Mayor Margo G. Bailey called the public hearing to order at 7:00 p.m. In attendance were Council members Harrison C. Bristoll, Jr., Whaland Clark, James R. Johnson and Mabel Mumford-Pautz, W.S. Ingersoll, Town Manager and Zoning Administrator, Jennifer Stead, Stenographer, and guests.

Mayor Bailey read the advertisement dated October 14, 2004 from the Kent County News into the record.

Mayor Bailey stated that she and Mr. Clark would recuse themselves because of their employment ties with Washington College. She asked Mr. Ingersoll to conduct the meeting. Mr. Ingersoll agreed.

Mr. Ingersoll stated that he wanted to make it clear to the public (using a flyer that was passed to residents as an example) that a vote would not occur at the regular Mayor and Council meeting following the Public Hearing. He said that the district had to be described by metes and bounds, and an Ordinance had to be made if the Council decided to pursue the expansion. He said that a map was distributed and asked if there were questions regarding a certain property and whether or not it was included in the expansion. There were no questions.

Mr. Ingersoll stated that the map on the flyer was correct and said the map as shown on the flyer was prepared by the Historic District Commission.

Mr. Ingersoll stated that the Historic District Commission finished the proposal for the expansion in February 2004 and members of the Council who could vote wanted to receive public input on the proposal.

Mr. Ingersoll stated the existing Historic District was 40-yeasrs old. He said that there was a difference in public opinion about the necessity for historic district zoning, but a lot of Chestertown has been preserved by the Historic District Commission’s efforts.

Mr. Ingersoll stated that there were misconceptions of the powers of the Commission, for example, the painting of a house or business did not require a hearing by the Historic District Commission. He said there were may things that in the past did not require any type of permit for buildings outside of the Historic District, but permits were required for most things now.

Mr. Ingersoll stated that over 95% of all applications to the Historic District Commission were approved.

Mr. Ingersoll said there would be a 3-minute limit for those who wished to speak. Six (6) letters were received into the record. Mr. Ingersoll stated that those who wrote letters would have the choice of either reading their letter or speaking for 3-minutes.

Mr. Ingersoll stated that the letters would be taken in the order that they were received. After that anyone else who wished to speak could. The Council agreed to that format.

Mr. Ingersoll stated that on September 30 th a letter was received from Kirk Williamson. Mr. Williamson stated that he was a resident at 123 Washington Avenue and said that he wrote a letter to the Town regarding his disagreement and opposition to the expansion of the Historic District. He did not agree with the fact that the Councilmember from his ward could not represent his family with a vote. He also said that expanding the district would not help Chestertown and he bought his house because it was not in the district.

Ms. Ann Warhurst of 209 Washington Avenue wrote a letter, which was received on October 6 th. Ms. Warhurst stated that she did not agree with the expansion and thought the taxes resulting form the expansion could be an unfair burden. She also stated that she bought her house because it was not a part of the Historic District and she would like to see it stay that way.

Ms. Nancy Morris of 125 Washington Avenue wrote a letter dated October 10 th. Ms. Morris stated that she opposed the expansion. She said that she once owned a home in the Historic District, and bought another house on Washington Avenue because it was not in the Historic District.

Ms. Muriel Cole of 207 E. Campus Avenue wrote a letter on October 11 th. She said that she thought there was misunderstanding about what the Commission was trying to accomplish. She said that she was in favor of the Historic District expansion.

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Charles of 203 E. Campus Avenue wrote they were in favor of the Historic District expansion. They were not present at the meeting, but their letter was read into the record.

Mr. Ingersoll stated that a letter was received from Mr. and Mrs. Bob Ortiz of 207 Philosopher’s Terrace. Mr. Ingersoll read their letter in favor of the Historic District expansion into the record.

Mr. Craig McSparron of 342 Cannon Street wrote a letter, which was received on September 17 th. He said that he lived in the Historic District and found that it caused an increased cost of home maintenance as well as an undesirable entity to have to appear before. He was not in favor of the expansion.

