Dear Georgetown Neighbors,
Two important items are scheduled for the GT City Council Meeting on Tuesday, August 14, 2018 at 6 p.m.

And, we need your voice – either join us at the meeting or send your comments to your city council representative in advance of the meeting.

Quick Issue Overview:
First, the developers (Bohls, Hellman, Stribling) for the event center referred to as the Wishing Well project are appealing the Historic and Architectural Review Commission (HARC) decision to deny the demolition and infill at 511 S. Main Street. This project is out of compliance with several important Unified Development Codes (UDC) and was appropriately struck down by HARC at the June 28th meeting.
(http://agendas.georgetown.org/CoverSheet.aspx?ItemID=21269&MeetingID=2371)

Second, District 5 Councilman Pitts is proposing the transfer of the Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) review and decision from HARC to the Planning and Zoning (P&Z) Commission. This proposal has several flaws:
– HARC and City Staff do a good (and fair) job reviewing COA’s and evaluating the COA against the appropriate UDC
– there is no legal/regulatory justification since you are replacing one-mayoral appointed commission with another
– P&Z already has a full agenda and P&Z committee members are not trained on the UDC that govern HARC/COA
– P&Z is a recommending body (while HARC is a decision-making body) meaning that ALL COA’s would have to go to City Council for approval adding a step for COA applicants
– P&Z has 4 developers appointed to the committee so their orientation is to build versus to balance building with preservation
Perhaps more important,
– Mr. Pitts proposal is not following the City’s own process for such changes.  As written, changes to the UDC (including who governs what applications, etc.) goes to the UDC Advisory Commission.  Why would Councilman Pitts by-pass the existing process?
– Mr. Pitts has provided limited information and no justification on the proposal.  Instead, he will “read a prepared statement” at the City Council Meeting.  The proposal allows for “public comment” however the bulk of the information regarding the proposal will not be heard until the meeting.

Please come to the City Council meeting and share your thoughts on both of these agenda items.

– Attend the City Council Meeting: August 14th at 6 p.m. at 101 E. 7th Street
– Attend the meeting and share your thoughts during the public hearing portion of the meeting https://government.georgetown.org/city-council/meeting-procedures/
– Send an e-mail to Sophia Nelson, City Planning Department at:  Sofia.Nelson@georgetown.org
– Send an e-mail to your City Council Representative: https://government.georgetown.org/city-council/