SALEM–The design review board finalized its recommended update to city ordinance 1149 which governs the historic preservation of properties within the city.

Board Chair Ginger Grilli said that the design review board has been researching and drafting its recommendations for roughly two years and, having circulated those recommendations to all city and community boards referenced by the ordinance, the only suggested revisions were two language clarifications.

Grilli asked if the board would be comfortable adopting the current draft with those clarifications adopted as its official recommended update and forwarding that update to the rules and ordinances committee for further revision. However, Board Secretary Samatha Bahr said that she had reservations doing so before Planning and Zoning Director Alicia Schrenk had discussed it with the board.

Grilli argued that feedback had been requested from Schrenk but had not been received. Board Member Tricia Hovorka argued that approving the revisions and presenting them as the board’s recommendations was not requesting the revised ordinance immediately be approved so much as making the document available to the members of the rules and ordinances committee for review. Hovorka also argued that doing so now would also give the rules and ordinances committee access to the board members who had worked to compile those recommendations for any questions they might have.

The board ultimately decided unanimously to approve the ordinance as amended as the board’s recommended ordinance. However, in a separate motion they voted 2 to 1 to table the question of forwarding it to the rules and ordinance committee until no later than the board’s February meeting to allow time for Schrenk to provide feedback. The lone dissenting vote was offered by Hovorka, who said that she felt making a formal motion for a non-action was unnecessary.

Grilli also said that Schrenk had suggested posting the board’s agenda 24 hours prior to meetings, and that she was happy to do so, but that she was unsure of where it would be posted. She suggested that a notice could be posted on the planning and zoning page on the city’s website directing anyone who wants the agenda to send a request to the Planning and Zoning Director similar to the one on the city council page directing requests for the agenda to City Administrative Secretary Debbie Bricker. The board also suggested that a request be made to post information about the Design Review Board, like the current members and officers and the board’s role and responsibilities to that page.

The board also discussed potentially having the Planning and Zoning Director begin taking the board’s meeting minutes instead of the board secretary. Grilli said that the board secretary position is always the most difficult to fulfill, and that shifting the responsibility of taking minutes could make filling that office easier. Board Vice Chair Meta Cramer asked if the board would still be in charge of reviewing and approving minutes if they approved the change, noting that there have been issues in the past of minutes being taken incorrectly by non-board members. While Grilli said that the board would continue to have the authority to edit and approve meeting minutes, it was ultimately agreed that the board secretary would continue to take meeting minutes for the time being and to revisit the question if there were no volunteers for the position during the design review board’s upcoming organizational meeting.

Other matters approved included updates to the board’s standing agenda, establishing a deadline of 10 a.m. on the first Thursday of the month for Certificate of Appropriateness applications and changing the board’s meeting location to city council chambers moving forward.

The design review board will meet next at 3:30 p.m. on Dec. 4.