Last night, while perusing the 15 channels we have, I came across the Historic District Commission meeting on the local access channel. Normally I'll watch the reruns of previous meetings and shake my head and wonder who in their right mind would ever buy a historic home and have to get permission from these people for all exterior work. Last night, however, I caught it live and it was such a riveting topic that I couldn't tear myself away from it for over an hour and a half.
The background: A young couple moved into a house in one of the historic districts 3 years ago. The wife is now 4 months pregnant with their first child and upon conception, the couple have been diligently trying to find and remove lead paint from their home. They had inspectors come in and identify the most critical area: the 3 upstairs double hung bedroom windows. Since inspected, the couple have not been opening the windows due to the lead dust it creates (and the windows on their 1st floor had been painted shut from previous owners). While the Secretary of Interior standards state that windows cannot be replaced on historic homes, this couple decided that stripping the wood on the windows wasn't enough. They wanted to replace them due to the wife being pregnant and ingesting lead at a higher rate than non-pregnant people and possible side effects to their child. They had a lot of support for all their findings and letters from people in this line of work that replacing the windows is the safest alternative.
The debate: The committee members were all over the board on this topic. One committee member was adamant that the windows should be replaced for the sake of the mother and fetus. The chairperson, a new mother herself, leaned this way as well. On the opposite end of the spectrum were 2 members who needed more data on how much lead still remains in windows that have been stripped before making a decision while the other one was fearful about what kind of precedent this will send. If they o.k. the window replacement for this couple, he thought there will be an onslaught of applications from people in historic homes with windows with high lead content looking to do the same thing who may or may not be pregnant and possible lawsuits that might arise from telling others that they can't (which was met with about 30 seconds of complete quiet from the committee). He went on to say that the committee doesn't make the rules, they are there to just apply them. Another committee member pointed out to him that in the past, the Secretary of Interior rules have been overlooked in the early days of egress windows and fans for radon removal. Perhaps lead will one day be addressed at the government level (as egress windows and radon fans are now) but until then, does the committee use their own judgment or follow the rules until they are updated?
The result: After about an hour and a half discussion, the committee voted 4-2 to approve the window replacement with the 3rd and 4th vote coming only because these windows are on the side and back of the house and the homeowners will have the lead levels tested again in a year to see what the levels are with the replacement windows.
My thoughts: Those committee members earned their pay last night. It was a tough call. Like the one nay-sayer said, they are only there to enforce the rules set by the Secretary of Interior and this will open it up to other applicants. This particular couple should have had the lead tested before purchasing the home but, like Big A pointed out, they didn't really care at the time because they probably wanted the "prestigious" address that came with the house. Even a committee member wondered why they would buy a house that could have this issue as most older homes do.
I wonder if this couple would be interested in a nice, ranch-style home in the up-and-coming city next door to this one that, probably, doesn't have lead paint but if so, is completely encapsulated (even the outlets and the vents) by many, many layers of bright, happy colors of paint.
12 comments:
It's these sorts of well-meaning land use regulations which a)decrease the availability of affordable housing and b)lead inevitably to the sorts of unintended consequences you cite. Further, whenever I point out that the effect of such laws is preclude poor people from moving into specific areas deemed "worthy," we wind up sanctioning red-lining by the state, a practice which is absolutely illegal for anyone else, all in the name of preserving historical significance.
Although I am in favor of preserving historic structure, I am against these ordinances for the reasons R. Sherman stated.
With that said, the committee just opened up a huge can of worms. If I was putting off fixing windows in my historic home, I would now immediately schedule a meeting with this committee and my wife who may or may not be pregnant and hint at my lawyer just itching to do my bidding.
Oh by the way, very psychedelic site you have here.
Ed - The one committee member did say something like that under his breath when it passed 4-2 and they moved on to the next application. I guess he forgot that the microphone was still on.
I can't believe you're not busting my chops for painting over outlets and vents. ;-)
Thanks. I've been needing a change and I see that Blogger now has spiffy new templates. I really should take a day and design my own.
Wow, you watch this stuff? Local C-span?
Michigan, in this misguided attempt to have local democracy, has created some of the worse tyranny at the local level by folks serving on committees, acting like little-Napoleons, going way beyond their authority... Have I had bad experiences--yes--there is a zoning committee that, once we get an occupancy permit, will find that I am no longer muzzled.
Interesting new look. San Francisco neighborhood 60's ?
But, back to your topic. I too think the prestigious address was the main motivator for the young couple to purchase the home in the first place.
There is always something that people will complain about.
In Portland,OR the main post office is in the north west area of town. Now that the old adjacent warehouses have mostly been replaced by new trendy condos in the area; a good portion of the people now living in the area are complaining about 24/7 trucks coming and going at the post office. I AM SURE THE SAME PEOPLE WHO ARE NOW COMPLAINING ABOUT THE NOISE WERE WELL AWARE THAT THE POST OFFICE WAS THERE.
Now you have me going.
I won't go there though.
I wondered if I was at the wrong blog for a minute :)
Rules like that kind of suck, but it's tough to change for just one couple, you know? You open it up to everyone wanting you to bend the rules for them.
Wow, the new template threw me off. (Not sure how new it is, I hadn't been here in a few days.)
I felt like Kramer when he comes into Jerry's apartment and Jerry's had the new cabinets installed: "Oh man, I'm on the wrong floor again."
*chirp, chirp*
Do you have to dust your blog now and then since it doesn't get used much anymore? ;)
You're cheating on the blog with Facebook, aren't you?
Why Ed, do you miss me? :-)
TC - I am! Cursed Facebook!
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