Ridgely’s Delight March 2021 Community Meeting Minutes

Welcome at 7:05pm

Approval of minutes from February

How ARC works presentation – Paul will kindly provide an overview of how ARC works for those in the community who have questions

• CHAP
  • CHAP is old (1964). It is one of the first entities of its kind in the world (Architectural preservation).
  • City agency – a commission of 13 commissioners who meet once a month and consider proposals that effect historic architecture in the city
  • Commissioners/Support staff deal with projects large and small
  • When new residents come in, they are often blindsided with the rules of a historic district
  • A limited focused tool, but we have a strong say of developments in our neighborhood
  • It should not be considered a HOA.
  • Our neighborhood witnessed a lot of history (e.g., the War of 1812)
• ARC
  • We have the ARC. It has been a standing committee in our by-laws
  • CHAP requires every historic district to have a liaison.  Can be a person, or a representative body (currently 8 people with diverse interests)
  • ARC represents CHAP but also RDA. Interests can be in conflict (e.g., neighborhood wants vs CHAP rules)
  • CHAP has the authority and responsibility for decisions. ARC is advisory only. Homeowners can by-pass any ARC recommendations and go straight to CHAP.
  • Process
    • Any project that starts, must start with CHAP
    • They then forward the application to ARC (we are usually now cc’d on the application that is sent to CHAP so we are simultaneously in the loop)
• Questions
  • At what point does a neighbor need to engage ARC when working on their home?
    • CHAP only does the exterior, but the entire exterior
    • Different guidelines for different part of the neighborhood
    • DEB: When in doubt check with CHAP…or use ARC as an intermediary
    • Anything you do structurally to a building requires a work permit, which needs to be channeled through CHAP
    • The responsibility for checking is on the homeowner
  • What if there is a conflict with ARC and committee members request?
    • If that happens, ARC members will recuse themselves
  • When do you not have to call ARC?
    • It is a question of the project scope
    • You don’t have to deal with ARC/CHAP for anything internal
    • DEB: Err on the side of caution, because the fines can be substantial
  • Can anyone join ARC?
    • We have never had qualifications to join
    • We have always been a friendly group but there is no formal rotation in and out of the committee
    • We should have an official process, but nothing exists now
  • What if you hire a contractor that will say they will go through CHAP?
    • Check on the reputation of the contractor to make sure that they do take care of it, but it can be done through them
  • Are their minutes from ARC meetings that are available to the community?
    • Effectively yes, technically no…we have done a lot of the work via email, not as much with face-to-face meetings
    • Email trails are saved, but not compiled into formal minutes
    • DEB: Privacy issues may come into play with some if this info
    • FARZANA: Can there be volunteers outside of ARC committee to keep track of projects spreadsheet/database?
    • BILL: I can put the raw email chain on the website without a problem
    • MEGAN: We are all volunteers, most of us have a full-time job. We need to remember this. Can we just be nicer and work together to get things done?
    • Karin volunteered to do the spreadsheet
    • AL: all we need is what the initial ask was and a summary statement
  • Can homeowners negotiate with CHAP/ARC?
    • Yes, but no…CHAP is free to exercise their authority but the point where they would be negotiating a project is usually the potential loss of an entire structure, which is not usually the situation in a normal homeowner’s case.

Committee reports

No committee reports

New Business

No new Business

Adjournment @ 8:23pm