By Susan Motander
Almost two years ago, the Monrovia City Council enacted two moratoria in an effort to stop the spread of overly large homes that are incompatible with the neighborhood and to prevent the destruction of historic homes.
Last month, the council approved changes to the city’s building code. This week they approved changes regarding the issuance of demolition permits. The changes will result in the review of more homes for historic status. Previously only homes built before 1940 were subject to additional scrutiny, now the review extends to all homes 50 years or older, in essence a rolling trigger date. This means that rather than approximately 26 percent of the homes in town subject to review, at this time; it is closer to 66 percent.
The code revisions detail the exact steps homeowners must go through to make significant changes to their properties. This brought about questions, not just from the public, but also from council members. Resident Gayle Montgomery asked how residents would know about these new rules.
This prompted Mayor Tom Adams to paraphrase a comment by Council Member Alex Blackburn made in an earlier discussion of the zoning issue. At that time Blackburn said he felt everyone was obligated to know the zoning of his or her home, but that no one did. Adams pointed out that no one could force new residents to educate themselves about the building codes.
There was also a long discussion of what should be exempt from the rules regarding demolition. Ultimately, despite concerns voiced by council member Gloria Crudgington regarding the potential destruction of historic outbuildings, the council voted to approve the proposed changes.
Director of Community Development, Craig Jimenez, explained that potential concerns about the destruction of historic structures, would be caught in the review process of new construction. Crudgington ultimately voted for the changes saying “I would not do this if I did not have faith in this staff.”
