In a message dated 10/17/2007 12:55:38 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
40th Street Hotel Proposal a Dangerous Idea Karen Allen, University City Good letter, Karen. And, Mary Goodman's disapproval of the project -- also published in the Review -- is squarely on the mark, too. Many of you may recall that I was strongly opposed to the historic designation of Spruce Hill, so maybe you're wondering why I'm against this hotel project. You may not know that I was a strong advocate of the newer "Neighborhood Conservation District" ordinance, which has the purpose of preserving the "visual aesthetics" of a neighborhood while not subjecting property owners to the expensive, time consuming, and -- I believe -- silly detailed strictures of the Historical Commission. The reason you may not know this is that, when I testified in favor of it before City Council, you weren't there. You probably also don't know that I introduced the idea of considering this as an alternative to HD as a motion at the SHCA annual meeting that year (after advising them months in advance that I would make the motion). But then-president, Nancy Roth, said that people didn't know this would be raised or they would have come (it was she who didn't put it on the agenda, of course), so she unilaterally tabled it (Robert's Rules of Order, where are you when we really need you?) and the motion never again saw the light of day. I'm all for visual aesthetics, when defined in a sensible way. What the Historic Designation advocates termed "the architectural fabric of the streetscape." I can understand how removing a porch would interrupt this. I can understand how, in an intact and relatively uniform row of row homes or even twins, putting a big bow window where two separate original windows used to be would interrupt this. I don't see how changes such as vinyl windows on the alley-side of twins -- barely visible from the street unless you knew where to stand and look, or something like stucco on the back shed-kitchen of a row home affect the "architectural fabric." And I think there's a big difference between a vinyl window, which can always be removed and replaced by something closer to the original, and a change that's irreversible for all practical purposes (like changing the size of a window or door opening. And I certainly think that a 10-story building that looks like it came from an "on-the-cheap" catalog rather than an imaginative architect, plunked down beside Azalea Court (its sometime name) on the southwest corner of 40th & Pine utterly destroys the visual aesthetics of a block with a very pleasing character. Always at your service & ready for a dialog, Al Krigman -- 36-year local resident ************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com
