A Broken Preservation Ordinance - Design Guidelines

“DESIGN GUIDELINES/DEMOLITION CRITERIA.

Preface. The purpose of these guidelines is to preserve the architectural history of existing buildings or structures and to ensure the procedures and materials used are compatible with the existing building or structure and help to ensure its preservation into the future and are meant to give architects and owners design direction consistent with the Codified Ordinances of the City of Ashland.  In principle, the Board adopts the United States of America, Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.” - Ordinance 51-05 Ashland, Ohio

Many years back, I attended a number of Historic Preservation Board meetings in Ashland.  Because the Ordinance and Board were new, I suggested that prior to a decision for each application being made, one member of the Board prepare a written explanation much like that of the Supreme Court of the United States.  Explain the reasons for the decision, whether in favor or not.  This creates precedents to support the Historic Preservation Board in the future, provides information to homeowners as to what has been acceptable and what has been declined, and displays how the Board has reflected back to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.  To this date, no evidence of a written explanation using Department of Interior's Standards has been propagated.

The lack of the Historic Preservation Board’s understanding of the Department of Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation is evident with many of the applications approved by the Board.  A number of homes have been vinyl sided with the blessing of the Board.  The problem is not with the vinyl but that it has covered up types of shingled siding that is not found with the new vinyl siding.  As stated in the first post about A Broken Preservation Ordinance, Center Street was put on the National Register of Historic Places because it was a textbook of architectural styles.  By applying vinyl siding over these unique shingled sided homes, the historic appearance has been altered, and potential damage has been done to the original shingles as nails tack in the vinyl causing irreparable damage to the home itself.  One homeowner in the Center Street Historic District was told that the back of the home didn’t matter and neither did the garage, yet the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards would disagree.



Above - The original wood siding of the Heltman Home
Below - The vinyl siding as seen today
Similar issues can be seen on the Pancoast Home as well.