The demolition taskforce has a new proposal out for review. Insofar as preservation is concerned, the attached draft reflects a step forward, yet it still retains a rather fatal flaw.

Under this proposal, RNOs and related organizations will not be notified of a proposed demolition unless a city staff member decides that a home has historic merit. This determination may be made on the basis on just one photograph. Practice runs of this system have approved 90% of all demolitions without further review. Furthermore, "non-historic" certificates will be approved using the same process.

This flies in the face of existing practice. Whereas existing ordinances require that historic merit be based on a structure's historic, architectural, and geographic significance, the only characteristic reviewed here will be the structure's present condition. If it doesn't "look" historic, the structure can be destroyed.

There are certainly positive aspects to the proposed ordinance, such as a 21-day second stage for community members to research a property, a 120-protection for structures after they're nominated, and the removal of both the proposed "proactive survey" and its associated sunset provisions. But bureacratic approval of 90% of all demolitions by means of a single photo undercuts protection for those many historically significant homes unfortunate enough not to look pretty as a picture.