Some neighbors say the charm of the old Beechwold neighborhood is due to the historic district designation that has been in place over the years. But in 2008 due to boundary disputes, it was discovered that the designation was not valid.
"The city code was so poorly written (that) about 100 homes out of 134 were excluded from the district," said Beechwold homeowner Jason Janoski.
Now that the historic designation is up in the air, many neighbors don't want to continue with the designation because of the strict guidelines used by the Historic Resources Commission or HRC.
"We have got some who like the process and think that it is fine. Others, the majority in fact, who is very frustrated and finds it very difficult to get things done," said Janoski.
Some neighbors are taking advantage of the dropped designation and are conducting some remodeling on their homes now -- like replacing older windows with energy efficient windows.
Laurie Marsh had her kitchen remodeled with the approval of the HRC and found the process to be pleasant. She said she feels the designation needs to stay.
"The way it looks today is not by accident because over the last 24 years we believed we were under historic designation," explained Marsh.
A poll conducted by the HRC shows that 60 percent of the homes don't want the designation back unless there will be some flexibility in the guidelines when working with the HRC. It now goes to City Council to decide if they should apply the district designation or not.
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