Fort Thomas city council voted to accept an update to its Design Review Board ordinance at their Monday meeting following a months long effort.
Council approved new and clarified language outlining board membership and duties. The changes to the Design Review Board ordinance were part of an overall in-depth review of city ordinances pertaining to planning, zoning, development and related issues that began last spring.
The ordinance reiterates a requirement that board membership is restricted to residents only. Added to the ordinance is a definition of resident as a citizen who owns, rents or leases a residential property within the city limits and who lives and sleeps at the property. The text changes also simplified language outlining the interests and experiences of board members.
Reviewing the ordinances
The passage of the Design Review Board update ordinance caps off a months-long effort by the city to review and update ordinances relating to zoning and property. These included the Planning and Zoning Commission, the Board of Adjustment and the Design Review Board.
Last spring, City Administrator Matt Kremer, after settling into his position at the beginning of the year, decided to begin a review process of the city ordinances to update language and clarify the ordinances.
At about the same time, questions had arisen about membership on some city boards and commissions – how members are appointed, who could serve on a city board, duties of members and how many members should be on a board.
When Barb Thomas, a longtime member and business owner on the Design Review Board, moved her home out of the city, a question arose about a residency requirement. This sparked extensive discussions throughout the spring and summer.
Addressing the issues
Kentucky has specific statutes for the creation, membership and duties of planning and zoning boards and boards of adjustment. As for other boards, that is left entirely to the discretion of the cities or counties.
The city’s Design Review Board required residency, but staff asked if a change might be considered to allow a mix of residents and non-residents. City officials and members of council discussed and debated the merits of changing their ordinance but decided against it. Council members took the opportunity to add a clear definition of “resident” to all three ordinances (planning, adjustments and the design review board).
During the review process, officials discovered the number of members on the Design Review Board was different in the ordinance text from what was happening in practice. The ordinance called for five members, and in practice the board consisted of six members. It was agreed the board should include only five members.
On the planning commission, the review and update brought into question a reappointment of longtime member Dan Gorman because his most recent reappointment had not been approved officially by council. He stepped back from the board while the review of ordinances was ongoing.
Also, at the time, questions came up about potential conflicts of interest since Gorman has business interests within the city. When issues arose, Gorman said he recused himself from voting on those matters, but he brought the question to the ethics board for an advisory opinion. The board issued its opinion in September that it found no ethical conflicts.
In recent months, as these membership issues have been resolved, city council has worked to finish the updates on the three ordinances. Council approved the updated ordinance concerning the Planning and Zoning Commission in May and for the Board of Adjustment in June. The Design Review Board completes the updates.