Hearing on merger of two commissions set for June 20
The public will have the opportunity next month to weigh in on proposed legislation to merge Kingston’s landmarks and heritage commissions.
The Common Council’s Laws and Rules Committee on Wednesday endorsed a resolution to hold a public hearing on the proposal at its next meeting, June 20. The resolution also referred the proposal to merge Kingston’s Historic Landmarks Preservation Commission and Heritage Area Commission to the city and Ulster County planning boards, as well as the state Historic Preservation Office and to neighboring towns for comment.
The resolution must go to the full council for consideration. The council next meets on June 5.
City Assistant Corporation Counsel Daniel Gartenstein said there are time constraints that lawmakers have to consider in moving the merger process forward. He said part of the current legislation that was never followed required the two commissions to submit budgets that reflected their goals for the coming year. If the commissions are going to be merged under the city Planning Department, it needs to be done before the 2019 budget process starts in August and September, Gartenstein said.
Following the public hearing, the Common Council will need to hold two “readings” of the proposed merger legislation before voting on it, Gartenstein said. He said those readings must be held at a separate council meeting, meaning it would be August before a vote could take place.
“There are a number of reasons why, timeline wise, it’s important for this to proceed now and for the referrals to be made out to the various entities that legally have to have an opportunity to comment,” Gartenstein said. He said there are other time issues, too, but that he would not discuss them in public.
City Planner Suzanne Cahill said the landmarks and heritage commissions have a lot of the same goals in terms of encouraging historic preservation. She said merging the two would streamline the review process for proposed projects.
“We want to be businessfriendly,” Cahill said. “We want to encourage people to come into our community. I’m not saying just give them a blank check, but what we’re doing is trying to make it encouraging and attractive for businesses.”
Gartenstein has said the new commission would be called the Historic Landmarks and Heritage Area Commission and would have seven members and three alternates appointed by the mayor.
The landmarks commission currently has seven members, while the Heritage Area Commission has 11. Neither board currently uses alternates, who step in when a regular member is absent from a meeting or has a conflict of interest.
Gartenstein also has said that in addition to allowing alternates, the legislation would provide a way to remove members from the new commission. There currently is no such provision for either body.
During Wednesday’s meeting, Gartenstein said the new legislation is based on a model law amended for Kingston’s use. He said it also addresses concerns raised by members of the landmarks and heritage commissions.