The Planning Commission staff and Historic Preservation Commission are in the process of completing a rewrite of the city’s historic preservation ordinance. The changes, which will have to be approved by the Metro Council, seek to simplify and streamline the laws governing the city’s historic districts, of which there are just two—Drehr Place and Spanish Town.
Planning Director Frank Duke says he is an advocate for preservation, but that when rules are unreasonably restrictive they end up thwarting the very purpose they are trying to serve.
“I am a big believer in historic preservation, but when the rules are too strict it turns people away,” he says. “I would like us to have more historic districts in the city, but if the existing law is too restrictive no one wants to be in a historic district.”
As an example, Duke points to an existing requirement that requires homeowners to go before the HPC and get approval before making any external changes to their structure.
“What if it’s in the back of the house where no one else can see?” Duke says. “Why should you care? The back needs to be recognized as the private space of a homeowner. People have to live in the real world.”
The HPC was created in 2004 to help preserve structures more than 50 years old in the city’s historic districts. However, in its decade-long existence only two neighborhoods have petitioned to become historic districts and the HPC has periodically found itself at odds with the Planning Commission staff and the Metro Council, which has the authority to overrule its decisions. Since Duke came to Baton Rouge last year, relations between the HPC and the Planning Commission have improved dramatically, and Duke says he hopes updating the ordinance will strengthen preservation efforts in the community.
—Stephanie Riegel
