developer approaches the appropriate boards, the HDC and ZBA. These are separate public hearings (from council) and can be quite contentious depending on the project and the developer. If the project does not receive approval from either of the boards, the project goes back to the drawing board for review until it does meet each board’s requirements. Or, the developer at anytime has the right to stop design on the project if he/she does not feel that the project can be completed with the requirements in a cost efficient manner.

Finally, if the project meets ZBA and HDC approval, there is a good chance that the project will still need to win Council’s approval. Usually, this is a forgone conclusion as the planning department will have given Council its recommendations for approval or denial on the project. Additionally, the staff will have already had quite a bit of interaction with the developer and the project should be within the parameters set by Council.

In essence, while there are many hoops to jump through when attempting to introduce a project to any municipality, one must remember why these boards were created, to protect citizen opinion and viewpoint. By requiring that any alteration in the city’s character be presented to numerous boards and be subject to various opinions, it is thought that all points of view will be heard, considered and none will be silenced by progress and development. While government is not in place to please everyone everytime, it is there to draw out interests and philosophy from the people it represents with regard to the environment in which they live.

Designed by: Kristen Salow