The first reading of an ordinance establishing an Historic District in downtown Silverton was approved by the Silverton Town Council in a 6-1 vote on Tuesday, but not before the the proposed ordinance was modernized.
Town Trustee Brison Gooch opposed the measure, suggestng the changes should go back to the planning commission.
The ordinance would provide basic guidelines for new construction and exterior modifications in the historic downtown area.
“It was a goal of the planning commission to create simple regulations that lay out basic rules to protect the downtown district,” said Town Planner Adam Sickmiller.
The San Juan Regional Planning Commission recommended the Town Council approve the measure.
But Mayor Terry Kerwin raised concerns about how the Historic Review Committee to be established under the ordinance to enforce the rules would be appointed.
The 3-page draft ordinance presented to the Town Council on Tuesday stated the panel would have five members — one from the Town Council, one from the San Juan County Historic Impact Assessment Review Committee, two property owners in the district to be chosen by the committee and one at-large Silverton resident, again chosen by the committee.
Kerwin said he would rather have the panel appointed by the Town Council. An amendment to that affect was OK’d, along with some minor wording changes and the deletion of what Trustee Brison Gooch described as an unnecessary “whereas.”
Gooch said that the idea of forming the historic district is “fine and I like the brevity and the flexibility of the ordinance. I strongly favor doing this kind of thing.”
But Gooch pointed to one of the “whereas” prefaces to the ordinance which stated formation of the historic district was “necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety.”
Gooch said there may be “all kinds of potential safety problems in that district (downtown)” such as the intersection of the 12th and Blair, where pedestrians wander in the street where the train comes in, and hazards posed by renegade rollerbladers and skateboarders.
But he questioned whether the lack of an historic district constituted such a threat to peace, health and safety.
“This is totally unnecessary,” Gooch said of the wording, “and it doesn’t contribute to what the goal is, noting the proposed ordinance does not address health and safety issues.
“Just eliminate that and the kids on skates can go back to knocking people down again,” Gooch joked.
A public hearing on the proposed historic district will be scheduled in June, along with a second reading, for final approval.
The ordinance limits building footprints to 5,000 square feet, and a maximum height of 40 feet.
Sickmiller said buildings would also have to  be in “general compatibility with adjacent structures’ architecture and scale.”