Fort Thomas should soon have a final answer to the question of who can serve on the city’s Design Review Board. On Monday, city council heard a first reading of the ordinance updating the makeup and duties of the board.
Last spring, city officials and staff reviewed and updated language in many of the city’s ordinances. At the time, staff proposed easing the residency requirements to allow for up to two nonresidents on the board. After much debate and discussion with city officials and residents, council requested more time for further consideration, putting any action on pause.
The new ordinance maintains the requirement that all board members must be residents and adds language defining a resident as a citizen who owns, rents or leases a residential property and who lives and sleeps within the city limits. The board is also limited to five members appointed by the mayor and approved by council.
While the residency requirement had sparked the most debate, other changes clarified the board’s makeup in terms of expertise. Prior to the changes, the ordinance included a complex and specific formula outlining the number of members who would have architectural or preservation expertise, the number of members with construction or engineering expertise, etc.
The new language is simple — all members must “demonstrate an interest or experience in architecture, design, real estate, restoration, construction, historic preservation or a similar profession.”
Council is expected to vote on the ordinance at its next meeting. For a look at the proposed ordinance, see the October 16 council meeting agenda attachment on the city’s website.