Ms. Elizabeth Seidel of 200 Washington Avenue wrote a letter date September 18 th stating she was in favor of the historic district expansion. She was present and said she thought there were many misconceptions about the Historic District Commission and the procedures that people had to go through.

Mr. Peter Bourne of 227 Kent Street wrote a letter dated September 18 th expressing his opposition to the Historic District expansion.

Mr. Greg Sutton of 626 High Street stated that he found that it cost just as much to do work on a historic house as it did to a house outside of the district. He said that many homes have been saved as a result of the Historic District and was in favor of the expansion of the historic district. Mr. Sutton added that the residents fought to keep out industry to have a quaint small town and now they were fighting to not have the same quaint town.

Mr. Edmund Lusby, previous owner of Stepne Manor, stated that he would like to have Stepne Manor and the farm around it included in the historic district. He invited residents of Chestertown to meet him at the Manor at 10:30 a.m. on October 19 th to show where there was a family graveyard that he would like to see restored. Mr. Lusby was in favor of the expansion of the Historic District, including the entire land and house at Stepne Manor.

Chip McLeod, Esquire, was present on behalf of the Chester River Health System as Chairman of the Health Planning Committee. He said that the hospital was opposed to the expansion, as it did not fit with the Master Plan the hospital had for growth.

Mr. Morgan Heston of 215 Philosopher’s Terrace stated that he was opposed to the expansion of the Historic District.

Mr. Roger Brown of Radcliffe Services, 201 Talbot Boulevard stated that he was opposed to the expansion of the Historic District. He said that he used to be a member of the Historic District Commission. He said that state and federal tax credits were available without inclusion in the historic districts. He said that expansion at this time would particularly hurt a property that he was trying to buy to restore outside of the district and they had many agencies to deal with other than the HDC.

Mr. Baird Tipson of 106 S. Water Street and President of Washington College was present. He stated that he was speaking on behalf of the College which was opposed to the expansion of the Historic District. He said that the College was concerned with being in the Historic District and how it might inhibit their future ability to build. He said that the College always alerted the Town when it was building and he did not see the need to go before the Historic District Commission in any other way than as a courtesy. He said that he would be willing to work with the Town to ensure that the Town’s interests were met and the Town had some control over where they built. He said if they could not acquire land to expand in the other direction, they needed the option to expand in Town.

Mr. Peter Brocker, from 225 Washington Avenue stated that he did not see the need to expand and was opposed to the expansion. He said he drove around the whole district and observed that most of the houses were built in the 1970’s and 1980’s.

Ms. Trina Eales of 123 Washington Avenue stated that she was opposed to the expansion and thought that the Historic District would be watered down if it doubled in size.

Mr. Robert Campbell had an office at 811 High Street and owned other property along High Street. He said that he was opposed to the expansion of the historic district although he did support preservation. He said the members were appointed by the Council but were not accountable to anyone after being appointed. He said the Town already had a great deal of regulation for building.

Ms. Cynthia Saunders of 102 N. Queen Street was already living in the Historic District and was in favor of the expansion of the Historic District. She said that there were tax credits available for homeowners in the District and thought that there was much misinformation in Chestertown about the regulations of living in a Historic District.

Mr. Richard Norton of 119 High Street stated that he lived in the Historic District and has built in the Historic District. He was in favor of the expansion of the District but would like to see it managed differently. He said that 45% of the Town was tax-exempt and the Hospital and College expansion concerned him. He said policing was needed to ensure that the work was done correctly in the Historic District, after approvals were given by the HDC.

Mr. John Seidel of 200 Washington Avenue stated that he was in favor of the expansion of the Historic District. He said that there were many misconceptions about the Historic District Commission. He said that people not being able to afford to live in Chestertown was due to gentrification and not a function of the Historic District. He said that tax assessments also had nothing to do with being in the Historic District because the boundaries were not recognized. He said interior renovations or colors people paint their houses was not a function of the Historic District Commission and there were several items that were approved almost automatically, such as sheds and roofs. He said that the Planning Commission did not have the ability to look at individual properties nor the ability to consider design or scale for the larger projects in the way the Historic District might like to such as the recent Chestertown Marina Proposal.

