(Bareford Inn at the corner of Main and Maple)
At the most recent Town Council meeting, the subject of
seating the Historic Preservation Commission was brought up by a member of the
public. The discussion that resulted
lasted for twenty minutes, and can be viewed here. You can skip ahead to the 16:30 mark of the video. I think it is worthwhile to watch the entire
twenty minutes as the Mayor lays out his reasons for not seating the HPC. While he does get forceful and shows
frustration on occasion, he passionately states his objections to the
HPC while maintaining respect for the member of the public who spoke up.
I previously summarized the discussion on my prior blog post, but since I felt I did not know enough about the topic, I decided to do
some additional research, and I wanted to revisit some of the items that were
established at the meeting.
There is a law on the books establishing the Historic
Preservation Commission and we risk ‘legal attack’ by not appointing members. Only the mayor can appoint members.
There is indeed a law on the books in Evesham. The most current law is dated from
2000.
The law clearly states: “There is hereby created an Historic
Preservation Commission…[which] shall consist of nine regular voting members
and two alternate members... The Mayor
shall appoint all regular and alternate members of the Commission…”
While I am not a lawyer, it would appear the town is clearly in violation of that ordinance. The Mayor stated unequivocally that he would
not seat the HPC until town attorney Ed Gillespie told him he needed to. The attorney has not stated that to date, so the HPC will not be filled. As
to what ‘legal attack’ means, I am uncertain.
While the town surely would appear to be in violation, unless a lawsuit
is brought, I cannot foresee a time when the Town Attorney deems it necessary
to appoint the HPC. (Note, however, that
I am not advocating a lawsuit, for reasons I will explain below.)
As per Town Manager Tom Czerniecki, the HPC was
established by many towns as an (over) reaction to a stimulus.
According to our Town Manager, the HPC was established in
Evesham as a result of a fire at the hotel on the corner of Main and Maple
and its replacement by a 7-11. I am
having difficulty verifying the timeline on Mr Czerniecki statement. The Bareford Inn was demolished in 1964. There was no fire, it was just
sold when the previous owners could no longer maintain it. The property was sold to the
Southland Corporation (corporate owner of 7-11), and several years later a 7-11 was opened in 1970. However, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer (subscription required), the HPC was not established until 1987 – that 17 year gap seems to
indicate that 7-11 may not have been the
impetus for the HPC.
(7-11 Inn at the corner of Main and Maple)
As per Mayor Brown, the HPC, if active, would just add
needless delays and expenses to every developer wanting to build in Marlton
The HPC established in the town code had noble intentions:
- Encourage the continued use of historic resources and facilitate their appropriate reuse.
- Safeguard the heritage of the Township of Evesham by preserving resources with the Olde Marlton Village which reflect elements of its cultural, social, economic and architectural history.
- Maintain and develop an appropriate and harmonious setting for the historic and architecturally significant buildings, structures, sites, objects, or districts within the Township of Evesham
- Stabilize and improve property values and discourage the unnecessary demolition of historic resources.
- Foster and enhance civic beauty and neighborhood pride.
- Promote appreciation of the Evesham Township Historic Neighborhood Shops/Services District and any other designated historic districts for the education, pleasure and general welfare of the citizens of the Township and its visitors.
- Encourage private reinvestment in existing or new structures in a manner that preserves, restores, repairs or is compatible with the original architectural style which is characteristic of the Historic Neighborhood Shops/Services District or any other designated historic districts in which the structure is located.
Unfortunately, the HPC, as written, appears to be toothless. The powers it was given was to ‘advise the
Planning Board and Zoning Board’, ‘review actions’, ‘assist and advise’, ‘collect
and disseminate’, and ‘report’. It was
not given any power to legislate, create rules, enforce, issue summons, issue
fines, restrict, require, or prohibit.
As such, I would have to agree with Mayor Brown that this step would only delay any
development and increase costs. Even if
the Mayor appointed 9 people who think exactly as he does, as the member of the public suggested in order to not be in violation of the law, the rubber stamp of the HPC
would still cause unnecessary expenses and delays.
Both the Mayor and the Town Manager stated that while the HPC has not been filled, the spirit and duties of the HPC can be carried out by the Planning
Board and the Director of Community Relations. According to Township Code, the Planning board has no duties or obligations towards historic buildings. However, as per Mr Czerniecki, architectural and other guidelines were put in place to protect the downtown and follow the 'essence of what the HPC is trying to do'.
So the question remains, why does the law remain on the books? And why is the Town Council so comfortable disregarding it? The Town Council can amend or abolish the law, so why leave on the books a law that the town has no intentions of following? Mayor Brown stated that people keep bringing this up to him, so why not rectify the situation and amend the law?
And are the other governmental bodies (Planning Board and Office of Community Development) acting in the spirit of the HPC and performing the duties that were designated to it? Do our old buildings need additional protections?
So the question remains, why does the law remain on the books? And why is the Town Council so comfortable disregarding it? The Town Council can amend or abolish the law, so why leave on the books a law that the town has no intentions of following? Mayor Brown stated that people keep bringing this up to him, so why not rectify the situation and amend the law?
And are the other governmental bodies (Planning Board and Office of Community Development) acting in the spirit of the HPC and performing the duties that were designated to it? Do our old buildings need additional protections?