Final City Council Votes 

I am opposed to the North Avondale Historic District. The applicants never asked me whether I wanted my home to be included and I didn’t know this process was happening until the city sent formal notices. Residents of the Belvedere were directly approached by NANA and invited to join the district years ago. They declined and their choice was respected. NANA never gave me an opportunity to opt-out even though, for the same reasons as the Belvedere’s residents, I also don’t want to join the district. Wealthy and influential residents should not be given special treatment over the rest of us. 

I am opposed to the North Avondale Historic District. Cincinnati needs more housing, including multi-family housing, and the Connected Communities zoning policies were enacted by City Council to try to meet that need. On its website and in statements to the media, NANA has made clear that this Historic District is an attempt to frustrate Connected Communities and make it harder to build or subdivide housing in our neighborhood, even though it is very much needed. If this proposal is enacted, then other neighborhoods will follow suit and Cincinnati’s housing shortage will persist.

I share NANA’s concerns about the changes Connected Communities could bring, but I am opposed to the North Avondale Historic District. Of the 23 pages of proposed rules for the district, only about two pages discuss demolition or new construction. The remaining pages impose new restrictions on existing residents who have no intention of demolishing or selling their homes. There are fifteen separate restrictions on just the colors of materials or paint that residents can use; limitations on installing new air conditioning units, solar panels, and EV chargers; rules governing enclosure of existing porches and whether existing decks can be stained or painted; and many more. These rules -- the vast majority of the document -- have no connection to the concerns NANA has expressed about Connected Communities allowing nonlocal developers to demolish historic buildings or construct unsightly new buildings.

I am opposed to the North Avondale Historic District. Nobody should face jail time or daily fines of up to $1000 merely for repainting a door without city permission (Guidelines page 10) or failing to clear gutters (page 11) yet that is exactly what this district will threaten because any violation of the Guidelines is automatically, and without warning, a First Degree misdemeanor (Cin. Zoning Code § 1451-13 and § 1451-15). Even if the district were a good idea overall, these penalties are out-of-line and disproportionate to the harm they seek to prevent. Until the city removes criminal penalties for violations, this district should not be created.