Mr. Seidel stated that the bulk of the expansion included what was now already the National Register District and said that structures were already singled out as having some historical distinction.

Mayor Haacke stated that he was a former Mayor of Chestertown and it was that body that formed the original Historic District and Planning and Zoning Commissions. He said that the same criterion was not being used for the expansion as the people who developed the Historic District, as it exists. He said that he would like to see the Historic Chestertown remain or be expanded or the Town would just be “another town on the eastern shore”.

Mr. Richard Webster of 206 Washington Avenue stated that he was restoring his residence but was against the expansion because if the Commission did not triple in size with the expanded area, the approval process would take much longer than it already did. He said that his plan to restore the house would take approximately 3-years and he did not want to be told how to do it. Mr. Webster stated that he did not see any great reason to make things more difficult than they already were.

Mr. Jim Smith of Chestertown stated that he owned property by the Armory and not see why that section would be included in the Historic District. Mr. Ingersoll stated that the National Guard Army was the only building included in that area and the Mr. Smith’s property was not. Mr. Smith said the Armory was not historic and should be torn down. Mr. Smith stated that he restored many buildings but did not care to restore them to the approvals of a Commission. He said that houses were restored to “appear” historic and he thought there were enough of them in Chestertown, and saw no reason to expand the Historic District.

Dr. John Toll stated that he supported what Mr. Baird Tipson had said earlier about Washington College and he wanted to reiterate the feeling that the Historic District should not be extended north of Campus Avenue. He said that the College needed to retain the flexibility that they had to make improvements. Dr. Toll stated that often times the College was not aware of funding until the very last moment if another project happened to step down. He said if they had to come before the HDC for approvals they could lose the chance for appropriations.

Ms. Marta Girone of 114 Washington Avenue was present and stated that she thought everybody wanted to see historic properties preserved, mentioning that the owners of Victorian homes especially should take care of their properties. However, she senses the concern was how the Historic District Commission implemented decisions. Ms. Girone stated if the district was going to expand there should be careful research as to where it would be expanded and how decisions were made.

Mr. Ken Faralay of 124 Washington Avenue stated that he had mixed feelings about the expansion. He said he was concerned with property values and he wanted to see his part of Town kept a neighborhood. He said that other parts of Town have changed and lost the “neighborhood” fabric due to the rise in the cost of homes. He said the people who lived outside of the Historic District could receive the same tax credits as those who were in it.

Mr. Ron Saunders of 302 Kent Street stated that the Town should make the decision carefully, as an expanded district was something that the Town would have to deal with for many years.

Mr. Ingersoll noted that the availability of tax credits outside of the Historic District were due to the existence of the National Register District, which was undertaken by the Town in the late 1970’s. He said otherwise, tax credits would not be available outside of the Historic District.

Mr. Elburn Talbert of 301 Lincoln Drive stated that he did not live in the Historic District and did not want to adopt a new expanded area that would cause people not to be able to live in a certain part of Town due to gentrification of the area.

There being no further comments from the public, Mr. Ingersoll stated that the people on the Historic District Commission and Planning Commission worked very hard. Their thoughts on the expansion were for the future and the homes that were built in the 1920’s, 1930’s, and 1940’s were now becoming historic. Mr. Ingersoll stated that the Commission members were unpaid laymen and volunteers who spent many hours on the Commission. Mr. Ingersoll said that the Planning Commission could not deal with single homes or buildings and therefore could not protect them.

Mr. Ingersoll stated that the Town was not close to making a decision and asked if the Council had any remarks regarding the expansion. Mr. Ingersoll stated that the record would be left open for several weeks for anyone wishing to submit written testimony.

Mrs. Mumford-Pautz stated that housing in Chestertown was short on moderate and low-income properties. She said she did not see this point changing if there was an expansion of the Historic District.

Mr. Ingersoll repeated that the hearing was strictly informational and the Council wanted to know how the public felt. Mr. Ingersoll stated that the public would hear from the Council about their plans in future Town meetings.

There being no further business, the public hearing was closed at 8:07 p.m.

Submitted by:
Jennifer Stead
Stenographer

Approved by:
Margo G. Bailey
Mayor