This training meeting showed the public the procedures, goals and expectations of the Detroit Historic District Commission. While each case is treated as unique, the regulations and procedures are well established and seemed to be well known by the commissioners.
Happy Wednesday, Detroit! I’ll be live-tweeting the Detroit Historic District Commission’s Commissioner Training Meeting at 4:30pm today on behalf of @detdocumenters.bsky.social
03:00 PM Jan 15, 2025 CST
The public is invited to attend in person, via Zoom or via phone. The mtg will be held in person in the Planning and Development Office, 8th Floor, Suite 808, at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center (2 Woodward).
For Zoom and phone instructions and to view the agenda, visit: https://detroitmi.gov/sites/detroitmi.localhost/files/events/2025-01/2025-01-15_HDC%20meeting%20agenda_6.1.pdf
The meeting will primarily be focused on training new Commissioners. No public hearings are scheduled.
4:30 – 5:15 Part 1 – Regulations & Guidelines
5:15 – 6:00 Part 2– Design Review
6:00 – 6:15 Break/ General Discussion
6:15 – 7:00 Part 3 – Procedures
7:00 – 7:45 Part 4 – Outcomes
IMPORTANT: If you believe anything in the coverage today is inaccurate, please email us at documenters@outliermedia.org with “Correction Request” in the subject line.
It looks like there will be space for public comment. Public comment is typically limited to two (2) minutes per person, per item.
Oh, and correction: I’m not “live-tweeting” anymore, I am Bsky-Diving! Live reporting! 🤘
They’re gathering up on the Zoom! Showing some cool historic photos. I think this meeting will be interesting!
About the Detroit Historic Commission: Appointed by the Mayor, the Commission is comprised of seven Detroit residents. The sound is terrible. I’m waiting it out. It was crisp earlier.
Yeah, I don’t think they’ve officially started yet. I am trying to tell them about the sound but they are not seeing that my hand is raised. Hopefully it will flow soon. Might be doing tours of the office or something. Shrug.
Yeah, this meeting hasn’t really started yet. I honestly can’t really make out what folks are saying.
Called to order by 4:49pm. Minutes approved. It is SO HARD TO HEAR.
They called on me after a while. They are working on the sound. :) Cool photo! This is Madison Avenue looking east from Grand Circus Park.
The chairman is providing context. Penn Station (NYC) is being shown. Pennsylvania Railroad around 1912 demolished years later. That’s where Madison Square Gardens, of course. So the Landmarks Preservation Commission in New York was formed out of that.
In 1969, the City of Detroit passed the first regulations concerning landmarks and historic districts.
2019 Detroit City Code references other standards, which are in other Federal Guidelines, correspond for consistency.
Chairman is highlighting that there are 22 Design Elements to be taken into consideration, to honor the historic district, as written into the City Code.
Sector of the Interior: Developed in the 1970s. They were not adapted by Detroit until many years later.
The reason Commission uses rehab standards that are focused on returning or maintaining, buildings and productive use modern use, and allowing change, because the rehab standards are all about the managing change and adapting.
They’re providing overarching context for WHAT they reference when they’re making recommendations as a Commission.
The National Parks Service sets the standard for historic districts across the USA (in a way) because they use them and apply them to decision-making on a local level.
Essentially: When the Commission reviews things, here’s how they can respond....
They are sharing that they DO take into account economic conditions AND technical environment. and how standards can (or can be “reasonably”) upheld given the conditions the buildings and projects exist within. COOL.
They’re now transitioning into a new unit/section of the training. :) They’ve definitely gotten feedback from others (not just me) that it’s hard to hear. Oh well. I know these are cool, amazing humans serving the public good!
The Commissioners will receive a staff report for their review (generally, before their Commission meetings) to have a centralized repository of the reviews being done across the organization.
Windows are apparently the most difficult to deal with and to maintain standards.
A Commissioner is raising a question about Windows as they relate to energy efficiency! Check out these historic district windows!!! Dig it.
Speaker is citing this Wabash Corktown location as an example of SUCCESSFUL restoration.
They’re discussing the standards around siding for historic buildings and what they look for. Asphalt—>Vinyl---->Wood
They remove asphalt and vinyl and replace with wood. This brings the buildings up to historic standards.
OK! They’re going to take a brief break and then do a tour of their office for the folks in person. Then when they come back, they will be on Part 3!
I’m back. My guess is that they are doing some office tours! The Zoom is paused for now.
They are BACK! Part 3! Oui!
Tim is going to talk about procedures.
But first: What is a historic district? On a local level?
There IS a relationship btw commission AND the national register.
Michigan historic districts act establishes/conveys EVERYTHING about how historic districts work in Michigan, cities are required by state law.
Any time any city in MI wants to create a historic district, they start by creating a committee to study a historic district.
What do Detroit and Kalamazoo do differently from all other cities?
They have a STANDING committee called the Historic Designation Advisory Board.
This is different from other cities in MI because the other places typically dissolve the committee once the study has been done!
Every historic district starts with a PROPOSAL that goes to City Council to create historic district. This usually then results in a study of the proposed district.
They are now talking about ethics around how they obtain and process information. I love this stuff! 🤓
Commissioners, the speaker is saying, should feel empowered to discern whether something is outside or inside of the realm of disclosure and around what pertains to a case or doesn’t.
As a commissioner, they have to document situations/violations they might see while out and about in the community, rather than just mentioning an issue off the cuff. As in, if a case is being brought against someone pertaining to their case, they need to be made aware of it.
They’re discussing Roberts Rules of Order and their application, based on the context of a given meeting.
Here’s how they might think about it, speaker explaining.
They are now discussing when it is appropriate to disclose specific details to one another.
Chairman sharing: When they are debating/discussing a case, they should be careful about language. They want to convey to public that they are judging cases based upon standards AS OPPOSED TO personal preferences. A case either meets the standards or it doesn’t.
Once the commission decides something, it is final. Therefore, the staff are responsible for implementing decisions. Language matters.
The “lowest level” of making someone aware of potential violation is the Notice of Work Observed. The third in this list is most severe, serious in nature.
Now they are on the final part of their training. This section will focus on OUTCOMES. What happens once the Commission decides upon something.....
Sometimes the scope of work doesn’t align with the Certificate of Appropriateness (COA).
They are clarifying staff’s role in implementing and upholding permits and processes.
They are talking through what happens when they have appeals. Here’s some historical data.
Staff is subject to FOIA requests. How the commission conducts itself is a matter of scrutiny so the team is stressing the importance of Commissioner comportment.
They are starting to wrap up their meeting. It’s 8:07pm.
The next meeting of the Downtown Historic District Commission will take place Wednesday, February 12, 2025.
Feel free to check out the source website for more details on the next (and subsequent) meetings! https://detroitmi.gov/government/commissions/historic-district-commission
Here’s more of a Zoom out look at the Commission: https://detroitmi.gov/government/commissions/historic-district-commission
This concludes my coverage of the Detroit Historic District Commission for @detdocumenters.bsky.social Detroit Documenters. ❤️
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