The city of Columbus is going to review its code and guidelines for historic preservation, a move that worries some preservationists.
Columbus City Council approved a $150,000 contract with Quinn Evans Architects on Monday to assess the city's historic preservation standards, and look at what other cities do.
The city said it wants to "modernize" historic preservation.
Chris Hune, the CEO of Columbus Landmarks, the preservation nonprofit, said she worries new guidelines and codes could hurt historic neighborhoods that have review processes such as German Village.
"We just have concerns that the districts that are there, that the developers are just trying to sidestep the guidelines to get their own developments in place in a quicker manner," Hune said.
"My main concern is that historic district guidelines are protected. We know there are a lot of commissions around Columbus, the central Ohio community, and sometimes it's difficult for developers to get things passed expediently, but historic districts are there for a reason," Hune said.
German Village, Italian Village and Victorian Village have commissions that consider applications to alter properties within their boundaries. The city's Historic Resources Commission considers applications and issues certificates of appropriateness for alterations at properties within the Columbus register districts and properties listed in the Columbus Register of Historic Properties.
Bryan Clark, a deputy director in the city's development department, said the city is fast growing with a lot of housing needs and wants to protect its cultural and architectural legacy.
Asked if developers are pushing for changes, Clark said no.
"We need to make sure that when we are preserving our history, we're doing it equitably across the city, so that would include looking at our historic districts, really critical areas like German Village, but also looking at the history in neighborhoods like the Near East Side, Linden, the Hilltop, through the city of Columbus," Clark said.
In a statement, Columbus City Council President Pro Tem Rob Dorans said: “While modernizing our zoning code through the Zone In initiative, now is the perfect time to make sure that our city’s growth works for everyone. Honoring the buildings and neighborhoods that give Columbus its character will help ensure that we preserve what makes Columbus worth growing into.”
Quinn Evans Architects has home offices in Ann Arbor, Mich., and Washington D.C.
