City staff says demolition-delay amendment likely to be trimmed; commission debates two-year compromise

Planning staff joined the Historical Commission on March 26 to update members about a pending citywide amendment to the demolition-delay ordinance and to solicit the commission’s input.

Staff said an earlier proposal to lower the age threshold for delay from 75 years to 50 years is likely to be removed from the version the Council's Planning & Development Committee will review. The amendment’s change to the length of delay was also being adjusted in committee: the original staff memo described a move from the existing one-year delay to a proposed three-year delay, but staff reported the committee appeared likely to consider a two-year delay instead.

The planner said staff have asked the amendment’s sponsors to clean up unclear voting language in the ordinance so the process for determining significance and subsequent votes is less confusing. Commissioners said they support clarifying the sequence — first determining whether a property is significant, then reviewing plans — and several said a two-year delay feels more meaningful than the current one-year pause.

Commissioners raised policy points beyond age thresholds, noting that significance can include architectural, archaeological and cultural criteria and is not determined by age alone. Several members said the review process is intended as a pause for assessment, not an absolute prohibition on changes, and that the commission should press to retain clear criteria for what triggers review.

There was no formal commission vote on a position during the meeting; staff said they would follow up as the ordinance moves through the council committee process.