Newsletter of the Preservation Coalition of Erie County (Home Page)
June 1996
Table Of Contents
Research yields tips on creating better design guidelines
by Adrian Visser
A recently completed study funded by the James Marston Fitch Charitable Trust of New York has found signage and color to be areas where more guidance is needed, as well as a heavily-illustrated section defining architectural styles and elements. Writing in the Spring 1996 issue of Historic Preservation Forum, Kathleen Frazier and William Frazier report on their evaluation of design guidelines in actual use. The study analyzed eight Virginia communities for which the Frazierís firm had created guidelines. Design guideline publications are separate from any local historic district ordinance or zoning overlay. Buffalo does not have up-to-date design guideline publications for any of its local historic districts.
A very significant finding was that 75% of the members of review boards who responded to the survey believed that most property owners are ignorant of the guidelines (indeed, two respondents admitted they did not know their communityís guidelines existed until they received the survey!). This has manifold ramifications, perhaps the chief one being owners and developers submitting blatantly non-conforming buildings for review. Further, it was evident that many BAR members thought owners or developers feigned ignorance, in order toÖ
The Frazierís tips:
- Create a set of design guidelines if your board of architectural review (BARñin Buffaloís case the Buffalo Preservation Board) and property owners do not have such a documents to use in historic districts. These provide good technical information on design and preservation, and common groundrules up front, reducing the chance of confusion for property owners. The guidelines also help justify BAR decisions and make them more professionally based.
- Even if a set of guidelines exist, many property owners will not read them or will claim not to be aware of them. Distribute them to property owners and create a mechanism that will insure that new owners are aware of the guidelines.
- Conventional wisdom has advocated keeping guidelines simple and short, but a growing body of BAR members seems to want more detailed guidelines and more technical information about specific preservation issues.
- Make guidelines user-friendly with a well-organized table of contents, ample and attractive graphics, large title heads, and limited text.
- Guidelines for new construction are important, but most BARs spend the most time reviewing applications for rehabilitation of existing buildings.
- When guidelines do not match the general historic district ordinance, the two documents must be aligned to avoid confusion.
- If the underlying zoning in the historic district allows new buildings that are larger than the existing historic structures, consider amending the zoning ordinance so that property owners are working with zoning provisions that relate to preserving the historic character of the district. Otherwise the zoning ordinance and any guidelines will appear to advocate two different visions for the district, and the more development-oriented zoning ordinance generally will take precedence over the guidelines.
- Describe the basic provisions of the ordinance in the guidelines publication, but keep the ordinance as a separate document and distribute it as requested. Otherwise, as soon as the ordinance is amended (a continual, normal process in major cities), the guidelines will be out of date.
- Develop a simple one-page questionnaire for property owners to complete after the design review process. Focus on the applicantís awareness and use of the guidelines; and how helpful they were in the overall process.
- Keep informing the public about design guidelines and update the guidelines about every five years. Provide orientation to the BAR after the guidelines are developed and update that training with all subsequently appointed BAR members.