Council approves moratorium in historic district
Comments (...)A resolution prohibiting issuing permits for the construction, rehabilitation, or demolition of any structures within Oregon's Commercial Historic District squeaked by the city council by a 3-2 vote Tuesday.
The measure approved by the council says no such permits will be issued for 120 days or until the council adopts comprehensive ordinances governing those purposes, whichever come first, unless the permits are first approved by the city council.
Mayor Tom Stone and commissioners Tom Miller and Tom Izer voted in favor of the resolution, while Pat Wiesner and Ken Williams cast no votes.
Before the vote, Williams said he agreed with developing a historic preservation ordinance, but did not support the moratorium on construction, rehabilitation, or demolition within the Commercial Historic District.
Wiesner said he also would vote no.
"I feel this resolution is going to inhibit property owner's rights," he said.
He said the city already has adequate ordinances in place to regulate permits for the purposes listed in the resolution.
After the vote, Stone said he was disappointed with the direction the Economic Development Council has been going with a redevelopment project for a two-block area in the downtown.
The target area is the two blocks bordered on the east and west by Fourth and Sixth Streets and on the north and south by Franklin and Washington Streets.
The city council hired Walter Wayne Development to complete Phases 1 and 2 of a redevelopment study. The city has not yet agreed to hire the firm for the third and final phase, but has approved spending $43,000 to complete Phase 3.
Stone said he recently met with EDC members and Walter Wayne president Dave Diamond.
"I was misled as to who the investors are and that upset me," he said. "I think [EDC chairman] Don Griffin and his crew have tried to do a good job, but I think they were misled as I was," Stone said. "I thought there were investors, but there aren't."
He addressed statements made at an EDC meeting on Jan. 17 when Diamond said Oregon's sales tax is declining.
"We're doing fine as far as sales tax," he said "The City of Oregon is in the black and doing well."
Stone also commented on a statement read by EDC member Gary Davis at the meeting which listed several businesses that are no longer in the city.
"Some of them went out of business 20 years ago," he said.
Stone then listed several new businesses that have come to town in the last few years.
"I'm pretty proud of Oregon and I'm pretty proud of what we've done," he said.
Oregon resident Fran Strouse asked the council to put a hold on the $43,000 earmarked for Phase 3 of the redevelopment plan.
She also asked Stone to set up a meeting where the public can ask questions about the plan before the next EDC meeting.
Julie Watt raised concern about the grant the city received for historic preservation. She said she fears it could be revoked it if is not being used for the specified purposes.
"It seems pretty clear here that we had a grant that was supposed to be used to do something positive, but somehow someone got hired that's not qualified," she said, referring to Walter Wayne Development.
After the meeting Williams, who is the city's finance commissioner, said the $75,000 grant is being spent on the city's capital improvement plan.
He said the city is meeting the criteria set by the grant.
"The grant requires that someone from the Illinois Historical Preservation Agency (IHPA) be involved in the process," he said.
He said Anne Haaker from the IHPA has been designated to assess the impact of any projects on historic properties.
The grant money came the the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development and is administered through the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity.
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